In the midst of this summer’s blockbuster movie season, filmgoers are being bombarded by boy wizards, bone-crushing transformers, and slickly animated talking cars. Some of us are more thrilled about the return of an icon: Winnie the Pooh.
Last weekend, Disney released a new Winnie film, introducing the chubby bear to a new generation and reminding others why his gentle message remains relevant.
Though billed as a “brand new story,” the film is based on three old tales from the best-selling Winnie the Pooh books written by British author A.A. Milne in 1926. Instead of trying to modernize Pooh and his pals with digital gimmicks and 3-D trickery, directors Stephen Anderson and Don Hall studied the original illustrations from the Milne books and embraced the storybook artistry of 1960s short films. Like a giant canvas on screen, the film dazzles with painted watercolors that bring the Hundred Acre Wood to life.
But, newfound praise for Pooh is about more than nostalgia. The 85-year-old story holds significance for today. As we mourn the death of Borders and the demise of hardcovers and paperbacks in the glow of e-reader screens, the Pooh film pays homage to words, books, and literature.
We see Pooh and Piglet step into a book’s pages, walking on top of sentences, wandering into paragraphs, and playing with punctuation marks. In one poignant scene, Pooh makes a sturdy ladder out of a pile of letters to climb out of a pit.
In a recent interview, Pooh expert Brian Sibley said part of the enduring quality of the Pooh stories is that “the characters are all people we know: bossy Rabbits, pompous Owls, bouncy Tiggers, nervous Piglets, motherly Kangas, irrepressible Baby Roos, desperately gloomy Eeyores and, of course, often muddled but always lovable Poohs.”
After World War I, when Milne created the world of Winnie and his friends, he sought to create a wooded fantasyland where adults and children could escape. With our nation still at war and many Americans suffering financial strain, the Pooh film reads like a love letter on the simple beauty of life.
Facing fears with your friends. Enjoying your favorite food. Savoring the sweet taste of honey. Or just taking a stroll, hand in hand, with someone you love.
All that from a willy, nilly, silly old bear.
