Written by Hombre Divertido
Sandwiched between Disney misses Tarzan (1999) and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Pixar hits Toy Story 2 (1999), and Monsters Inc. (2001), Disney managed to keep it simple and successful by returning in 2000 to a tried and true classic found in the Hundred Acre Wood.
The Tigger Movie receives the 10th anniversary treatment in this new 2-disc release that hit shelves on August 4th. Though the new release does include some bonus material, it’s the main feature that sells this product, as this is simply a wonderful film for the whole family. Adults are sure to appreciate the opportunity to return to the land of Christopher Robbins friends that they visited so often as children, and will be happy to share the wonderful message found in The Tigger Movie with their children.
As in most adventures featuring Tigger, we find our hero bouncing from friend's house to friend's house, trying to find someone to play with. With everyone busy preparing for winter, Tigger heads off on his own. After a visit from Roo, and a conversation about family, Tigger sets out to find his. Through the efforts of Pooh, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga and Roo, Tigger eventually realizes that he has been surrounded by his family the whole time.
Oh sure, adults will see the message coming a mile away, but will appreciate the energy in the story, the lively animation, and wonderful music.
The bonus material includes two episodes featuring Tigger from the television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The Tigger Movie marked the passing of the torch of voicing Tigger from Paul Winchell to Jim Cummings, the current voice of Pooh. Cummings does a fine job, but hearing Winchell voice Tigger in these two shorts, allows you to hear the slightly higher tone and energy of Winchell's Tigger, which had a Snagglepuss quality to it.
Also included in the bonus material is a trivia game which, when all sixteen questions are answered correctly, will allow you to view an all-too-brief clip of a documentary on how the Pooh characters were developed. There is another matching game which will be fun for kids, but since the first game on the menu offered a reward for getting all the answers correct, having a perfect score on the second game yield nothing will be a bit disappointing for the youngsters.
The musical bonus features which basically show the song segments from the movie are fun, but whether or not kids will enjoy having a picture book of the film on DVD that you can have read to you, or read yourself, remains to be seen.
The “How to Make Your Own Family Tree” may to be too basic even for the real young and it mentions checking the web for information, but does not stress asking your parents first before going on the internet. The second disc contains a digital copy of the film.
Recommendation: Hard to go wrong here. The whole gang from the Hundred Acre Wood is back together in a wonderfully told story with a strong message for children and animation reminiscent of the early days of Pooh. Though Sterling Holloway and Paul Winchell are not here, and Sebastian Cabot has been replaced by John Hurt as the Narrator, the new cast does a fine job, and hearing John Fiedler as Piglet will be enough to send you home again.
