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Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: Love & Friendship
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Show Details Directors: Karl Geurs, Terence Harrison Writers: Mark Zaslove, Stephen Sustarsic, Bruce Talkington, Terrie Collins, Bruce Reid Schaeffer, Marley Clark, Jymn Magon Voice Cast: Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh, Tigger), Paul Winchell (Tigger), John Fiedler (Piglet), Ken Sansom (Rabbit), Peter Cullen (Eeyore), Michael Gough (Gopher), Tim Hoskins (Christopher Robin) DVD Details Running Time: 55 Minutes (4 episodes) / Rating: Not Rated (TV-Y equivalent) 1.33:1 Fullscreen (Original Ratio), Dolby Digital Stereo (English, French, Spanish) Subtitles: English; Closed Captioned DVD Release Date: May 23, 2006 Episodes Originally Aired Between 1989 and 1991 Single-sided, single-layered disc (DVD-5); Suggested Retail Price: $14.99 White Keepcase |
That's because this Emmy-winning cartoon has made its way to DVD only as Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh, a series which is only concerned in appeasing viewers under the age of 5 (and, to some degree, their parents). In the UK (the birthplace of A.A. Milne's lovable roly-poly), the line is called The Magical World of Winnie the Pooh (but is otherwise identical) and there have been eight such discs made available. The US launched Growing Up two years later and still has some catching up to do, even with the equivalent series stalled in Region 2. Love & Friendship is the fifth volume to make it to American retailers, though only the fourth you're likely to find on store shelves. (The third volume, All For One, One For All, was available only as part of a Pooh 2-pack at Target stores briefly last fall.)
Does that title Love & Friendship mean anything? Not especially. There's as much friendship present as there is in any Pooh story and "love" is merely an overdramatic way to characterize the same element. There are two newly-created "stick puppet" shows, running a minute to ninety seconds each, some brief 5-second transitions, plus opening and closing Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh theme sequences. Beyond that, though, the feature presentation is entirely comprised of four episodes of "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", which were made and first aired in the late 1980s.
The lineup here does not feature the typically winning show at its very best. Each of the first three episodes throws a character into a dilemma: Piglet, Rabbit, and Tigger, over something which occurs that triggers a reaction par for that character. The fourth is slightly more sophisticated, and involves a primarily two-party battle of wits. Naturally, misunderstandings abound, as do funny lines and mannerisms that are more likely to be appreciated by older viewers than the young'uns this low-priced disc is supposed to babysit.
Here's a look at the four episodes presented here:
"A Very, Very Large Animal" (1989?) (10:37)
Rabbit, Tigger, and Pooh try to cheer up Piglet -- who is bummed over his diminutive size -- by convincing him he's huge. When that backfires, Piglet takes off.
"No Rabbit's a Fortress" (1989) (15:55)
It's Rabbit's turn to throw a fit. Irritated by intruders to his garden and the damage they do, Rabbit builds a fortress and locks himself in, while Gopher, Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger try to blow him out.
"Stripes" (1988) (10:35)
No, it's not the Hundred Acre Wood gang's take on the Bill Murray military comedy of the same name. Instead, a bath makes Tigger lose all his stripes. In response, (since there's obviously no such thing as a stripeless Tigger), the bouncy one tries to adapt to life as something he might be: a rabbit, a bear, and so on.
"Tigger's Shoes" (1989) (10:38)
In an effort to relocate Tigger's bouncing, Rabbit invents The Awesome Bunny of Upsidaisia, a relative he claims is the world's greatest bouncer. Throw in some constricting "special" shoes, and Tigger can't help but keep trying to get up Castle Ridge in one single bound.
As usual, the show's wonderful original opening title sequence has been dropped altogether One oddity exists in the runtime department. Most "New Adventures" episodes were aired to share a half-hour timeslot with another. That is the case for three of the episodes on this disc, which run just over 10½ minutes sans credits and commercials. "No Rabbit's a Fortress" runs an unusual 16 minutes, however, which is quite a bit short of what's necessary to sustain a half-hour episode, but about one and a half times the other episodes meant to fill a quarter-hour block.
As for the new additions, while the transitions are swift and unobjectionable (though plainly unneeded), the two stick puppet shows are less forgivable. These, which utilize a flat paper cut-out visual style (as does everything else created for the series), talk down to viewers in a way that the show and preceding Pooh featurettes never did. The first one (1:23) finds Tigger and Eeyore trying each other's favorite activities, at Pooh's encouragement. It ends with a message about everyone being special in their own way. The second (1:02) discusses a gift Christopher Robin gives to Piglet, Tigger, and Pooh.
While these little vignettes are clearly there to support the educational values boasted on the package, I honestly think there's more good to be had in four iterations of the theme song. After all, what is a kid more likely to appreciate: an umpteenth imparting of generic mores or a catchy theme song set to an exciting montage? And what is a parent more likely to treasure: their kids quoting life lessons (not from them, but) from a DVD short or hearing/preserving their young one sing the theme song in that adorable youngster way? To me, at least, the answer to each is obvious.
And, of course, that assumes that only preschoolers and the occasional parent are interested in watching this program 15-20 years after it first aired. Such an assertion is unreasonable. No matter how much Disney does to put Pooh and company in the same class as Dora the Explorer, Little Einsteins, and Thomas the Tank Engine, it won't change the fact that "New Adventures" is a fine product of the same era that gave us shows like "DuckTales", "TaleSpin", and "Darkwing Duck", programs which continue to entertain audiences of a wide range of ages to this day.
VIDEO and AUDIO
Picture quality in this 1.33:1 fullscreen presentation leaves a great deal to be desired. There are a fair amount of print flaws present. Vertical lines show up and mar the screen from time to time, but not as often as tiny blemishes that last less but distract more. Colors are overly bright and bleed; at times, they're downright unsightly. If you look at screencaps of single frames like those which spice up this review, things won't seem so bad. In full motion video, though, the issues are numerous and disappointing. In short, the video here pales even next to the fairly thrifty treatment given to other Disney 'toons from this era like "Rescue Rangers" and "DuckTales."
As far as the two-channel Dolby Stereo soundtrack is concerned, there aren't the abundant issues staring you right in the face asking to be pointed out. Still, the simple mix is definitely not fantastic. There's mild distortion which isn't really troubling, but the elements do sound fairly anemic. As an aural presentation, this is probably more faithful to the show's original state and therefore, doesn't merit the types of complaints the video does for falling short of expectations.
BONUS FEATURES, MENUS and PACKAGING
As usual, there are no monumental extras to be found. A sing along song for "Up, Down, Touch the Ground" (1:32) provides a brief and worn-looking excerpt from Winnie the Pooh and The Honey Tree of Pooh's simple exercise-to-build-appetite mantra melody. The only other bonus is the Hundred Acre Wood Heart Game, a set-top activity which involves counting paper hearts based on their color/the regular Pooh character they feature. Like any Disney DVD that young children might take in interest in, this one is "enhanced" with FastPlay, enabling the disc to be played without so much as the push of a remote control button. This passive playback method ensures that you view all the promotions found on the two-page Sneak Peeks menu. Pre-feature promos tout The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition, Disney Princess Fairy Tales: Volume 1 (since renamed Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: A Kingdom of Kindness and delayed a year), the summer 2006 wave of Winnie the Pooh Disney Learning Adventures, and Little Einsteins: Mission Celebration! Post-feature previews look at Cars (the theatrical release), Brother Bear 2, the 2006 reissue of Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure, and Playhouse Disney's "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse."
Promotions don't stop at video. Inside the case is a reservation form for one of Disney's recently-launched parent-aimed publications plus a double-sided insert that lists the disc's modest contents and again promotes last summer's Learning Adventures discs. The Main Menu matches others in the series, with a slow pan through a distinctly two-dimensional (and not accurate) representation of the Hundred Acre Woods. With magenta flowers, falling green leaves, and a hearty supply of near-neon butterflies and bumblebees, this is hardly different from the other volumes.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
"The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" is the type of the show that deserves to be recommended, but its DVD treatment continues to disappoint. Compilations in this Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh series serve up random, butchered episodes with lacking transfers and disposable misdirected bonuses, all at a per-episode cost which dwarves longer episodes of shows given more fulfilling box sets.
Love & Friendship does not differ considerably from the volumes which came before it. In fact, its episode selection is a slight bit weaker, which makes it easier to turn down. Yet again, that is your only option aside from settling for less than ideal presentations of a generally great series.
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