#10 – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Best Character: Tigger
Worst Character: Gopher
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the hardest film for me to rank in the entire canon. It’s absolutely laced in nostalgia and I fear I may have placed it too high because of it. Then I think hell no, Winnie the Pooh is incredible. I’ve made a huge mistake placing it this low. If I were to take the entire Winnie the Pooh universe and rank it as one entity, it would certainly rank in the top three. But I’m not. I’m ranking this one film only. And what this film happens to be is a sequence of three short stories compiled together as one film. In fact, each of the shorts had already been released at one time or another before this film was released. In other words, most people had likely already seen them individually! Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree was released in 1966, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day was released in 1968, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too was released in 1974. While all fantastic shorts in their own rights, it’s very difficult to rank them together as a comprehensive film.
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree tells a simple story about Winnie the Pooh and his various attempts to find enough honey to satisfy his hunger. Filled with charming songs and segments, this short is undoubtedly a Disney classic. Although Tigger and Piglet don’t make an appearance in this short, the other characters do a splendid job of carrying the segment nonetheless. Pooh is at the top of his game, and I love his interactions with Rabbit, especially when he’s trapped in his front door. Rabbit for some reason is obsessed with being in the same room as Pooh’s bum, so he needlessly decorates Pooh’s rear end in order to make it feel homier. Hilarious. Eventually the residents of the hundred acre wood manage to free Pooh from Rabbit’s door and he is subsequently sent flying into a tree. Thankfully for Pooh the tree is filled with honey and he snacks away to his heart’s content.
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is the best short of the three, as it gives us the excellent introduction to Tigger, “Heffalumps and Woozles,” and the underrated gem “The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down.” The story is simple yet again, but charming and fun nonetheless. A blustery day eventually culminates in Owl’s house toppling to the ground, placing all of the residents of the hundred acre woods on edge. The blustery day eventually turns into a terrible storm, and Pooh becomes very frightened during the night. This is where Tigger makes his excellent introduction and we see Pooh fall asleep on guard duty. In his dream we see “Heffalumps and Woozles,” a strange song focusing on foreign and monstrous creatures that steal honey – Pooh’s worst nightmare. The morning awakens Pooh from his slumber and we find the hundred acre wood has been flooded! While all of the other characters attempt to get to safety, Piglet is whisked out of his house to the catchy tune of “The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down.” Eventually the characters all come together at Christopher Robin’s where a hero party is thrown for Pooh in honor of him saving Piglet. My only problem with this segment is the ending. Eeyore mentions that he found a house for Owl to live in only for the rest of the characters to exclaim that the house in fact belongs to Piglet. By all rights Piglet should not give up this house. He’s so timid though he quickly succumbs to Owl’s bullying and gives him his house. C’mon, Piglet. Stand up for yourself. The ending aside this short is amazing; the humor is fantastic and it features the best collection of songs in a Winnie the Pooh short.