Winnie the Pooh For Summer: Inspired by Three Stories by A.A. Milne

Who doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh, and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail. We’re excited to have been invited to screen this wonderful adventure in the Hundred Acre Wood with this new Walt Disney Animation Studio’s feature.

Here’s some interesting factoids about this production:

Veteran Disney animator/storyman/director Burny Mattinson (a key animator on the 1974 short film “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!”) serves as senior story artist, with a dynamic young directing duo—Stephen Anderson and Don Hall—at the helm.

• Co-Directed by Stephen Anderson who also directed animated films “Meet the Robinsons” and “Journey Beneath the Sea,” among others; and he also worked on “Brother Bear” and “The Emperor’s New Groove.”
• Co-Directed by Don Hall who is a veteran story artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios with credits including “The Princess and the Frog,” “Meet the Robinsons,” “Brother Bear,” “Home on the Range,” “The Emperor’s New Groove” and “Tarzan.”
• Voices you’ll hear in “Winnie the Pooh”: Craig Ferguson (“The Late Show with Craig Ferguson”), Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob SquarePants”) and Bud Luckey (director of the Pixar short “Boundin’”).
• Zooey Deschanel (Actress/musician/singer/songwriter) provides the vocals for a special rendition of the beloved “Winnie the Pooh” theme song
• Where did the name “Winnie the Pooh” come from? Author A.A. Milne’s son’s teddy bear inspired the beloved character. The child named his bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear from London Zoo.  Pooh was the name of a swan they encountered together.
• The six spirited new songs for Pooh and his pals, including “The Tummy Song,” “A Very Important Thing To Do,” “Everything Is Honey,” “The Winner Song,” “The Backson Song” and “It’s Gonna Be Great” were written by Tony® Award-winning songwriter Bobby Lopez, and his wife Kristen.

Story Synopsis:

“Ever have one of those days where you just can’t win, Eeyore?” asks Pooh.  Owl sends the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey. Inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, “Winnie the Pooh” hits theaters in the U.S. on July 15, 2011.

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