BWW JR: Winnie the Pooh!

Kickin' it Old School in the 100 Acre Woods

My daughter is seven years old, and she suddenly seems to be maturing at rocket speed. I swear she was a child when I put her to sleep last night, but when she woke up she had become....(Oh God)....A TWEEN.

Wikipedia defines TWEEN as a demographic of nine through twelve year olds. Urban dictionary says nine to fourteen. My daughter is seven. So she's too young, right? Even though she's suddenly "cool" all the time and is surprisingly wise beyond her years, she's still just a little girl, right?

Lucky for me, I had the perfect opportunity to test out the situation and put a magnifying glass on whatever glimpses of little girlhood might be left in my daughter's rapidly maturing mind. Last week, my Harry Potter reading, iCarly watching, capri legging wearing daughter and I were invited to see Winnie The Pooh, Old School.

That's not the name of the film. I added the "old school" part because watching these familiarly zen characters brought me back to my own childhood in the late 1970's and (very) early 80's. With this latest film incarnation of the classic A.A. Milne's books, Disney has resisted the urge to impose a contemporary tone onto time-honored characters. By dusting off these character gems and allowing them to shine in modern times without any concrete updates (other than just general picture quality and perhaps a few slightly sharper jokes), Pooh and his friends have been allowed to evolve with grace and style, just as they should.

It's the same characters. The voices are completely familiar (and in a few cases actually identical). The animation is simple and lovely in a way that seems earnest rather than dated. There is a certain nobility in bowing to that classic, Disney, hand-drawn style that is perfectly mirrored by "the Bear of Little Brain", Pooh himself, who despite his blunderings always retains his dignity.

Before seeing the film, my daughter didn't really know who Winnie the Pooh was and if she was exited about going to a private press showing in the Disney screening room after camp she certainly didn't break her cool to show it. But for 68 minutes (yup, it's a REALLY short "feature" film) she was pretty much entranced. I didn't expect it. My kids' idea of video entertainment is purely digital and very modern. But I guess this is what a true classic can do. It can bring those of us who know it home and open the front door to those who are seeing it for the first time.

I'm glad I took my daughter to see a gem of a film that, for a little over an hour, allowed both of us to be little girls again. And I'm glad that someone at Disney let a (albeit short) film stay simple and true to it's original style, because the original is interesting enough without needing 3D glasses or Dolby Digital Surround.

Whether you're starting to feel your past or you have a kid that is maturing way too fast, revisiting the inhabitants of the 100 Acre Wood really does do a heart good. And I swear I totally did not mean for that to rhyme.

GET TO THE POINT, MOM!

• Rated G, Winnie the Pooh runs 68 minutes and opens in theatres everywhere July 15.

• Best for five through whatever-year-olds, although once you hit "whatever" you probably should bring a kid with you.

• A new adventure featuring the classic characters from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books.

• For more information visit the film's web site http://disney.go.com/pooh/.

• Am I really the most embarrassing mom ever?

 

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