Hello and welcome back to The Hundred Acre Wood. Today we will going on a Grand Adventure in search of Christopher Robin. That's right, today I'll be taking a look at Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin. Now yes this is a direct-to-video film but I'm not so sure that it is a direct-to-video sequel as even though it was produced by DisneyToon, it seems to be it's own entity. Which is a case for most of the Pooh films after The Many Adventures. Yes, it could be argued that this is a direct-to-video sequel but unlike the others, it is actually good and also it doesn't actually feel like a direct-to-video sequel. This is something I've noticed with all of the later Pooh films where while they use the characters, they feel more like standalone films. Now I know some people have argued that the new one is one of the few in canon sequels but again I'm not sure and I'll save my thoughts on that for the review of that film. One last fun fact before we move on, this film actually has two titles, here stateside it is known as Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin while in some other countries, it's known as Winnie The Pooh's Most Grand Adventure.
This trailer is sweet and that works well for this film as it is just sweet and simple. You don't need anything elaborate with dealing with Pooh, simple works.
The Plot
The films opens on the last day of summer as we see Pooh and Christopher Robin spending the day together. Christopher Robin wants to tell Pooh that he has to go school the next day but when he tries to Pooh asks if it is a good thing and Christopher Robin says not exactly and Pooh just says it can't wait for forever and ever. The next day Pooh Bear wakes up and it is the first day of autumn and outside Pooh's house is honey pot with note attached and honey starts to eat the honey and it drips over the note and makes it hard for Pooh to read, so he goes to ask for help in reading it and most of his other friends have trouble reading it. They decide to go to Owl to reads it and he deducts that Christopher Robin is in trouble and is at Skull, a most terrible place. Owl sends the friends out on an adventure to find Christopher Robin and through this they face their fears and realize that they don't need Christopher Robin to help them with everything. I believe that what our friends go through can best be summed by what Christopher Robin tells Pooh at the beginning of the film.
For the most part I liked this plot and now I'll admit it was bit jarring at the end to find that everything the characters had gone through was just their minds playing tricks on them and making it scarier then actually are but I do understand why they chose that. It was more than likely to show you shouldn't let your fears get the best of you.
Narration
Narrator - David Warner
I have to say that this narration was really great and it was used well. It was only used sparingly and kept as third person which works well as the narrator does not always need to interact with the characters. Also I have to say after I got done with this film, the one word that came to mind was timeless.
Plot Device
Christopher Robin's Letter
Now it's funny how this letter starts the chain of events that we see through the film by Owl just simply not being able to read it correctly. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have the film. Though I have to say after watching this film, it does explain why I was never big on Owl after this film as I recall as a little kid thinking it was a little mean that he wasn't going on this adventure that he sent Pooh & friends on. Also this seems like something that would be up Owl's alley as he does seem to be the adventurous type.
Characters
Finally during this event, I get to watch something where most of the characters were important. I'm just so happy about this. Honestly, the only two characters that weren't all that important are Owl and Eeyore but even then they still serve a purpose as Owl is the one that sends them on the adventure to find Christopher Robin and honestly I think Eeyore does serve a minor role as he does go on the adventure but unlike some of the other characters, he doesn't have an arc where where he overcomes something. I think you could argue that he was comic relief but even still, he is used rather sparingly.
Important Characters
Now I'll be doing this differently as I'll be touching upon Christopher Robin first then going into the rest of the characters.
Christopher Robin voiced by Bradley Bluhm/ Frankie J. Galasso (Singing Voice)
This film was rather interesting with how it dealt with Christopher Robin. Now correct me if I'm wrong but even in the classics, he rarely appeared.until the end. I mean he is still a classic character and this film shows how important he is to the residents of The Hundred Acre Wood and how he inspires them and also I must say that I liked seeing his friends coming together to try and rescue him. In many ways, it is the encouragement from Christopher Robin that gives his friends hope.
Pooh voiced by Jim Cummings
You know I have the hardest time trying to figure out what to say about Pooh Bear in this film. Not that he wasn't important to the film but unlike the other characters, I'm not sure what role he served other than being the main character. Now don't get me wrong, we do get to see Pooh Bear go through different emotions such as happiness and being worried that he'll never find Christopher Robin but still, it's hard to pin his exact role in this film but I will say that he was a lot of fun.
Piglet voiced by John Fieldler
Now as I said up above, most of the characters had an arc that they went through and in many ways, it go back to the line that I quoted up above. Piglet's arc is the braver than you believe as throughout the entire film Piglet is trying to get over his fear of heights. I understand Piglet, I'm not big heights myself. I think I liked Piglet's arc the most as I can relate to his fear because behind clowns, height is my second biggest fear in life. I have to say that I like the resolution at the end how Rabbit, Tigger and Piglet overcome their flaws to save Pooh who had gotten stuck in a high corner. Is it just me or does it seem like you think Pooh would be more cautious after he got stuck in Rabbit's hole but I guess in this film it was bit unavoidable for Pooh.
Tigger voiced by Paul Winchell
While Piglet was the braver than you believe, Tigger was the stronger than you seem as he was trying to perfect his bounce but he thought there was something wrong with his tail as he was having problems with his bounce and he didn't think that he be good enough to perfect a perfect bounce but as seen at the end of the film, that is not the case as he does a perfect bounce that is able to Pooh. Tigger was all right and again, he was a lot of fun to watch but of course, Tigger has always been my favorite so I pay extra attention to his scenes.
Rabbit voiced by Ken Sansom
Rabbit fell under being smarter than you think category. Now I know that I've made it no secret that I personally don't care for Rabbit but as seen by my episode reviews for The New Adventures, if used correctly he can an all right character and I think that this film used him well. He was okay even if he did get annoying at points and I also noticed through the adventure that Rabbit fell into the role of leader. Now he wasn't appointed leader rather it just seemed to happen. Okay part of it did come from Rabbit's forceful nature but he worked well as the leader and to be honest, he came up with the plan to save Pooh.
Supporting Characters
Eeyore voiced by Peter Cullen
I feel bad saying this about Eeyore especially considering his character but this story could have been told without Eeyore. In some ways it felt as though the people behind this movie had the thought of "Oh, we're making a Pooh movie, we have to include Eeyore". That is just the way it seems and in all honesty, he added nothing to the film as he had no flaw to overcome like Tigger, Rabbit & Piglet did. At best we was just in this film because he is a popular Pooh character. Oh, I know some of you were probably expecting a Transformers reference seeing as Peter Cullen voiced Eeyore. Well, I was never into Transformers and that's why there isn't one.
Owl voiced by Andre Stojka
Owl was barely in this film but he is important in the fact that he is the one that sends our friends on the adventure and I know I already talked about that when I talked about the plot device up top. Now behind Rabbit, Owl is my second least favorite character but that doesn't mean I hate him. He can be annoying with his stories but just as with Rabbit, when used well he can be a good character and that is the case here. I honestly believe that Owl was not needed for the entirety of the film as I think he would've dragged down the adventure. Now I know what I said about thinking Owl was a bit jerkish for not going with the group but that was when I was younger. Thinking about it some more, he wasn't needed.
Music
Forever And Ever
This song is just so sweet and sets up the relationship between Pooh and Christopher Robin very well. Through this song, your reminded that these two are the best of friends and I have to say Jim Cummings is not only great at voices but his singing is pretty good too. I think this is perhaps one of my favorite songs from the film. Fun fact this song was later re-recorded by Carly Simon for Piglet's Big Movie. I believe this is the only time when a song from a direct-to-video film was later reused in a theatrical film. Now I may be wrong and if so, please do let me know.
Skullasaurus voiced by Jim Cummings
This trailer is sweet and that works well for this film as it is just sweet and simple. You don't need anything elaborate with dealing with Pooh, simple works.
The Plot
The films opens on the last day of summer as we see Pooh and Christopher Robin spending the day together. Christopher Robin wants to tell Pooh that he has to go school the next day but when he tries to Pooh asks if it is a good thing and Christopher Robin says not exactly and Pooh just says it can't wait for forever and ever. The next day Pooh Bear wakes up and it is the first day of autumn and outside Pooh's house is honey pot with note attached and honey starts to eat the honey and it drips over the note and makes it hard for Pooh to read, so he goes to ask for help in reading it and most of his other friends have trouble reading it. They decide to go to Owl to reads it and he deducts that Christopher Robin is in trouble and is at Skull, a most terrible place. Owl sends the friends out on an adventure to find Christopher Robin and through this they face their fears and realize that they don't need Christopher Robin to help them with everything. I believe that what our friends go through can best be summed by what Christopher Robin tells Pooh at the beginning of the film.
You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
For the most part I liked this plot and now I'll admit it was bit jarring at the end to find that everything the characters had gone through was just their minds playing tricks on them and making it scarier then actually are but I do understand why they chose that. It was more than likely to show you shouldn't let your fears get the best of you.
Narration
Narrator - David Warner
I have to say that this narration was really great and it was used well. It was only used sparingly and kept as third person which works well as the narrator does not always need to interact with the characters. Also I have to say after I got done with this film, the one word that came to mind was timeless.
Plot Device
Christopher Robin's Letter
Now it's funny how this letter starts the chain of events that we see through the film by Owl just simply not being able to read it correctly. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have the film. Though I have to say after watching this film, it does explain why I was never big on Owl after this film as I recall as a little kid thinking it was a little mean that he wasn't going on this adventure that he sent Pooh & friends on. Also this seems like something that would be up Owl's alley as he does seem to be the adventurous type.
Characters
Finally during this event, I get to watch something where most of the characters were important. I'm just so happy about this. Honestly, the only two characters that weren't all that important are Owl and Eeyore but even then they still serve a purpose as Owl is the one that sends them on the adventure to find Christopher Robin and honestly I think Eeyore does serve a minor role as he does go on the adventure but unlike some of the other characters, he doesn't have an arc where where he overcomes something. I think you could argue that he was comic relief but even still, he is used rather sparingly.
Important Characters
Now I'll be doing this differently as I'll be touching upon Christopher Robin first then going into the rest of the characters.
Christopher Robin voiced by Bradley Bluhm/ Frankie J. Galasso (Singing Voice)
This film was rather interesting with how it dealt with Christopher Robin. Now correct me if I'm wrong but even in the classics, he rarely appeared.until the end. I mean he is still a classic character and this film shows how important he is to the residents of The Hundred Acre Wood and how he inspires them and also I must say that I liked seeing his friends coming together to try and rescue him. In many ways, it is the encouragement from Christopher Robin that gives his friends hope.
Pooh voiced by Jim Cummings
You know I have the hardest time trying to figure out what to say about Pooh Bear in this film. Not that he wasn't important to the film but unlike the other characters, I'm not sure what role he served other than being the main character. Now don't get me wrong, we do get to see Pooh Bear go through different emotions such as happiness and being worried that he'll never find Christopher Robin but still, it's hard to pin his exact role in this film but I will say that he was a lot of fun.
Piglet voiced by John Fieldler
Now as I said up above, most of the characters had an arc that they went through and in many ways, it go back to the line that I quoted up above. Piglet's arc is the braver than you believe as throughout the entire film Piglet is trying to get over his fear of heights. I understand Piglet, I'm not big heights myself. I think I liked Piglet's arc the most as I can relate to his fear because behind clowns, height is my second biggest fear in life. I have to say that I like the resolution at the end how Rabbit, Tigger and Piglet overcome their flaws to save Pooh who had gotten stuck in a high corner. Is it just me or does it seem like you think Pooh would be more cautious after he got stuck in Rabbit's hole but I guess in this film it was bit unavoidable for Pooh.
Tigger voiced by Paul Winchell
While Piglet was the braver than you believe, Tigger was the stronger than you seem as he was trying to perfect his bounce but he thought there was something wrong with his tail as he was having problems with his bounce and he didn't think that he be good enough to perfect a perfect bounce but as seen at the end of the film, that is not the case as he does a perfect bounce that is able to Pooh. Tigger was all right and again, he was a lot of fun to watch but of course, Tigger has always been my favorite so I pay extra attention to his scenes.
Rabbit voiced by Ken Sansom
Rabbit fell under being smarter than you think category. Now I know that I've made it no secret that I personally don't care for Rabbit but as seen by my episode reviews for The New Adventures, if used correctly he can an all right character and I think that this film used him well. He was okay even if he did get annoying at points and I also noticed through the adventure that Rabbit fell into the role of leader. Now he wasn't appointed leader rather it just seemed to happen. Okay part of it did come from Rabbit's forceful nature but he worked well as the leader and to be honest, he came up with the plan to save Pooh.
Supporting Characters
Eeyore voiced by Peter Cullen
I feel bad saying this about Eeyore especially considering his character but this story could have been told without Eeyore. In some ways it felt as though the people behind this movie had the thought of "Oh, we're making a Pooh movie, we have to include Eeyore". That is just the way it seems and in all honesty, he added nothing to the film as he had no flaw to overcome like Tigger, Rabbit & Piglet did. At best we was just in this film because he is a popular Pooh character. Oh, I know some of you were probably expecting a Transformers reference seeing as Peter Cullen voiced Eeyore. Well, I was never into Transformers and that's why there isn't one.
Owl voiced by Andre Stojka
Owl was barely in this film but he is important in the fact that he is the one that sends our friends on the adventure and I know I already talked about that when I talked about the plot device up top. Now behind Rabbit, Owl is my second least favorite character but that doesn't mean I hate him. He can be annoying with his stories but just as with Rabbit, when used well he can be a good character and that is the case here. I honestly believe that Owl was not needed for the entirety of the film as I think he would've dragged down the adventure. Now I know what I said about thinking Owl was a bit jerkish for not going with the group but that was when I was younger. Thinking about it some more, he wasn't needed.
Music
Forever And Ever
This song is just so sweet and sets up the relationship between Pooh and Christopher Robin very well. Through this song, your reminded that these two are the best of friends and I have to say Jim Cummings is not only great at voices but his singing is pretty good too. I think this is perhaps one of my favorite songs from the film. Fun fact this song was later re-recorded by Carly Simon for Piglet's Big Movie. I believe this is the only time when a song from a direct-to-video film was later reused in a theatrical film. Now I may be wrong and if so, please do let me know.
Adventure Is A Wonderful Thing
I'll admit while this song is a lot of fun, this goes back to part of the reason I found Owl a bit unlikable in this film as he seemingly knows about all these fears and terrors that his friends are about to encounter but decides to stay behind. Now I've read some people say that this scene is a little scary and I can see that but in my opinion it wouldn't be a Pooh film without something like this in the way there was Heffalumps & Woozles or The Backson. I feel that these songs are needed and in some regards I share the belief of Don Bluth that children can handle scary moments so long as the film has a happy ending and really looking at it, I think this film could be consider the "scariest" Pooh film but it does have a happy ending. Really there is only one thing scarier than this starring Pooh
If It Says, So It Is
This is the perfect Rabbit song, it sums up his personality so well and it is just so perfect for him. In many ways, I consider this Rabbit's theme. Because it just sums him up so well in how he relies on the written word first and his mind second. This song is just so much fun and I love the way, it's sung.
Wherever You Are
Aw, this song is just so sweet. I've been using the word a lot during this review but it fits especially regarding this song. I honestly think this is one of the saddest Pooh songs. Not the saddest, I've said what that is in the past but this one is just gut wrenching and again Jim Cummings delivers an excellent performance here. He makes you want to see Pooh succeed and just seeing Pooh have a moment like this is so sad because this is not how people think of Pooh Bear but it adds so much to his character and makes him more rounded.
Everything Is Right
I do like this song but as mentioned previously, I still find it a bit jarring with the end revealing that everything the characters went through wasn't as scary as their minds made it out to be. Does it defeat the purpose of what the characters went through? You see, this is where I have a bit of conflict with myself. On the one hand, I get what they were going for here and I like the idea but at the same time part of me feels that reveals kind of diminishes the adventure. As for the song itself, it's cute. (had to find a different word than sweet).
Wherever You Are (End Title)
Now this practice is something that Disney and other companies are notorious. Taking a song from the film and making a pop version out of it for the end credits. My thoughts on this version, well, it's good but I think it changes the message of the song by making it a duet and instead of having Pooh Bear sing it. To me this version feels like a love ballad perhaps and comes across more or less being about long distance relationships and maybe it's just because I grew up with a Marine father but this version makes me think of my mom during his deployments. For a good comparison to this song, I want to go back to Don Bluth for a second and more specifically, Somewhere Out There from An American Tail. Now I love the film version and that one seems to be about a brother/sister relationship as we see the worrying between Feivel and his sister while the James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt version seems to be again about a different type love. Again neither pop version of these respective songs are bad but just as I prefer the film version of Somewhere Out There, I prefer the film version of Wherever You Are. Partially because it is the one I remember the most and maybe it is a bit petty to say but I think it works better with the film.
Imaginary Threat
I've noticed when it comes to the threats in Winnie The Pooh it comes from the characters letting their minds getting the best of them and in reality that is what this film is all about. Now unlike, Heffalumps, Woozles or even The Backson we never get to see what this creature looks like but we do get to hear the growls and it's fun. Fun fact for ya: famed voice actor Frank Welker was originally going to do the growls but he was replaced by Cummings. I was not able to find why Cummings replaced him however.
My Final Thoughts
This is such a good film. I rarely say this about to direct-to-video films but this should've been released to theaters. It is undoubtedly one of the best Pooh Bear films after The Many Adventures. The adventure aspect is great and getting to see the characters overcome their flaws makes for an entertaining watch and the songs are so much fun with two of the most beautiful Pooh Bear songs, I've ever heard. I just realized but does anyone else find it odd that the entire cast of this film is all of the male characters from The Hundred Acre Wood, then again not counting Kessie as the shows and movies don't share contintuiy, Kanga is the only main female character but I guess that reflects Christopher Robin. Anyways back on topic, if you have not seen this film, track it down. It is superb, I can't say enough good things about this movie. The development that the characters go through is great and I think it has some of the best songs and I'd even go so far as to say that they're just as good as the songs in the new movie. Speaking of which, join me next time when I take a look at...
Winnie The Pooh (2011)
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