The Tigger Movie

Surprisingly, it has been 10 years since Disney decided to release theatrically an adventure set in the world of Winnie the Pooh that was intended to go straight to video. A wise decision it appears as this charming little film, the most successful pre-school DVD of all time, gave the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore and the other fun characters living in the Hundred Acre Woods a larger audience.

The Tigger Movie is an adventure that centers on the endlessly energetic and perpetually playful Tigger - who sets out on an adventure to find others like him. After a morning filled with bouncing destroys Eeyore’s house, irritates Rabbit and causes the rest of the friends to wind up covered in mud, Tigger becomes disheartened; feeling alone as no-one but he can bounce quite like him. After a clumbsy tea-time sit down and story with the proud Owl and a little misadventure and a misinterpreted letter from his friends (which is believes is from other Tiggers) causes Tigger to set out on a journey to look up his family tree (literally) after. But his search is fruitless until he eventually realizes that his family has been around him the entire time.

A good old-fashioned story about family, friends and recognizing what you have is central to this quite lovely little film.  Told with the help of John Hurt’s narration, The Tigger Movie contains some easy, toe-tapping songs and enough silliness to enthrall the youngest members of your family. With Tigger’s less than stellar grasp of the English language and his chaotic clumsiness born from his Whoopty-Dooper-Loopty-Looper-Alley-Ooper bounce, The Tigger Movie bristles with energy. The brisk pace afforded from the steady hand of director Jun Falkenstein serves the adventure well and will hold the attention of the very young -  and the fun of the adventure will keep the attention enough of kids up to around 10.

The animation is simple, pleasant and consistent with the Winnie the Pooh world that many who grew up with the soft-spoken bear will remember. A bright, warm palette keeps the proceedings easy to watch. And the voice talents perform their characters well. Jim Cummings pulls double duty as the slightly raspy voice of both Pooh and this film’s star, Tigger. Cummings first performed the voice of Pooh in 1988 and has been called upon since to bring him to life ever since (with the exception of a Disney attraction which called upon the original incarnation’s Sterling Holloway). With Ken Sansom as the sour Rabbit, Nikita Hopkins as the rambunctious Roo, John Fielder as the apprehensive Piglet, Peter Cullen as the down in the dumps Eeyore, Kath Soucie as the motherly Kanga and finally Tom Attenborough as the perspective providing Christopher Robin – the cast really deliver nicely.

I remember Winnie the Pooh from my childhood growing up in England (which I mention quite frequently, I find). I fondly remember the soft-natured adventures of the honey loving, golden bear and his friends that run the gamut of energy and disposition. The Tigger Movie seems to have captured that feel nicely for a new generation of inquisitive pre-schoolers, and the like, to get carried along with the safety and security of the Hundred Acre Woods.