Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Sometimes All You Need is a Little Stuff and Fluff

Having a love for Winnie the Pooh seems to be a universal thing. Especially for someone like me, who grew up with dear ol' Pooh Bear. Despite being loved like he is, Pooh hadn't been in theatres for a total of twelve years until this latest film. Once I heard about the movie, it instantly became the movie I had to see this summer, no matter what, above all others. And for my patience, I was rewarded with one of the best Winnie the Pooh films ever made.

Since it has been so long since Pooh Bear and friends have been in theatres, it really isn't surprising to find out that a lot of the voice actors are different than last time. Winnie and Tiger are still voiced by Jim Cummings, doing his impression of their original voice actors Sterling Holloway and Paul Winchell respectively. But the rest of our old friends have new voices. Some make since, like Piglet now being voiced by Travis Oates, as John Fiedler passed away in 2005. Even though I prefer Fiedler as Piglet due to memory, Oates as Piglet is one of the best replacement voices in the film. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Wyatt Dean Hall play Kangra and Roo quite well, and Bud Luckey is a good Eeyore. However, Craig Ferguson as Owl takes a little to get used to, so overall it's not bad, but it's not great either. And that leaves Rabbit, being voiced by Tom Kenny. I'll be honest, I do like Tom Kenny, but this is one of his voices that just sounds like a hundred of the other characters he's played. He just didn't sound like Rabbit, nor did it feel like he should have been Rabbit.

Besides our fuzzy little stuffed friends, we have Christopher Robin, voiced by Jack Boulter. Boulter makes Christopher sound a bit more English than past versions, but I didn't mind it. And as our Narrator, we have John Cleese. Cleese doesn't even try to hide the fact that it's him, and it just adds a little something to the film because of that. He sounds super friendly, he's funny, and we can tell who he is, it really does add to the storybook way the film goes. It makes him feel like an uncle or father, he gives us a warm feeling while he tells us the story and it makes us both very happy.

I give the film a 3.5 out of 5. It's a great film for all ages, has great animation, and it even comes with a beautiful short film at the beginning, since the actual film is only one hour and three minutes. Whether you are seven or seventy, Winnie the Pooh will warm your heart and make you feel great.