The Best Adaptations of Winnie the Pooh

Anybody who knows well (or even not that well) knows that I am a huge fan of all things Winnie the Pooh.  I always have been.  The stories are just so simple and innocent and full of wit and heart that I cannot get enough of the characters.  Here are the best adaptations of the bear with very little brain:

10. The Tigger Movie (2000)
The best of the Pooh movies produced by Walt Disney Television Animation.  The Tigger Movie, while not a great feature, strikes the right balance of being simple enough without feeling insignificant.  Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin takes Pooh too seriously, while Piglet's Big Movie and Pooh's Heffalump Movie don't have the stories to justify their feature length.  But The Tigger Movie's heart is in the right place and it wears it on its sleeve.  It is honest and admirable.

9. Book of Pooh (2001)
Pooh and the gang are created using bunraku style puppets and the Hundred Acre Wood is composed of cut outs.  The look of the series is very impressive as it looks like puppets inhabiting a picture book.  None of the stories or songs are very memorable, but the characterizations are pretty accurate.  The highlight is definitely the unique visuals and impressive technical aspects.

8. Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (1983)
Disney completely outsourced this so the animation is not the best, but the character designs are solid enough to hold up.  Definitely a drop in quality from the previous Pooh shorts, but I grew up with this and have fond memories of it.  Pooh Sticks is a fun game (one that my dad, sister and I used to play on a local bridge a lot) and Eeyore's cake looks very appetizing.  It is memorable and pleasant.

7. Welcome to Pooh Corner (1983)
I am sure that people who didn't grow up with this will not like it as much.  It has certainly aged and I have read that many have found the animatronic faces to look creepy.  But I have really fond memories of watching reruns of this in the early nineties.  It is a solid educational series and has a lot of heart.  The songs (which are actually written by the Sherman Brothers) are fun and Laurie Main makes a great narrator.

I remember specifically one episode where Rabbit is angry about all of the weeds in his garden and Pooh suggests that he gives the weeds their own patch so they don't feel left out.  Impractical idea?  Yeah.  Sound logic for Winnie the Pooh?  Absolutely.

6. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Dark Ride (1999)
Even though this replaced legendary Disney attractions Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World and Country Bear Playhouse at Disneyland this is still a fun ride.  By 1999 Pooh was such a huge part of Disney that they earned a placed in the theme parks.  I went on this ride last year and it was just great seeing my favorite characters up close.

5. Vinni Pukh (1969)
There were three Soviet shorts based on Milne's work from 1969-1972.  They feature original designs of the characters and stay true to the source material.  They are very pleasant and stand on their own against Disney's shorts which were released during the same time.  The song that Pooh and Piglet sing have become a meme stateside.

4. New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988)
This is my favorite TV series of all time.  I watched it a lot growing up and still do online sometimes when I am in a bad mood.  This series features designs that are friendly for television animation and has a great voice cast.  This show's version of the characters lasted throughout specials and movies until My Friends Tigger & Pooh in 2007.  This series was a big hit for Disney and they aired it frequently on Saturday mornings until 2002 and on their cable outlets, in addition to releasing several episodes on video and DVD.

This is as American as Pooh should get.  The series could be absurd and referential but also scary and emotional with a lot of fantasy.  Each of the characters got their moment to shine (Gopher in particular fit in with the Milne characters naturally and was used frequently).  The series was not influential or risk-taking, but it just has enjoyable adventures with beloved characters.

3. Shirley Temple Show (1960)
The children's anthology series, The Shirley Temple Show, featured adaptations of many children's stories.  One episode adapted Milne's stories but instead of having the Pooh characters in costumes they were done by marionettes by legendary Bil Baird.  Being that Pooh and friends are stuffed animals it is always fun to see them as puppets.  The puppeteering is excellent in this fun episode.

2. Winnie the Pooh (2011)
I keep recommending this movie to people and will mention it on this blog any chance that I get.  I saw it in theatres, but nobody else did which is a shame.  This is the best animation the franchise has ever had with the world's best traditional character animators involved (Andreas Deja may be the best thing to happen to Tigger).  The movie does not try to reinvent the wheel but it does not just rehash it either.  It has new gags that are true the characters and their universe.  The songs are great, laughs are plenty, even the end credits are creative.  It feels so simple, but it is bursting with energy and creativity.  Please watch this movie, it is perfect.

1. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
The 2011 Winnie the Pooh may be better as a feature, but Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too are just so iconic.  These cartoons get every right.  The Sherman Brothers songs, the animation friendly redesigns and the amazing voice cast.  Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as a feature or as individual short subjects still hold up and remain some of the best cartoons to ever come out of Disney.

10 Most Important Events of the Theatrical Animation in the Television Era of Animation

It is difficult to identify exactly where the television era of animation began or ended.  I would label The Secret of NIMH in 1982 as the official start of the renaissance, but it would take animation several years to take off.  It is easiest to look at the sixties and seventies as the TV era, with some overlap in the fifties and eighties.  Theatrical efforts during this period was dwindling and sporadic, with few features and most studios closing their animation departments.  These are the few memorable events that eventually led to the renaissance.

10. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

Disney's adaptation of Winnie the Pooh was released as three shorts in 1966, 1968 and 1974 before being packaged together in 1977.  Winnie the Pooh has become one of the most beloved franchises in animation.  Disney's adaptation really immortalized Milne's stories and these cartoons hold up better than almost any other cartoons of the sixties and seventies.  This simple, lovable cartoon was one of the few worthwhile efforts from Disney animators of the time.

9. Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969)

This short is a minute and a half including opening and closing credits and is composed of only one gag.  But it is a really good gag.  The timing and simplicity is perfect.  This represents the rise of independent animator's succeeding outside of the weak studio system.  This short had a large enough impact to earn the 39th slot in the book the 50 Greatest Cartoons.

8. Yellow Submarine (1968)

I have only been including American cartoons in these blog posts, and I suppose technically this is an American movie as it was made for the Beatles to finish their contract with United Artists.  Yellow Submarine was one of only a handful successful non-Disney animated features to succeed in theatres before 1985.  It is still commonly seen as a head trip, but the artistry is unique and iconic.  This movie represents one of the few times of the TV era that animation was able to tap into the zeitgeist.  This is one of the best animated features in history and remains a strong part of pop culture and the visuals are just as memorable as the Beatles' songs.

7. Pink Phink (1964)

Animation studios began closing or moving to television in the fifties.  By the sixties the grand tradition of the studio theatrical short was almost extinct.  However for a short while DePatie-Freleng, a new studio that was cofounded by legendary Termite Terrace member, Friz Freleng, brought the art form back.  DePatie-Freleng had animated the memorable title sequence for the Peter Sellars' movie and the sleek feline spun off into his own series in this fun short.  With its accent on music and almost minimalist style, Pink Panther cartoons were well animated and enjoyable.  DePatie-Freleng animated a few other characters and even took over Looney Tunes with forgettable new characters before going exclusively to television.  But starting a new animation studio that specialized in shorts at this time was a risk and DePatie and Freleng should be commended for it.  Their initial cartoon is still one of the most memorable shorts of all time.

6. Walter Lantz Calls it Quits (1972)

Walter Lantz is an interesting luminary in animation.  He did not innovate like his peers Walt Disney and Max Fliescher.  His cartoons did meet the artistic heights of Warner Bros., MGM or UPA in their heyday.  But Walter Lantz did not cut corners like Paul Terry or Famous Studios.  He was a good person that made good cartoons and was respected among in his field.  He gave a home to legendary animators Shamus Culhane, Dick Lundy, Tex Avery and others when they longed for a better working environment.  Probably the most notable accomplishment of this great man was that he outlasted all of his competitors.  He loved animation and did it longer than anyone.  In 1972, the man who had been creating animated shorts since 1929, closed his long running studio.  It may have closed without much fanfare, but the legacy and longevity of Lantz deserves acknowledgement.  His 43 years in the business is a testament to the power of passion.

5. Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins was a masterpiece.  Everything Walt did in animation, music and live-action led to this iconic feature and he was certainly recognized for it.  This is primarily considered a live-action movie, but the animation is what makes it a great fantasy.  Mary Poppins feels like a fantasy because she enters a world that is clearly animated and she interacts believably in it.  The combination of live-action and animation still holds up and has really only been matched by Roger Rabbit.  Mary Poppins has the heart of an animated feature.  It is one of the movies that can get stodgy critics and audiences to appreciate animation.  Animation can be used anywhere in any way.  This movie is a true testament to the art form.

4. Production of Thief and the Cobbler (Started Production in 1964, Still Kind of in Production)

Also a testament to passion is Richard Williams' unrealized magnum opus.  The failure for this movie to complete under its creator is one of Hollywood's greatest travesties.  Williams intended this to change the animated feature and had it been released in the sixties it likely would have.  Williams took many commercial projects such as A Christmas Carol, Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventures and Who Framed Roger Rabbit for which he won an Oscar to fund it.  However after losing control of the film after 28 years in production, it was shoddily completed and quietly released failing to live up to its creator's vision.  Williams, devastated, gave up on ever finishing his dream or even discussing it.  There is a cut on YouTube, edited by a fan utilizing test footage along with completed scenes.  The world never got to fully witness what Richard Williams had wanted to share, but the fact that during the sixties an animator was able to take that much of a risk was unheard of.  In a time when animation was strictly relegated for Saturday mornings this amount of effort and passion was incredible.

3. Don Bluth's Exodus (1979)

Disney's Nine Old Men were getting older and less active in the studio.  Disney animation had not been good in years.  One of the only highlights of Disney in the seventies was the work of Bluth which stood out in The Rescuers, Pete's Dragon and his directorial debut of Small One.  He was a leader at Disney, but he had grown frustrated with the legendary studio.  He took comrades Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and sixteen other animators on an exodus to create his own studio and try to save the art form of animation.  The audacity and ambition of Bluth was almost unheard of in the seventies.  It took and his animators time to find success, but gradually they animated Banjo the Woodpile Cat, animation in Xanadu and finally Secret of NIMH which was the first important event of the renaissance.  After Land Before Time Bluth definitely lost his way and never really returned to the quality or influence of his first three features.  However leaving Disney in that fashion got people's attention and was something that needed to happen for things to change for the better.

2. Fritz the Cat (1972)

The most influential figure in animation during the TV era was Ralph Bakshi, a Terrytoons animator that changed the way people saw animation.  His features were controversial and shocking.  The first feature was the X-Rated Fritz the Cat, which was a huge box-office success.  The first cartoon that was really intended for adults without requiring accessibility for children.  From Fritz Bakshi went on to direct more adult features such as Heavy Traffic and American Pop as well as high fantasy features such as Wizards and Lord of the Rings.  Bakshi's features have not maintained popularity outside of the seventies, they were really products of their time.  However this was one of the most ambitious and risky moves an animator had ever made.  The influence of Bakshi is still with us today and he remains one of the most important, well-known names in animation history.

1. Death of Walt Disney (1966)

Animation had never suffered as much of a blow as when its spokesperson passed away.  His own studio which was the driving force in the industry for decades took almost 25 years to recover.  Now Walt's ambition had moved on from animated shorts and features as his focus shifted to live-action, television and theme parks.  But the spirit of animation spilled into every project he undertook.  With Mary Poppins being released two years prior to his passing one can only imagine how he might have followed it up or even topped it.  There has never been anyone like Walt Disney and the animation industry benefited immensely from his involvement and guidance.  His death really represented the end of the old guard and animation pioneers.

10 Most Important Animated Series of the Television Era of Animation

The Television Era of Animation is also known as the Dark Age of Animation.  Animation went from innovative mass entertainment for children and adults to being strictly regulated for children.  The process of animation became cheap and economical and a lot of the theatrical quality and creativity did not translate to the limitations of weekly television.  But the TV era took place across thirty years and there was a lot of cartoons produced for TV.  As much as this era is looked down upon animator's did manage to create several quality shows.  These were the highlights of the sixties and seventies.  The one's that hold up against the view of history.

10. The Mighty Heroes (21 episodes, 1966, CBS)

Ralph Bakshi's TV series was short lived but certainly stands out among the other comedies of the period.  This is a precursor to Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, which went on to be one of the most important cartoon's of the renaissance.  Mighty Heroes did not have much lasting popularity and the characters have been used sparingly.  But this is a rare example of a wacky television cartoon that is not based around stock gags or a laugh track.

9. Tom Terrific (26 episodes, 1957-1959, CBS)

This aired in five minutes segments as part of Captain Kangaroo.  All in black and white with very limited animation.  But it does hold the personality and artistic stamp of creator Gene Deitch.  The concept is that the boy can turn into anything and has adventures with Manfred the Wonder Dog.  Just full of imagination, which was something that many television cartoons sadly lacked.

8. Schoolhouse Rock (64 episodes, 1973-1985, ABC)

One of the few educational cartoons that I would actually call educational.  Decades after these aired my ninth grade English teacher showed us these and we actually learned a lot about grammar.  These are effective, memorable and creative shorts.  Both animation and education strive with being accessible and fun, too bad the two do not always work well together.

7. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (110 episodes, 1972-1985, CBS and Syndication)

Educational cartoons were not a huge industry in the seventies and eighties.  Usually educational content in cartoons during this time were a formality to keep watchdog groups satisfied.  But Fat Albert was actually created around morals.  The setting of Fat Albert is interesting because it was familiar to the target audience.  Fat Albert targeted and understood children that entertainment often ignores.  This is also the perfect example of celebrity involvement in animation.  Bill Cosby was not just allowing his name to be used for marketing purposes, this was his concept and he believed in the mission of it.

6. Jonny Quest (26 episodes, 1964-1965, ABC)
Hanna-Barbera was able to reuse concepts and designs time and time again.  But every now and then they were able to create something truly unique.  Jonny Quest holds up well.  The animation is certainly limited and made for the assembly line, but the backgrounds and settings are above average.  Also it is notable how the humans are designed realistically rather than caricatured.  At the time this series was controversial for violence and suspense, it certainly holds up as a fun adventure.

5. Beany and Cecil (26 episodes, 1962, ABC)

Bob Clampett is best known for directing classic Looney Tunes such as Porky in Wackyland, Porky's Duck Hunt and The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, but the legendary animator created some of television's first enduring and most imaginative characters.  The animation in Beany and Cecil is much cleaner than most sixties animation and the characters are better designed.  It did not last long on TV and its eighties update by John Kricfalusi was even shorter, but it certainly stands out among the bland efforts of the television era.

4. Peanuts specials (45 specials, 1965-present, CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox)
I should probably mention the Dr. Seuss and Rankin-Bass specials on this list, but I have mentioned Christmas specials many other times on this blog.  But I really wanted to mention the Peanuts special because Charlie Brown and animation have had a mutually beneficial relationship for over fifty years.  Charles Schulz was heavily involved in A Charlie Brown Christmas (the best holiday special of all time) and several other classics.  Not all of the Charlie Brown cartoons are hits, but at their very worst they feature the great humor of Charles Schulz.  One of the best innovations of the television era was the annual special.  The Charlie Brown and Snoopy cartoons are still loved and seen by many every year.

3. Disneyland (hard to say, 1954-1986, ABC, NBC and CBS)
Disney was able to benefit from television unlike any other.  Instead of just selling his filmography to networks Walt was proactive and produced the best television entertainment of the time.  Animation in particular benefited from the anthology series as old shorts and movies were able to find new audiences and be reused in new ways.  However unlike other theatrical short showcases such as The Woody Woodpecker Show or the Looney Tunes anthologies the cartoons were really only edited for time not content.  But the long running TV show did not just reuse old material, it created new animation such as those found in the legendary Tomorrowland episodes and even created a memorable new character, Ludwig von Drake.  This was animated by Walt's top-notch staff and was lead by many animation luminaries, most notably Ward Kimball.  The series also was able to give audiences a look behind the scenes in episodes such as The Plausible Impossible.  Walt Disney's anthology series did not exclusively feature animation, but it was always impressive when it did.

2. Rocky and Bullwinkle (163 episodes, 1959-1964, ABC and NBC)
Chuck Jones dubbed television animation, "illustrated radio."  This was because these cartoons relied on scripts, voice acting and soundtracks to overcome limited animation.  The best illustrated cartoon was definitely the works of Jay Ward.  These cartoons were really nothing special to look at, although the characters had memorable designs.  But the jokes were sharp and nonstop and the voice acting was top-notch.  Rocky and Bullwinkle was Jay Ward's greatest success.  Relevant, yet timeless.  It managed to combine lowbrow humor with wit and intelligence.  This cartoon could even be considered a precursor to South Park.  Rocky and Bullwinkle holds up as one of the best television shows of all time, animated or otherwise.

1. The Flintstones (166 episodes, 1960-1966, ABC)
Hanna-Barbera really owned television animation for thirty years.  They were prolific and created many memorable, marketable characters.  However they never animated anything as good as The Flintstones.  The Flintstones is not a masterpiece, it is derivative and not well animated.  But the visual style, stock jocks and characters are iconic.  This series is possibly the only television cartoon that was equally enjoyed by children and adults.  This was something families watched together and enjoyed together.  It managed to succeed in primetime for six years and even received a nomination for Best Comedy (something only Family Guy would accomplish in 2009, in a year with seven nominees).  This series is fun and has reached a status of timeless.  The franchise definitely seems to hold diminishing returns, the spin-offs and movies not being all that great.  But the original series was revolutionary and represents the best of the television era of animation.