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Winnie the Pooh - A Very Merry Pooh Year: Gift of Friendship Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Disney Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (22nd December 2013). |
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The Film
 It’s almost hard to believe that Winnie the Pooh has been around since the 1920's. That little anthropomorphic bear has been a staple of many a childhood, this reviewer included. A.A. Milne hit on something when creating this series, crafting a world where it’s just fun to hang out, really. Pooh and his gang of loveable misfits are as varied and unique a bunch as any series has seen, with each one garnering a legion of fans (okay, maybe not Rabbit so much). Considering the popularity of Pooh in animated form goes back to the 60's, it’s almost surprising that it took until 1991 for him to get his own Christmas special, entitled “Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too”. Kids love being able to celebrate the holidays with their favorite animated characters, and, truthfully, even as an adult it can be a but fun to relive some of those tales enjoyed when you were young and easily entertained. Not content with just spitting out a 26-minute TV special on its own, Disney edited that short into a longer feature called “Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year” (2002), which also incorporates the festivities surrounding the New Year. There is a bit of a tonal shift that will be imperceptible to kids, but anyone older will notice that the second half is easily outshone by the first. The first half of the film deals with Pooh (Jim Cummings) and the gang – Tigger (Paul Winchell & Jim Cummings), Eeyore (Peter Cullen), Piglet (John Fiedler), Rabbit (Ken Sansom), Roo (Nikita Hopkins), Kanga (Kath Soucie), and Gopher (Michael Gough) – writing a letter to Santa Claus with the help of Christopher Robin (William Green). Everyone chimes in with what they want, but Pooh forgets to include his wish. He and Piglet find the letter they had sent off in the balloon and shot it down, taking it back to Rabbit’s house so Pooh can write in what he wants (any wild guesses?). Well, everyone gets a little greedy and starts thinking up even better gift ideas, taking so long that eventually it’s almost Christmas Day. Pooh and Piglet hurriedly send off the letter, but it flies away in the wrong direction – South! Pooh knows his mistake will cost everyone their presents, so he and Piglet devise a plan to make sure they all get what they wanted: he dresses as Santa and delivers presents that he made himself. Only problem is Pooh isn’t very good at making things. But his heart is in the right place, so everything will probably work out in the end. Spoiler alert… it does. Getting underway with the second half, we find Rabbit unhappy with the attitudes of his friends and seeking to be left alone. Pooh and the gang assume they’ll need to change in order to remain close to Rabbit, so all of them basically switch roles for a little while in hopes that Rabbit will find the “new” version of their personalities more enjoyable. These are their resolutions for the New Year, but everyone – Rabbit included – learns that sometimes friends are best left just the way they are. Still, there were some pretty funny moments with all the gang acting so out of character. Well, at least their usual character. Other than those brief bits, this segment managed to lose all of the holiday spirit and warmth that made the previous one so watchable. The only thing I found odd watching Winnie the Pooh all these years later was that many of the voices sounded so different to my ears, especially Rabbit’s. Otherwise, not much has changed in the Hundred Acre Wood since Pooh hit animated form. “Christmas Too” is the really star of the feature here, presenting a story that is more engaging, warming, and polished than the subpar “Very Merry Pooh Year”. But, alas, one cannot be separated from the other, so unless you’re screening it for the kiddies (which I would presume most are), then you’re better off just ejecting the disc after the Christmas segment.
Video
The 1.33:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image is essentially dealing with video from two sources, since the Christmas special was animated in 1991 and the New Year piece was done in 2002. Both were made for TV, but the Christmas half showcases better use of contrast, coloring, line work, and background detail (though there really isn’t much going on in most frames). The New Year segment, however, looks quite shoddy. Lines are thick and soupy, edge enhancement appears to be an issue, the animation is soft and lacking a definite focus. I don’t suspect this is due to any tinkering on Disney’s part; it just appears that no real effort was made to bring these specials up to current standards.
Audio
Again, unremarkable. The English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track is thin and limited in just about every way. But it’s also serviceable enough, with dialogue sounding very clear and consistent in the mix. The soundtrack is playful and whimsical, with songs coming through a great deal louder than other portions of the track. Though that is likely due to the difference in decades when the halves of this feature were recorded. The disc also includes French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo tracks, with subtitles available in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
There really aren’t any extras here, just some interactive options that will allow parents to immediately skip to songs their kids want to hear. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY “Disney’s Song Selection” interactive feature will allow you to skip to any one of the songs featured in the film, with optional on-screen lyrics for singing along. The songs included are: - "Winnie the Pooh" - "Trimming the Tree with Jingle Bells" - "Snow Snows" - "Jingle Bells in the Snow" - "Happy Pooh Year" - "Hunny, No Not for Me" - "One Last Round of Jingle Bells" - "Auld Lang Syne" “Sing Along with the Movie” interactive feature has a simple on/off selection that displays on-screen lyrics while the film plays. “Enchanted Environment” (1080p) is a 24-minute screensaver, showing a Christmas tree by the fire in Pooh’s house, that can be played with music & sound effects, music only, or sound effects only. “Disney Intermission” is an interactive feature that brings up games and activities when the film is paused. Kind of an odd feature, but then again I don’t have kids so maybe it’s useful to those who do. Finally, the disc includes bonus trailers (1080p) for the following: - “The Jungle Book” runs for 1 minute and 16 seconds. - “Frozen” runs for 1 minute and 37 seconds. - “Mary Poppins” runs for 1 minute and 39 seconds. - “Disney Movie Rewards promo” runs for 20 seconds. DISC TWO: DVD This is a DVD copy of the feature film and an insert includes information on the film’s digital copy redemption.
Packaging
The two-disc set comes with each disc on a hub opposite the other. A slip-cover is included with initial pressings.
Overall
Pooh can still be a joy to watch at any age, but his adventures during Christmas time are far more satisfying than those leading up to the New Year.
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