Let's Watch This: "The Tigger Movie" (2000)

Hey, everybody, guess what? This is my fiftieth review on this blog! I don't think it's the fiftieth review I've ever written (I write these reviews months in advance), but it's the fiftieth review POSTED on here! That's exciting, right?

Well, I suppose it'd be more exciting if it weren't for the fact that I post reviews on this blog pretty frequently (I used to post something on this blog every week, then I changed it to every other week), so it didn't take long for me to reach fifty reviews. But still, fifty reviews. I knew this would have to be a big review. A review of something either really good or really bad (as opposed to a review of something that's just okay or a review of something that's bad but far from the worst thing I've ever seen). After thinking about it for a few days, I decided that my fiftieth review should be another opportunity to take a trip into the Hundred Acre Wood.

I previously wrote a review of DisneyToon Studios' first Winnie the Pooh production, 1997's Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin. Their next film starring that silly ol' bear of very little brain, the one that we'll be looking at today, actually got a theatrical release.

The Tigger Movie was released on Febuary 11th, 2000. It was directed by Jun Falkenstein (also the director of 1999's Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas). Despite not being the biggest success at the box office (in total, it made $96,159,800), it is today one of the most beloved of DisneyToon Studios' Pooh films and was even nominated for a few Annie Awards. The Sherman Brothers also came in to write new songs for the film. It's always been a personal favorite of MINE, to. So, why are we still talking about it? Let's get started!

But first, I suppose I should bring up the Elephant in the Room.

No, not you, Lumpy. I'll probably get to your film at some point, though.

Anyhow, back when the film first entered production (back then, it was called Winnie the Pooh and the Family Tree), the original plan was to have Paul Winchell, Tigger's original voice actor, reprise his role. He participated in a 1998 recording session for the film, but Disney kicked him off the project because they felt he sounded too old and "raspy". This is not the first time they'd done something like this, as they previously did the same thing to Phil Harris when he was supposed to reprise his role as Baloo for TaleSpin. The fact that they treated Paul like this is (obviously) awful, but two good things did come out of it. First off, they gave the role of Tigger to Jim Cummings, who'd previously filled in for Paul as Tigger in multiple different projects. And Jim does a great Tigger (and please don't blame him for what happened, he had nothing to do with it aside from just being the guy chosen to replace Paul). Second, when the Disney Imagineers found out how Disney treated Paul, they felt so sorry for him that they invited him to come in and do the voice of Tigger one more time for the then-under construction Winnie the Pooh attraction at Walt Disney World. And I personally think that Paul's Tigger sounds just fine on the ride.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's start the film. Like most Winnie the Pooh films, the movie begins with a live action segment showing us the bedroom of Christopher Robin, with stuffed animals that look like his friends scattered around the room. I recall them reusing this exact footage for one or two other Pooh films. The narrator (John Hurt) does the usual "This could be the room of any young boy, but it belongs to Christopher Robin. He has many animal friends, and they all have adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood" spiel. As we see a Winnie the Pooh doll (now available at your local Disney Store!) sitting next to a book with its name on it, the narrator brings up Pooh Bear and the book suddenly opens on its own. Because apparently Christopher Robin's bedroom is haunted.

Then Tigger, voiced as I've said before by Jim Cummings, appears to complain. "It seems to me that most of these stories are about that silly ol' bear!" he points out. Why not a story about HIM for a change? So what if the title of the book is "Winnie the Pooh"? He can fix that - which he promptly does.

I'm with Tigger - that IS a wonderful title.

After that, Tigger bounces inside the book and the movie gets started. It's a beautiful Autumn morning, and Tigger is out and about, bouncing through the woods and singing "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers".

Tigger says at least three times during this song that he's "the only one".
Remember that - it's very important.

Tigger's bouncing leads him right to the house of Pooh, of course ALSO voiced by Jim Cummings. Tigger invites Pooh to do some bouncing with him, but Pooh politely says that he can't because he needs to count all of his honey pots and make sure he has enough for the winter - and with an appetite like Pooh's, who knows how many he considers enough for the winter. We get some shenanigans involving Tigger getting his foot stuck in a honey pot, and then he heads off.

I honestly don't have a funny caption here, but I figured I needed to have
a screencap of Pooh's first appearance in the movie.

Next, Tigger visits Piglet (John Fiedler) and asks if HE'D like to do some bouncing. Alas, Piglet's busy making preparations for the winter as well - making sure he's got enough firewood. Tigger tries to help by tossing a wooden chair into Piglet's fireplace, but that doesn't satisfy Piglet, so he leaves. His next stop is Kanga (Kath Soucie) and Roo (Nikita Hopkins)'s house to ask Kanga if SHE'D like to do some bouncing, but she's too busy as well.

Sitting atop a large rock, Tigger wonders why nobody wants to play. Then he realizes that there's plenty of OTHER characters he hasn't asked yet, and bounces off... and in the process, he accidentally launches the rock off of the cliff that it was perched on. It lands on Eeyore (Peter Cullen)'s house. Fortunately, Eeyore isn't harmed.

Somebody tell Piglet that the Hundred Acre Wood just received a bumper
crop of firewood.

Eventually Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit (Ken Sansom), Kanga, and Roo come by to see what they can do to help. Rabbit has a plan to get rid of that rock and restore Eeyore's house. It involves building this:

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Rabbit's Rock Remover. I have no idea how it's supposed to work, and I don't think any of the characters do either.

Eventually Tigger shows up. Predictably, Rabbit is in a mood and tells him that they can't go bouncing with him because they need to get rid of the rock. Tigger, of course, believes that the solution to "movin' that old thing" is through - what else? - bouncing.

Long story short, Tigger's bouncing winds up getting the rock moving - and thanks to Rabbit's Rock Remover, it winds up getting Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, and Eeyore dragged along for the ride. Roo winds up in a tree, Eeyore winds up in a briar patch, and everyone else winds up in the mud. 

What the heck was a fish doing in a pool of mud? Don't fish prefer
cleaner water?

Rabbit is enraged and starts screaming at Tigger for wrecking his "Rock Remover", even though chances are it wouldn't have worked anyway. "Everything's ruined! And all you can think about is BOUNCING?!" he shouts.

"But that's what Tiggers do best..." Tigger says. "Exactly. Unlike US," Eeyore replies. Kanga, Piglet, and Pooh point out that even if they weren't so busy, they couldn't bounce with Tigger because they're not Tiggers. Didn't stop them at the end of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, but whatever. Tigger glumly walks off and sings another song, "Someone Like Me", about how much it actually stinks being the only Tigger in the world.

Just look at these gorgeous backgrounds.

Roo catches up with Tigger and tries to cheer him up. "Aren't there other Tiggers? I've got a mama. Don't you have a family somewhere, too?" he suggests. This plants an idea in Tigger's head - he MUST have a family! He immediately makes it his mission to find them.

So he and Roo head over to Owl (Andre Stojka)'s house, where Owl of course begins yammering about his relatives while showing off some portraits of them.

I want more information about Owl's relatives. What's the story with
the owl dressed like Elvis?

We get some WHACKY SHENANIGANS involving Tigger accidentally knocking the portraits off the wall, and when he puts them back up he arranges them all so that it looks like Owl's got a tree full of his relatives on the wall. This, along with Owl bringing up one's "family tree", gives Tigger another idea...

I'm glad that my relatives don't all look exactly like me.

"Why didn't I think of thinkin' of that?!" Tigger exclaims. "So long, Beak Lips! Thanks for the tip!" He and Roo head out to find Tigger's "family tree", Owl is confused, and I will now be calling Owl "Beak Lips" throughout the rest of this review.

And so begins Tigger's grand search for his "family tree". When Roo asks how he'll know which tree it is when he spots it, Tigger says that it'll definitely be the biggest tree in the forest - and it'll be all stripedy, just like a Tigger. The only question is, where could his family tree be?

Then we cut to Rabbit attempting to rebuild Eeyore's house. And failing at it.

An architect you are not, Rabbit.

Tigger and Roo show up, and when Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore hear that they're looking for Tigger's family, they decide to help out by searching for them as well. If nothing else, it beats watching Rabbit try and fail to fix Eeyore's house. I wouldn't expect Rabbit to get his own house-renovating show on HGTV anytime soon.

They ask Rabbit if he's going to help them, to which he snaps, "To go look for MORE Tiggers?! As if ONE wasn't bad enough!" Besides, he has too many winter preparations to make.

Out of context, this screencap looks like Rabbit went insane and is arguing
with a bunch of sticks, and Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore are understandably
quite concerned.

I mean, it'd hardly be the first time Rabbit went crazy.

Once Tigger and Roo arrive back at Tigger's house, Tigger digs through a barrel in the hopes of finding some sort of clue as to their whereabouts. I would like to point out here that Tigger has a lot of crap he probably doesn't need (an apple core? A dog collar?). Eventually, he brings up some sort of bounce called the "Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper-Bounce", a special kind of bounce that only the bestest bouncers can bounce. Roo asks if Tigger could teach HIM to do it, but Tigger dubs the idea "ridickerous" - it's a very powerful bounce, only for "professional bouncers". But he's still going to sing a song about it!

Now, half of the Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper-Bounce
is ninety-percent mental. If you calculate the specific, Tiggerjectory of year,
Stripcelleration Diviferous, by the Square Boot of your Rebounce, your Vertical
Situituation Indicator and your Striperconic Sprigertia should Rica-Tic-a-Chet
your Hydraulific Fu-Silly-Age into an Accelerometric De-Orbit!

Any questions?

After demonstrating the bounce, Tigger begins filling Roo in on the safety rules and regulations - always bounce in a well-lit area, never bounce near an open flame, don't bounce right after eating, etc. But Roo's not paying attention and decides to try the bounce for himself... and winds up flying into a closet, where he finds a locket. Tigger comes to the conclusion that the locket has a picture of his family inside and tries to get it open.

Okay, where the heck did Tigger get a SWORD? Did he recently go
to a Medieval Times restaurant and buy a souvenir?

But the locket turns out to be empty. Tigger is bummed, but Roo has another idea - writing the other Tiggers a letter.

By the way, does anybody know what the heck this thing is?

What is that? It has spots... is it a leopard costume? Why does Tigger own a leopard costume? Is it a Halloween costume he never bothered to throw out?

Meanwhile, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore are out searching for Tigger's family. They come across some frogs and assume they're Tiggers, since they have stripes and hop. I would love to know what's going through these frogs' minds as Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore try to coax them into coming with them to Tigger's house. They're probably thinking, "What the heck's a Tigger? I'm a frog. I sit on a lily pad, eat flies, and get mistaken for a toad every day. Let me be!"

Say, how come the frogs can't talk in a movie where bears, tigers, rabbits,
owls, pigs, donkeys, and kangaroos can?

Eventually, Pooh and Piglet decide that these aren't the right sorts of Tiggers after all. Eeyore, meanwhile, sinks into the mud.

Tigger is hard at work on his letter - "Dear T-I-Double-Guh-Errs - Tiggers - Greetin's and salutations. Please drop by any old time. On accounta my house is your house and vicey-versey. Love, Tigger!" he writes.

"Dear Michael Eisner, the Winnie the Pooh ride you built at Disneyland stinks.
Disney World's version is good, but Disneyland's is garbage."

Once the letter is finished, Tigger lets it blow away in the wind. Now there's nothing left to do but wait for them to write back.

Back to Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore. Pooh spots a tree where bees live and decides that he can go for a small smackarel. I like the visual of Pooh's paw reaching into the tree accompanied by his humming. But in order to get to the honey, Pooh needs to soothe the bees, which he accomplishes with another song, "Pooh's Lullabee". As Pooh eats, Piglet points out to Eeyore that he's been up in that tree for quite some time now. "Most likely he's stuck. Been known to happen," Eeyore says, referencing the events of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. So Piglet climbs up to see if Pooh's okay... and accidentally knocks him into the hole in the tree where the bees are sleeping, waking them up. D'oh.

"NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES!"

As Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore are running from the bees, Tigger and Roo are still waiting on a letter from the other Tiggers. Once night falls, Tigger assumes the lack of response means there are indeed no other Tiggers. Could just be that the wind wasn't even blowing in the direction where other Tiggers live, but Tigger doesn't think of that. "I might as well face it. There AREN'T any other Tiggers," he moans.

Back at his house, Roo tells Kanga about how lonely Tigger is. "I wish I had a big brother like Tigger," he admits. Kanga reassures him that Tigger IS part of their family - and as long as they care for him, he always will be. Still, Roo wishes he could do something to make him feel better.

We then cut to Roo, Kanga, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore gathered at Beak Lips' house. Beak Lips fills us in as to what's going on - Roo thinks it would cheer Tigger up if they all wrote him a letter.

I love the pose on Owl... uh, I mean Beak Lips... here.

The letter will be from Tigger's family to him. "Dear Tigger," Beak Lips writes, "Just a note to say... what shall it say?" Everybody starts suggesting things. Kanga suggests "Dress warmly." Pooh suggests "Eat well." Piglet suggests "Stay safe and sound." Eeyore suggests "Keep smiling." Roo suggests "We're always there for you." "Wishing you all the best... signed, your family," Beak Lips adds.

The next morning, everyone (except Rabbit, apparently... and Gopher, but he's not even in this movie, so yeah) is woken up by Tigger, who's in a much better mood. He's got a letter from his family. He's so excited by it that he's going to sing about his family, giving the animators an excuse to go crazy and give us some surreal visuals.

Let's see... we've got parodies of famous paintings...

They did a scarily good job of imitating the original paintings' art styles...

Tiggers that look like the Country Bears...

I love it when Disney references their theme park rides in their movies.

Brady Bunch Tiggers...

It's really weird seeing female Tiggers. It's like seeing Tigger in drag.

Space alien Tiggers...

Uhhhhhhhhh... Houston, we have a problem?

Jerry Springer Tiggers...

So, we're supposed to assume that this stuff is all going on in Tigger's mind, right?
If so, how does Tigger know about Jerry Springer? Does he even have a TV?

Dinosaur Tiggers...

Even the mighty Tiggersaurus Rex had teeny tiny arms.

And is it just me, or is Tigger rocking the tux here?

Seriously, he looks really dang good in that tux.

But what REALLY makes Tigger excited is that he has somehow come to the conclusion his family is coming to see him tomorrow. Sure, it doesn't actually SAY THAT in the note, but with Tiggers you've gotta read between the lines.

Later, Roo pays Tigger a visit, finding him hard at work adding a family room to his house, so his family will have somewhere to live after the party he's throwing. He's so excited that Roo can't get a word in edgewise, and he really can't bring himself to tell Tigger the truth about the letter anyway. So he asks Pooh to do it. Alas, Pooh doesn't get the chance to do it either. Nor does anybody else - Tigger's too excited, and they don't have the heart to tell him the truth.

Then Roo gets another idea. They'll disguise themselves as Tiggers and show up at his house so Tigger won't be disappointed.

Eeyore becomes a zebra.

This leads to another song, "How to Be a Tigger". In the middle of the song, Rabbit shows up and chews them out for goofing around instead of preparing for the long, cold, snowy winter. This briefly bums everyone out, but Roo gives them a pep talk and they're all on board with the plan again. Sooooooooo... minor detour gotten by, I guess.

The snow's a-comin' down, and Tigger's starting to get worried. He decides to go out and find his family, only to open the door and see this:

It's Tigger's family... who just so happen to have the exact same proportions
as Tigger's friends!

Yes, Tigger actually buys it. He doesn't even recognize their voices. Though to be fair, I'd seen far worse disguises.

So the party begins (and I, for one, would love to attend a party thrown by Tigger), with Tigger not suspecting a thing. Everything's going great... until Roo decides to do the Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper-Bounce. He winds up flying into the closet again, and in the process, his mask comes off - resulting in Tigger realizing that the little Tigger who suggested doing the bounce was in fact Roo the whole time. He puts two and two together and starts unmasking the other Tiggers, discovering that they're actually his friends. "We only wanted to help, Tigger," Pooh protests.

Well, now, HERE'S a rare sight indeed... an angry Tigger.

Tigger is understandably, and uncharacteristically, quite hurt. "Now I understand. It was all a big joke," he says. "Well," he adds, grabbing the locket and the letter, "That's alright. Because somewhere out there, there's a Tigger family tree, full of my REAL Tigger family. I've got a letter to prove it. And I'm gonna find 'em!" He storms out of the house, leaving his friends just standing there ashamed.

Once everyone heads home, Roo goes to Pooh's house and begs him to help him find Tigger. "What we need is an expotition!" Pooh says. "To the place where Tigger is... or was... or will be. I believe Rabbit should lead us." Rabbit needs some convincing from Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore, but he comes around.

Meanwhile, Tigger isn't having much luck finding other Tiggers. Eventually, he finds a tree that just might be his family tree...

I mean, how many other trees have Tigger-esque stripes on them?

He immediately begins searching the tree for other Tiggers, but alas, there aren't any. "Maybe they forgot I was coming..." he says, tearing up. "But... but I thought you were always there for me..."

Fortunately, the others find Tigger. When he hears their calling to him, he assumes that they're other Tiggers... and is promptly disappointed to discover that they're not. Rabbit is all "Come home with us! It's not safe out here!" to which Tigger shouts, "EXACTICKALLY! That's why you should all go home, where it IS safe! But I've gotta wait here, in my family tree, for MY... REAL... FAMILY!"

All of that shouting, of course, causes an avalanche.

Word of advice - if you're in a cartoon, and you're near a mountain,
don't shout. Chances are it'll cause an avalanche. It's just common knowledge.

Tigger gets all of his friends to safety, but gets caught in the avalanche himself. Looks like it's up to Roo to save the day with the Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper-Bounce (and I'm really getting tired of typing all that). Long story short, he and Roo manage to fly to safety. The avalanche stops, everybody's safe, and Roo's a hero. Tigger's still bummed about the whole "lack of other Tiggers" thing, though.

Beak Lips and Kanga catch up with them - and they've brought Christopher Robin with them.

All together now - D'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW...

Pooh fills Christopher Robin in as to what's been going on - they've been looking for Tigger's family. "Tigger's family? You didn't have to go looking for them," Christopher Robin tells Tigger. Beak Lips, Kanga, Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Roo recite the letter as a way to tell Tigger that THEY wrote it. Tigger now realizes that Christopher Robin is right. He DIDN'T need to go looking for his family. His friends are his family. "I should've seen it all along," he admits.

To thank his friends, Tigger gives them all presents. He gives Eeyore that family room he built as a new house. Kanga gets a hat, Christopher Robin gets a toy airplane, Beak Lips gets a yo-yo, Pooh gets (of course) honey, Piglet gets a ton of firewood, Rabbit gets a promise that Tigger will watch where he's bouncing from now on, and Roo? Well, he gets the locket. "Only the best... for my bestest little brother," Tigger tells him. Everybody takes a photo to put in the locket, and we end with a Kenny Loggins song. The end.

I guess Gopher doesn't qualify as a member of Tigger's family?

So, that's The Tigger Movie. And there's a reason why it's possibly the most popular of DisneyToon Studios' Winnie the Pooh productions. It's a touching film, with wonderful animation, a nice moral, and great songs. And quite possibly Jim Cummings' greatest performance as Tigger. I'm not sure which film I like more, this or Pooh's Grand Adventure. They're both great movies. I highly recommend that you give The Tigger Movie a watch. It's impossible not to smile at least once while you're watching it.

We've got more Winnie the Pooh films to look at. But, my next review shall be about another animal with stripes. I won't give it away, though...

Let's Watch This: "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin" (1997)

I don't know why I haven't brought this up until now: I love Winnie the Pooh. He's my favorite Disney character. I've loved the character since I was a baby. And people all around the world love Winnie the Pooh, too. During the 1990s and 2000s, the bear was one of the biggest cash cows Disney had. You could find lots of merchandise...

Multiple TV shows...

Theme park attractions...

And, of course, movies. DisneyToon Studios was churning out movie after movie featuring Pooh Bear. Some were released in theaters, others direct-to-video.

I plan on doing reviews of many of these movies, but I thought a good place to start would be one of the first Winnie the Pooh movies released since The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh back in 1977. That movie is Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin (or, as it's also been called, Winnie the Pooh's Most Grand Adventure).

This film was released on August 5th, 1997. Amazingly, it got a lot of negative reviews, with people calling it "treacly" and "tedious". However, there were some positive reviews, and nowadays the film is looked at fondly by those online. But, in my opinion, you can never have enough positive reviews of Winnie the Pooh productions, so let's give the movie a watch.

Our movie begins once upon the last day of a golden summer. The narrator (David Warner) tells us that this story is about a boy and a bear. The bear, of course, is Winnie the Pooh, voiced by Jim Cummings. The boy, of course, is Christopher Robin (voiced by Brady Bluhum). Together, the two have had many marvelous adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood. But their most grand adventure, the narrator says, is still to begin.

Yes, crossing over a river is a most grand adventure indeed.

"Today," Pooh says as he walks through the wood, "I believe, is a good day for being Pooh. And here," he adds as he approaches a tree, "I should say, is a good place for being Pooh."

Christopher Robin arrives, and Pooh tells him that he's just in time for the best part of the day - "the part where you and me becomes we." Christopher Robin says that there's something he has to tell Pooh. Pooh asks if it's a nice thing. Christopher Robin replies that no, it isn't. "Then it can wait," Pooh insists. "It can? For how long?" Christopher Robin asks. "For ever and ever," Pooh replies.

Thus begins the first song, "Forever and Ever". It's a very sweet song, which just a touch of wistfulness. There's not much to say about it, but at one point Pooh and Christopher Robin get chased by bees, only to escape on a convenient nearby raft.

Good thing that raft just so happened to be nearby.

And so, for the rest of the day, Pooh and Christopher Robin have a good time. But by the time the sun is setting, Christopher Robin has forgotten what it is that he needs to tell Pooh.

As they approach the tree where they met at the beginning of the movie, Christopher Robin mentions that they haven't done "nothing" yet. Pooh asks, "What exactly IS doing nothing?" Pooh, you've already been over this at the end of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, you need Christopher Robin to remind you? Anyhow, Christopher Robin explains that it means "going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

I'm getting a Calvin and Hobbes vibe from this scene.

Christopher Robin apparently remembered what it was that he needs to tell Pooh, and he tries to explain it in a way that doesn't involve straight-up saying it because if he DID straight-up say it, we wouldn't have a plot. Pooh admits that if there ever came a day when Christopher Robin wasn't around, he'd probably have some problems. What would he do if he weren't brave enough, or strong enough? Christopher Robin tells him to remember this - "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Dang, I can't even make jokes about this scene. I just can't do it. It's just such a sweet, beautiful scene, and Jim Cummings and Brady Bluhum give such wonderful performances, and Pooh, how can I possibly make a joke about Pooh? This isn't going to be a very funny review, is it?

"But the most important thing is," Christopher Robin adds as Pooh falls asleep, "Even if we're apart, I'll always be with you..."

The next morning, Pooh wakes up to discover that it's the first day of autumn. Pooh loves autumn. I guess that's one place where we don't agree, I'm not too fond of autumn. It's better than winter, though, I'll give it that. Pooh is so excited that he jumps out the door, into a pile of leaves... and finds a honey pot.

It's got a bow-tie, too, for some reason.

What Pooh doesn't know as he opens up the pot and prepares to eat the honey inside is that there's a note attached to it. And when he opens the pot, some honey spills out and gets all over the note. But then it occurs to Pooh that the honey pot could belong to somebody else, but he's not one-hundred percent sure. Thus, he decides to find Christopher Robin. But when he arrives at the tree, he discovers that Christopher Robin isn't there.

"Christopher Robin? Are you here? Are you there? Are you...
anywhere?"

Pooh goes to Piglet (John Fiedler)'s house to tell him about Christopher Robin's not being around, only to find Piglet climbing to the very top of the tree where his house is located. He's doing just what Christopher Robin said he should do - he's trying to conquer his fear of heights. However, there's a pretty good chance that it could conquer him first.

Look on the bright side, Piglet. You're a stuffed animal, so if
you fall, it's not like you'll break any bones.

Then Tigger, voiced by Paul Winchell, arrives and tries to calm Piglet's nerves. "There's no difference between plungin' ten thousand feet to the jagged rocks below and tumblin' out of bed," he says. "Except for the splat at the end, they're prack-tic-kally similar." This does not make Piglet feel any less afraid, so Tigger decides to bounce up there and get Piglet down. Problem is, Tigger's tail doesn't feel like cooperating today and with each bounce he's not able to reach Piglet.

Tigger does not approve of this situation.

Eventually the branch that Piglet's on breaks, and he winds up falling right on top of Tigger. Then it starts raining acorns.

How many acorns were IN that tree?

Meanwhile, Rabbit (Ken Sansom) is having difficulty with a carrot that he's trying to pull out of his garden. "It doesn't matter if YOU think you're not ripe!" he tells it, not realizing that carrots aren't sentient and thus he's wasting his time yelling at it. "This is RABBIT'S GARDEN! And Rabbit does his harvesting BY THE BOOK!" Which book? Why, The Bunny's Farm Companion, of course!

The triumphant music they added here is a nice touch.

According to the book, the first day of autumn is Harvest Day, but before Rabbit can realize that he's yelling at a carrot and wonder why he's screaming at an inanimate object, he gets caught in the acorn avalanche that's carrying Pooh, Piglet and Tigger towards Eeyore (Peter Cullen)'s house, which it promptly knocks down.

Eeyore, word of advice... get some cement or something
that'll make those sticks less prompt to falling over. Trust me.

Pooh asks Rabbit if he knows where Christopher Robin is, but Rabbit has no idea where he is or who the honey pot that Pooh found belongs to. Tigger initially says that it's his, but then remembers that he hates honey. "It isn't mine," Eeyore pipes up. "Then again, few things are." "If only I could find Christopher Robin," Pooh sighs, "He could tell me who it is." Rabbit suggests simply reading the note that the pot came with. But Pooh can't read, so he has some difficulty with that.

"Bother. I can't read this note. It's written in cursive."

Pooh asks Rabbit if HE can read the note. And after making this face...

A screencap that sums Rabbit's entire personality up in a
nutshell.

Rabbit claims that he could read the note with his eyes closed. He tries to read it... and spends the next few seconds yammering in gibberish. His friends are all extremely confused, and he decides to blame his not being able to read it on Tigger for bouncing him before.

Cut to Owl (Andre Stojka)'s house. Owl is able to read the note... sort of. "Dear Pooh,  it begins," he says, "Worry about me. I am going far away. Help." And the note has Christopher Robin's signature. The others are horrified, especially Pooh. "Christopher Robin?" he says, looking out the window at that tree from before. "My very best, best friend? It simply can not be... whatever will I do?" Piglet comforts him by saying that until Christopher Robin returns, he could always fill the role of being Pooh's bestest best friend. Tigger adds that if Piglet ever gets tired of being Pooh's bestest best friend, he and Eeyore could take over. "Oh, thank you," Pooh says as he gives them a hug, "But you already are the best of my best friends. You see, you and I can do anything. But only Christopher Robin and I can do nothing..."

I don't know why, but I love Tigger's expression here.

But wait! Owl has found the part of the note where Christopher Robin says where he went. And he's horrified, for the place that Christopher Robin went is somewhere bad. How bad? "On a scale of one to ten," he proclaims, closing the curtains, "It's not good." Christopher Robin has gone to S-C-H-O-O-L... a place known as SKULL! And as somebody who's had to go there day after day for years, I can confirm that S-C-H-O-O-L is somewhere bad.

"Skull? What sort of place is that?" Pooh asks. "Well, from the very sound of it, one can tell it's a most forbidden and far-away place," Owl replies. "Then we must help Christopher Robin!" Pooh exclaims. "Help him get back! To here! And us! And me." "Then it's a quest, is it?!" Owl says happily as he rushes off to make them a map, "Ha ha, that's the spirit! Ooh, the nobility of it! A long and dangerous journey into the great unknown! Of course, you'll need a map."

Piglet doesn't like the sound of a journey that's d-d-d-dangerous. Especially when Owl brings up the chances of running into Heffalumps, Woozles, Jagulars, and the fabled Skullosaurus. What's a Skullosaurus? He doesn't say.

Andre Stojka is clearly having fun doing this scene.

But as he tells his nervous friends, without a monster or two it's barely a quest, merely a gaggle of friends wandering about. "Oh-ho-ho-ho, how I envy you! Not everyone has a chance to face the unspeakable terrors of the great unknown!" he says just before launching into the next song, "Adventure is a Wonderful Thing". God, I love this song. I love the surreal visuals, I love Andre Stojka's bombastic performance, I love how into it Owl is... words don't do it justice. So here are some screencaps...

So after Owl's epic musical number, our heroes cross over into the part of the woods that Owl calls "the Great Unknown". "It was the start of their quest to find Christopher Robin," the Narrator says. "They would find him, Owl said, if they made it through the woods. For the woods, Owl said, were filled with Heffalumps and Woozles and... who know how much worse?" After making it through the woods, Pooh points out this large rock.

If you're here, you're where monsters are.

According to the map, this is the "Upside-Down Rock", and it's a popular place for monsters. As if on cue, they hear a growling noise that they think is coming from the woods they just went through. "What was that?" Piglet asks with a nervous smile. "Sounded too hungry for a Heffalump..." Tigger says. "Too plump for a Jagular... I'd say it's a big old... buggy-eyed... saber-toothy... Skullosaurus!" Everybody is panicking, and Pooh has no idea what to do. After he, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore run around screaming for a while, Rabbit decides to take charge. He decides that the best way to get the Skullosaurus off their trail is by cutting through a nearby meadow.

And by meadow, I mean a large forest of thorns.

I thought briar patches were where rabbits were "born and
bred".

Rabbit, as you might have guessed, has no idea what he's doing, but he's not going to let his friends know that. "No Skullosaurus would dare follow us in here!" he claims... right before they hear another growl, which prompts Piglet to make a run for it. Eventually, he arrives at a nice, peaceful spot where the sun is shining, birds are singing, butterflies are fluttering about, and there are flowers and rushing waterfalls galore. As his friends catch up with him, Piglet comes across some squeaky noise-making butterflies that take a liking to him and begin to lift him off the ground.

It would seem that the butterflies have gotten carried away.

Get it? Carried away? Because they're... yeah, I know.

Pooh tries to calm Piglet down by trying to remember what Christopher Robin said before, but he's having difficulty. Long story short, the butterflies bug off (no pun intended) and Rabbit winds up having Pooh and Piglet fall on top of him. Piglet is still bummed about how he's not brave, but Pooh gives him a pep-talk.

This way and that way the map leads them to all of the places that Christopher Robin isn't and to none of the places that he is. Pooh notices the Forbidden Mountains where Christopher Robin supposedly is in the distance, but Rabbit believes that they must follow the map if they are to find them... in fact, he's so convinced that the map knows all and sees all (despite being written by a scatterbrain like Owl) that he launches into a musical number, "If It Says So". The song is all about how great the map is and how they must do what it says. Why are we doing a song about a map? I don't know, ask Rabbit.

"All hail the map!"

My favorite part of the song is the random directional signs that keep popping out of the ground.

The map winds up tearing in two after the song, and one half floats away in the breeze. "After that map!" Tigger shouts before giving chase. He winds up chasing it to a creaky old log that serves as a bridge over a dangerous chasm. Tigger isn't able to bounce high enough to catch the map, and starts to doubt his bouncing ability. Eventually, the log gives way, and Tigger winds up clinging to the log as it becomes stuck farther down.

"Don't worry, Tigger," Pooh chuckles. "Christopher Robin said I just have to remember, uh, you're taller than a beam? Or was it 'slower than whipped cream'?" Eventually, Pooh reaches down to help Tigger out, and that leads to them all forming a chain and dangling into the chasm.

"I've heard of cliffhangers, but this is ridiculous!"

Eeyore accidentally lets go of the vine that he's holding onto with his teeth, and they all wind up falling into the chasm and landing in a mud pit. Fortunately, no one is harmed. And they have the second half of the map, too. There's just one problem - the Skullosaurus is apparently nearby, as they can hear it growling. So they all make a run for it.

We then cut to our heroes in a fog. Rabbit has no idea where they're going... apparently, he's realized that the map isn't much help after all. "Now, if Christopher Robin were here, what would he say?" Rabbit asks the others. "Well, if Christopher Robin were here, he'd say... THAT RABBIT CAN'T FUNCTION IN THIS HUMIDITY! AND IT'S NOT HIS FAULT! THIS FOG ISN'T EVEN ON THE MAP! AND THAT... that Rabbit isn't smart enough to figure out where to go or what to do..." Poor Rabbit is doubting himself, so Pooh tries to cheer him up by telling him what Christopher Robin told him before... he thinks it was "You're smarter when you're pink." So apparently Piglet is the smartest resident of the Hundred Acre Wood.

"I don't know where we are," Rabbit admits glumly. "And I haven't known for hours. I've failed us all." "I believe I have as well," Pooh adds. "Let's face it," Tigger groans, "Without Christopher Robin, we don't have a chance of finding Christopher Robin." Pooh spots a nearby cave and suggests they all sleep in there until the fog clears. As they walk towards the cave, Eeyore gets another great line: "End of the line... nothing to do... no hope of anything gettin' better... sounds like Saturday Night at my house."

I'm glad Eeyore gave us that joke, because this next scene is a big tear-gusher. It starts off innocently enough, with Rabbit unable to sleep thanks to how cold it is, plus Tigger is snoring and giggling in his sleep. Then he notices that Pooh has wandered outside...

I'm not even going to make a joke here.

"I've tried to find you, Christopher Robin," Pooh bemoans. "I've looked all the places you weren't... I just can't find the places you are... but I know where you are where I am not... then where am I? I wish you were here to tell me... Perhaps if I were to wish very, very hard..." This leads to the movie's most well-known song, "Wherever You Are". This is one of the most beautiful Disney songs ever written. I can't even begin to describe how powerful it is. Major props towards Jim Cummings, because his performance of this song is one of his greatest performances ever.

As Pooh falls asleep, Rabbit comes over and places the map over him like a blanket. The next morning, Piglet emerges from the cave and freaks out upon discovering that the cave they were in was part of Skull.

So Skull is basically just a Discount Cave of Wonders?

"Christopher Robin is in the eye of THAT thing?" Tigger asks. "How are we supposed to get up there?" "By going... in there?" Pooh suggests, pointing into the mouth of the cave. It might be dark, and frightful, and they have no idea what they'll find, but they have to do it for Christopher Robin.

So they venture deeper and deeper into the cave, and eventually come across a fork in the road of sorts. Pooh gets an idea - maybe they should all go in different directions. So off Rabbit goes in one direction, and off Piglet goes in another, and off Tigger goes in another, and so on.

Apparently Skull has a volcano in it, too. If not, where are
the gasses coming from?

They all wind up having weird shenanigans happen to them. For example, Rabbit winds up falling into a subterranean tunnel.

I don't know why, but I find this part hilarious.

Eventually Rabbit, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet wind up colliding in a part of Skull where giant crystals form the walls. Pooh has walked behind those crystals, and they assume that his distorted reflection is the Skullosaurus and make a run for it. After that, Pooh winds up falling down a slide. The others believe that the Skullosaurus ate their friend, but of course he's fine - just stuck.

Then Rabbit discovers the eye of the Skull.

Which eye? The Skull has two of them.

Rabbit decides that he could try to think of a plan... for Pooh. Upon hearing this, Pooh says, "Thank you, Rabbit." If he can hear Rabbit, why can't they hear him? Well, anyhow, Rabbit is able to come up with an idea - Tigger could bounce Piglet up to a ledge, then Piglet could toss down a long vine that they could use to climb up to the eye and save Christopher Robin. Tigger and Piglet are worried they can't do it, but decide to do it for Pooh.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SuperTigger!

Well, they're able to pull it off, and apparently they still don't notice Pooh stuck in the crystals nearby. Speaking of which, Pooh manages to get free... and winds up falling into a deep, dark cavern... giant oysters?

I think they're actually rocks...

Pooh tries to escape, but can't climb the walls. "Bother," he moans. "I believe, if there is no way out... then I shall have to stay in. No more friends... no more Christopher Robin... no more 'we'... if only I hadn't forgotten what he asked me to remember. Oh, Christopher Robin, if you could've just seen Piglet. He was braver than he believes. And Tigger, he was stronger than he seems. And Rabbit was much smarter than he thinks." Then he hears Christopher Robin's voice reminding him that he'll always be with him. "It's a rather puzzling thing, but it's almost as if you've never left me... but that can't be... can it? Or can it?" Pooh asks, staring into the pot of honey. "Perhaps you ARE here. Even if we're apart, we all together. Then perhaps Owl got it all wrong," he says. "Because the place where you are is not on a map. How very nice for... us."

No, I can't make jokes about this scene either.

Anyway, Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger and Rabbit are able to make it up to the eye, and then a foreboding shadow approaches... oh, wait, it's Christopher Robin! "You made it!" Tigger exclaims. Christopher Robin asks where they've been, and Piglet, Tigger and Rabbit give him a recap - they're braver, stronger, and smarter than they initially thought. "Didn't have to come clear out here to find it. Had it inside all along," Eeyore says, spelling it out for the audience.

Christopher Robin then tells them that he wasn't in Skull, he was at SCHOOL. "That Owl! I knew 'skull' had another Y in it!" Rabbit complains. Then Christopher Robin tells us what the note REALLY said: "Dear Pooh, don't worry about me, I'm not far away, off to school, help yourself to some honey." Oh, and those growling noises that they thought was the Skullosaurus? Those were just the rumblings of Pooh's stomach. Side note, Jim Cummings also did said growling noises.

They manage to get Pooh out of the cavern with a giant honey pot. Where they got it, I don't know, but who cares? Pooh and Christopher Robin are finally reunited.

All together now: d'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw...

As they emerge from Skull, they notice that it's suddenly much smaller and less scary-looking than before. According to Christopher Robin, things can seem that way when we're alone or afraid. "But now there's nothing to be afraid of," says Rabbit. They all sing a song called "Everything is Right" (Jim Cummings does Tigger's singing, by the way) as they head back home. And everything is indeed right in the Hundred Acre Wood. Owl even shows up again to express happiness for their making it home safe.

Pooh and Christopher Robin make their way back to the tree from before as Christopher Robin explains why he went to school - to learn things. "It's rather fun, really. In a different sort of way," Christopher Robin admits. Uh, Christopher Robin, since when is school fun?

And when Christopher Robin was afraid, he thought of his friends. "It's what I would've done," Pooh says with a smile. Then Christopher Robin admits that he's been told he's going to have to go back to school tomorrow. Pooh asks if he should try to find him again, but Christopher Robin says, "I'll be back... as long as you're here. Promise me you'll be here? Promise? Even when I'm a hundred?" "How old shall I be then?" Pooh asks. "Ninety-nine," is the reply. "I promise," says Pooh. "Forever and ever?" asks Christopher Robin. "Yes, Christopher Robin. Forever and ever," Pooh reassures him. And that's the end.

What I have just reviewed may very well be the best direct-to-video Disney movie of all time. I have literally no complaints about this movie. It... where do I even begin? Each character is written at their best - Pooh is his usual lovable, kindhearted self. Piglet, Rabbit, and Tigger all get wonderful character arcs. And even though Eeyore doesn't, they make up for that by giving him such great lines. Owl is a highlight. The animation is very impressive for a direct-to-video Disney production. The songs, I love the songs. And the voice acting is per usual wonderful, Jim Cummings in particular gives one of his greatest performances as Pooh yet. It's such a sweet movie. One of the best Winnie the Pooh movies, right up there with the original 1977 movie, The Tigger Movie, and the 2011 movie.

Why are you just sitting there? Go watch it! But be warned, it's not afraid to pull at the heartstrings.

P.S. Here's something I've been wondering about for years... did Pooh forget about the events of this film in the 2011 movie? If he didn't, why did he go to Owl to decipher another note for him?