Only July 15, Disney brought back another favorite cartoon from our childhoods this past summer. We return to the Hundred Acre Woods with “Winnie the Pooh.” The charming adventures of the silly old bear and his animal friends reintegrates the whimsical simplicity that many newer movies and cartoons more frequently lack.
Unlike many digitally altered animated films of today, “Winnie the Pooh” maintains a cozy nostalgia through its hand-drawn scenes and “silly old bear” feeling. Even though the plot travels no further than Pooh’s search for honey, peppered with minor obstacles along the way, this elementary story line definitely offers a break from the flashy movies that cast extraneous characters and include useless or obnoxious fluff such as an alien invasion or a superhero.
The downside falls from the ignorance of all of the characters. At one point, a misspelling of the phrase “back soon” causes pandemonium in the Hundred Acre Woods, as the animals design traps to capture a monster supposedly named “Backson.”
It was difficult to keep our patience during the unintelligent conversations. We wanted to yell at Pooh for his childish blunders—his misunderstanding of easily interpretable sentences or his incapability to recognize Eeyore’s tail when it was right in front of him.
Another aggravating feature was the lack of realistic sound effects, especially the one emitted by Pooh’s growling belly. It belched so unnaturally, it caught our attention every single time. The songs sung in the movie also failed to uphold the reputation Disney has for its past successful soundtracks. The tunes were neither touching nor witty; instead they sounded more like monotonous banters set to an even duller melody.
“Winnie the Pooh” is short and charming, filled with simple-minded yet lovable characters, unable to surmount the simplest of obstacles due to their own incompetence.
This is not a movie for those looking for a flick to delve deep into. In “Winnie the Pooh,” what you see is what you get. However, for those nostalgics who wish to revisit their childhoods, this movie will not fall short of your expectations.
