Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Directed by Stephen Anderson & Don Hall. Starring (voices) Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, John Cleese, Travis Oates, Bud Luckey, Tom Kenny, Jack Boulter, Kristen Anderson-Lopez. [G]

Disney’s last hand-drawn animated theatrical release to date is another outing for A. A. Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh and friends (following the 1977 anthology and a few minor releases from Disneytoon Studios in the 2000s). Pooh is on a search for “hunny” for his tummy, Eeyore needs a new tail, Christopher Robin is missing, and the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is he’s the only one. Sweet, gentle and pleasant, but awfully slight; most of the Hundred Acre Wood’s denizens’ personalities don’t pop off the screen as much as they did in their earlier cinematic exploits, and it’s so short—minus end credits, a slim 53 minutes—even those who like it very much are bound to be left wanting more. Cozy animation style puts sharply-lined and colored animals against softer, watercolor-style backgrounds; although it’s cleaner on average compared to the classic shorts, it’s not quite as children’s-story charming. Songs by Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez; the latter voices Kanga. Narrated by John Cleese with hardly a hint of his customary sardonic edge.

64/100