The Book of Pooh is an American preschool educational children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on the Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; the other two were the live action Welcome to Pooh Corner (to which this series bears some resemblance) and the animated The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which ran from 1988 to 1991. It premiered on January 22, 2001 and completed its run on July 8, 2003. The show was produced by Shadow Projects.
Contents
Overview
The series departs from many of the established facts of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise. For example, Tigger resides in the Hundred Acre Wood from the start, and Kanga and Roo are later introduced as newcomers. Neither Christopher nor his mother speak with an English accent, such is the case in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh where Christopher has an American accent. Kessie, the bluebird from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh episodes "Find Her, Keep Her" and "A Bird in the Hand", returns as a main character in this series.
Each show begins entering Christopher Robin's bedroom and hearing his mother say "Christopher, time for school." Christopher Robin answers "Okay, mom!", closes his book, grabs his backpack, and leaves. This is where the book with Pooh and his friends in it opens and the theme song begins. The show can be viewed as non-canonical in other ways. For example, Tigger can climb up—but more importantly climb down from trees and Christopher Robin and his mother's faces are never shown. Plus, Rabbit lives in a tree, as opposed to living in a burrow in other adaptations.
Cast
The characters in the show regularly sing and dance in ways that enhance the story being told. Many of the episodes do not have much basis in the original stories by A.A. Milne besides the characters.
The production design of the show was done by Chris Renaud, who would later become the co-director of the 2010 film Despicable Me.
The characters who appear regularly and the actors who voice them are:
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger: Jim Cummings
Piglet: John Fiedler (speaking voice)/Jeff Bennett (singing voice)
Rabbit: Ken Sansom
Eeyore: Peter Cullen
Owl: Andre Stojka
Kessie: Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Kanga: Kath Soucie
Roo: Nikita Hopkins
Christopher Robin: Paul Tiesler
Christopher Robin's Mother: Vicki Eibner
Mr. Narrator: Roger L. Jackson
The show's versions of Tigger and Pooh later made an appearance in a music video by the We Are Family Foundation.
Main themes
"Everyone Knows He's Winnie the Pooh" (opening theme) - Brian Woodbury
"Goodbye for Now" (closing theme) - Brian Woodbury and Mitchell Kriegman
Episodes
Awards and nominations
The series received three Emmy Awards nominations, and tied with Sesame Street for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series at the 29th Daytime Emmy Awards in 2002.
Film
The Book of Pooh: The Stories from the Heart is a direct-to-video animated spin-off based on the television series The Book of Pooh. The film was produced by Shadow Projects, distributed by Buena Vista Television, and released on both VHS and DVD.
It contains six episodes, each of which focuses on one character. It is wrapped together by a loose plot in which the characters wait in Christopher Robin's room for his arrival. As is typical with the series, each episode features an original musical number. It is a compilation film of footage from the TV series.
Home media and streaming
Several VHS Tapes were released in 2001 and 2002:
Fun with Words
The Words Are Out
Brain Drain
I Could Have Laughed All Night
X Marks the Spot
Fun with Friends
You Can Lead Eeyore to Books
The Spice of Life
Best Wishes, Winnie the Pooh
Double Time
A Valentine for Eeyore
My Gloomy Valentine
Mr. Narrator
Don Pooh Xote
Beastly Burden
Fun with Manners
Pleas and Thank-You's
The Rumor Millstone
The Wood Without Pooh
Friends of a Different Stripe
Fun with Make-Believe
The Case of the Disappeared Donkey
The Littlest Dinosnore
Blue Ribbon Bunny
Under the Pig Top