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For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL: The denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood led by (from right to left) Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo, and bringing up the rear, Eeyore march home triumphantly after solving all of their problems. As you can see Eeyore’s new tail is a toy duck attached by its pull-string to Eeyore’s rump.

Winnie the Pooh: Disney Brings Winnie the Pooh and His Pals Back to the Screen

Kam Williams

Written in the 1920s by A.A. Milne (1882-1956), Winnie the Pooh is a children’s classic which has captured the imagination of young and old alike for generations. Since acquiring the rights to the stories in the early sixties, Walt Disney has adapted them to movies and television, and has even extended the popular franchise in recent years by creating sequels for characters such as Tigger (2000), Piglet (2003), and Heffalump (2005).

With the latest episode, Pooh (Jim Cummings) returns to the limelight for an animated adventure based on three of the original illustrated stories. The action unfolds in the Hundred Acre Wood, where we find Pooh awaking from hibernation hungry and out of honey. This state of affairs inspires him to sing “The Tummy Song,” the first of numerous times the movie launches into a bouncy tune.

Winnie sets out in search for some honey and encounters his friend Eeyore the donkey (Bud Luckey), who’s depressed because he somehow lost his tail. After consulting with the wise old Owl (Craig Ferguson), they convene a meeting of Pooh’s pals Tigger (also voiced by Jim Cummings), Kanga (Kristen Anderson-Lopez), Rabbit (Tom Kenny) and Roo the kangaroo (Wyatt Dean Hall) and announce a reward of a pot of honey for whoever comes up with the best replacement for Eeyore’s missing tail.

However, when neither a balloon, a cuckoo clock, an umbrella, a weather vane, an accordion, a moose head, a yo-yo nor a dartboard find favor with Eeyore, they decide to ask Christopher Robin (Jack Boulter) for help. The plot thickens when Owl misinterprets the note left on Christopher’s door (“Back Soon”) to mean the boy has been kidnapped by a mysterious creature called a “Backson.”

Will the gang “rescue” Christopher Robin, find a substitute tail for Eeyore, and find honey for Pooh so that serenity might again reign inside this musical menagerie’s peaceable kingdom? That’s a lot of loose ends to resolve between all the singing and dancing. But despite the picture’s short running time of 69 minutes, only a fool would bet against Pooh and company.

A fable that demonstrates the true meaning of friendship.

Excellent (****). Rated G. Running time: 69 minutes. Distributor Walt Disney Pictures.

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

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