As a fan of Winnie the Pooh, 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' was always one of my favourite shows as a child. Not all childhood favourites have held up, but 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is one of the strongest examples of those that have.
While the original three 60s-70s short films ('Honey Tree', 'Blustery Day' and 'Tigger Too') and the 1977 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' are just a little better, 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is one of the Winnie the Pooh franchise's high points. 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is, as said a few times already, a rare example of a show with not a bad episode for the whole four seasons it ran, and has something for kids and adults alike. Both "Piglet's Poohetry" and "Owl's Well That Ends Well" are excellent episodes, providing much affection and hilarity as well as an adorable innocence impossible to resist. They also conclude a consistently great show beautifully.
Like with all the episodes of the show, one remembers at least one thing about "Piglet's Poohetry" and "Owl's Well That Ends Well" for a long time after and this is just on first viewing, furthermore there is so much to it that makes one want to re-watch them more than once due to their enormous re-play value. With each viewing, there's always something new to like about them each time and what came over as particularly good on first viewing have yet to become stale.
The animation in both episodes is very bright, well drawn and colourful, everything looking lush, detailed and smooth. In addition to that, the music is playfully jaunty and beautifully orchestrated, enhancing sadder moments with poignant and particularly lush and emotional scoring, whimsical parts with an energy but also pathos and the more playful moments with a jaunty touch. The theme tune is very rousing and one of the catchiest theme songs of any animated show of the late 80s.
Writing has a perfect mix of whimsy, drollness, wit, charm and childhood innocence, shining in both episodes.
"Piglet's Poohetry" is particularly great of the two. One has to love the poetry(or poohetry), and while Tigger's poetry is terrible (intentionally) you love him for it. The story is charming, and the writing from the humour to the wordplay is really inspired, a good example being "I love to smell the pretty flowers, when I take a morning stroll. But I'm so busy sniffing, I fall into a hole (YAAAAAAAA...)". Tigger and Piglet are the characters that really make the episode work, and the voice work for both characters, courtesy of Jim Cummings (a very worthy substitute for the incomparable Paul Winchell) and John Fiedler is terrific.
One finds themselves relating to "Owl's Well That Ends Well". Especially with poor Rabbit, anybody who struggles to put up with noisy neighbours or loud or irritating noises or wants a solution to a persistent problem will totally understand where he's coming from. Other than Owl's intentionally-terrible singing, the writing was the star of this episode, my favourites being Tigger's "Don't touch that thing-a-ma-bobby there, and don't step on that doo-hickey over there, and whatever you do don't step on the whatever-it-is next to the I-forgot-what-to-call-it" and "state your name, rank and favourite type of breakfast cereal".
In summary, two excellent episodes and a beautiful conclusion to a rare example of a show with not a bad episode. 10/10 Bethany Cox
While the original three 60s-70s short films ('Honey Tree', 'Blustery Day' and 'Tigger Too') and the 1977 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' are just a little better, 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is one of the Winnie the Pooh franchise's high points. 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is, as said a few times already, a rare example of a show with not a bad episode for the whole four seasons it ran, and has something for kids and adults alike. Both "Piglet's Poohetry" and "Owl's Well That Ends Well" are excellent episodes, providing much affection and hilarity as well as an adorable innocence impossible to resist. They also conclude a consistently great show beautifully.
Like with all the episodes of the show, one remembers at least one thing about "Piglet's Poohetry" and "Owl's Well That Ends Well" for a long time after and this is just on first viewing, furthermore there is so much to it that makes one want to re-watch them more than once due to their enormous re-play value. With each viewing, there's always something new to like about them each time and what came over as particularly good on first viewing have yet to become stale.
The animation in both episodes is very bright, well drawn and colourful, everything looking lush, detailed and smooth. In addition to that, the music is playfully jaunty and beautifully orchestrated, enhancing sadder moments with poignant and particularly lush and emotional scoring, whimsical parts with an energy but also pathos and the more playful moments with a jaunty touch. The theme tune is very rousing and one of the catchiest theme songs of any animated show of the late 80s.
Writing has a perfect mix of whimsy, drollness, wit, charm and childhood innocence, shining in both episodes.
"Piglet's Poohetry" is particularly great of the two. One has to love the poetry(or poohetry), and while Tigger's poetry is terrible (intentionally) you love him for it. The story is charming, and the writing from the humour to the wordplay is really inspired, a good example being "I love to smell the pretty flowers, when I take a morning stroll. But I'm so busy sniffing, I fall into a hole (YAAAAAAAA...)". Tigger and Piglet are the characters that really make the episode work, and the voice work for both characters, courtesy of Jim Cummings (a very worthy substitute for the incomparable Paul Winchell) and John Fiedler is terrific.
One finds themselves relating to "Owl's Well That Ends Well". Especially with poor Rabbit, anybody who struggles to put up with noisy neighbours or loud or irritating noises or wants a solution to a persistent problem will totally understand where he's coming from. Other than Owl's intentionally-terrible singing, the writing was the star of this episode, my favourites being Tigger's "Don't touch that thing-a-ma-bobby there, and don't step on that doo-hickey over there, and whatever you do don't step on the whatever-it-is next to the I-forgot-what-to-call-it" and "state your name, rank and favourite type of breakfast cereal".
In summary, two excellent episodes and a beautiful conclusion to a rare example of a show with not a bad episode. 10/10 Bethany Cox
