178 replies to this topic

[Peter T Chattaway]

Link to our thread on 'Tigger and Piglet voice actors die' (Jun 2005).

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Disney’s going Back to the Future with Winnie the Pooh
Of course, what’s kind of ironic about this top-of-the-line “Winnie the Pooh” hand-drawn animated feature is that it actually started out life as a direct-to-video release. At least that’s what Steve Anderson (i.e. the director of "Meet the Robinsons") and Don Hall (i.e. the head of story on "The Princess and The Frog") thought when they initially pitched this project to John Lasseter.
But Lasseter was aware of the Company’s efforts to reboot / relaunch its Winnie the Pooh franchise. Which is why he quickly put Anderson & Hall’s film on the theatrical release track.
And while John (who was also a huge fan of Disney’s original “Pooh”) insisted that Steve & Don replicate as much as possible the style & tone of the original featurettes, Lasseter also recognized that Anderson and Hall had to make this film their own. So when research showed that the really-for-real Hundred Acre Woods is far greener, darker and denser than they had been previously depicted in the Disney featurettes … Well, Lasseter let Anderson & Hall make the appropriate adjustments to “Winnie the Pooh” ‘s art direction. . . .
Now “Winnie the Pooh” ‘s sound may have been updated, but not its source material. Anderson and Hall are using five stories from A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” and “The House at Pooh Corner” as their inspiration / jumping-off point for this all-new animated feature.
“Which five stories?,” you ask. Well, the folks at WDAS haven’t exactly revealed that information yet. But two of the tales being adapted this time around will be from Milne’s first “Pooh” book, 1926’s “Winnie-the-Pooh.” And they are Chapter IV (In Which Eeyore Loses a Tail and Pooh Finds One) and Chapter VIII (In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition to the North Pole). . . .
Well, the Studio certainly seems confident in “Winnie the Pooh.” Given that – just last month – Disney revealed that it would be changing the release date of this hand-drawn animated feature. No longer will “Pooh” be released in the relatively safe harbor of Spring 2011. No, the Mouse moved “Winnie the Pooh” to July 15, 2011. Which means that this Silly Old Bear is now going head-to-head with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II." . . .
Jim Hill, June 3

[Overstreet]

[Peter T Chattaway]

Disney going old school with new 'Winnie the Pooh' film
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — "Winnie the Pooh" will be back to his old self again next year.
Walt Disney Animation Studios is returning the honey-loving teddy bear and his pals to their hand-drawn animated roots for a feature film dipping into theatres July 15, 2011. The new "Winnie the Pooh," the first big-screen "Pooh" adventure from Disney animators in more than 30 years, will more closely resemble the classic short films from the 1960s and '70s.
"We wanted to create a movie for the big screen that had the charm and wit of those original shorts," said Peter Del Vecho, the film's producer. "What originally endeared all of us — adults and children — to these characters was that they were stuffed animals that came to life in the imagination of a child. We wanted to rekindle that imagination in a big way."
"Winnie the Pooh," loosely based on five stories from A.A. Milne's books, finds Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Eeyore and Christopher Robin searching for a new tail for Eeyore in a watercolour-drenched Hundred Acre Wood. The gang will also hunt for a mysterious creature called a Backson, briefly mentioned in 1928's "The House at Pooh Corner." . . .
Associated Press, November 9

[Persona]

A full trailer played in front of Waiting For Superman yesterday, and it was awful. I want to make a prediction that this will flop big-time based on the trailer alone, but I think people really are stupid enough to make it fly. Watching the trailer seemed like a giant put-down: "Yes, we are willing to bet that not only are you stupid enough to come and see this crap we're making, but we think you're rich enough to buy 3D glasses, too." My kids better hit up grandma and grandpa cuz I'm not doing it.

[Buckeye Jones]

That's too bad--of course you can't really judge based on a trailer (I mean, I went and saw Leviathan based on its trailer over twenty years ago and its still burned--unfortunately--in my memory). So, I have high hopes for a good Winnie-the-Pooh film, and the interest in being close to the spirit of the shorts is encouraging. But, who knows, it can't be as bad as...nevermind.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Persona wrote:
: Watching the trailer seemed like a giant put-down: "Yes, we are willing to bet that not only are you stupid enough to come and see this crap we're making, but we think you're rich enough to buy 3D glasses, too."

Huh? This is an old-fashioned hand-animated film. And you're saying the trailer says they're releasing it in 3D?

[Darren H]

I've been curious about this film, so I was surprised by Stef's comment too. I can't find a trailer for it anywhere online.

[Persona]

Winnie the Pooh, Yogi the Bear, they all look the same to me.

[SDG]

Persona, on 10 November 2010 - 04:46 PM, said:

Winnie the Pooh, Yogi the Bear, they all look the same to me.

[Overstreet]

Stef, you've just kicked me in the childhood.

[Buckeye Jones]

That's hilarious.

[Persona]

What? They're two wimpy bears, I could wrestle either one of 'em.

So should I repost my semi-rant in the other thread? I'm suddenly glad I held back...

[Overstreet]

Persona, on 10 November 2010 - 06:55 PM, said:

What? They're two wimpy bears, I could wrestle either one of 'em.

Yeah, kind of like Totoro and the Teletubbies. They're just two versions of the same thing.

[SDG]

Persona, on 10 November 2010 - 06:55 PM, said:

What? They're two wimpy bears, I could wrestle either one of 'em.

Yes, but if you wrestled Yogi, you would not be a bad person.

Overstreet, on 11 November 2010 - 10:28 AM, said:

Yeah, kind of like Totoro and the Teletubbies. They're just two versions of the same thing.

That is the most disturbing thought that has crossed my mind all day.

[Overstreet]

My nephew wanted to watch The Great Muppet Caper. So I put on Meet the Feebles. Like he'd really know the difference.

[SDG]

Overstreet, on 11 November 2010 - 11:26 AM, said:

My nephew wanted to watch The Great Muppet Caper. So I put on Meet the Feebles. Like he'd really know the difference.

I can't take any more of this. It's like watching a grown man wrestle a wimpy animated bear.

[Persona]

I tried looking up a review by Overstreet. Instead I found some guy named SDG. Couldn't tell the difference.

[Steve Vander Woude]

Trailer:

[Darren H]

It's decided, then. This will be my daughter's first trip to a movie theater.

[Persona]

I can't figure out how to reconcile being a film guy and having to take my kids to all these childish movies. When my kids ask me to take them to a movie, seriously, there are times I want to step on them. I took them to that owl film and fell asleep, didn't even record it in my film journal. They told me how much they loved it, so I took them to Dairy Queen where I'd fill my mouth and not start a family debate. This Winnie The Pooh trailer does indeed look better than Yogi Bear in 3-d, but not by much. I feel sorry for the kids, their films are so awful, but even worse for adults that have to take them. And you multiply that ticket times three or four, depending if mom wants to go, and add popcorn to hold the attention span and a large shareable diet coke. The cost is astronomical. Take that compared to me taking myself to see a documentary at a matinee for $6.50. No pop corn. No large diet coke. It cuts the cost down by 600%. I long for the days when my daughter didn't know any better and watched The Perfect Human and The Story of the Weeping Camel with me. Now, between the two, I just plain feel bad for them, but worse for myself. The only decent thing out there is iCarly. I even like her CD.