So while the rest of the world was watching Harry Potter, I decided to watch Winnie the Pooh. The film is sweet, charming and decidedly very child friendly, even more so than typical Disney fare. Looking back at the old Disney classics, I was genuinely surprised that they are all rated G and not PG. The Lion King, for instance, can be very scary and traumatic. Rest assured, kids will be safe watching the lastest adventures from the Hundred Acre Wood. That is of course if you can get past Pooh's tragic drug addiction.
Yeah, I said it, Pooh is a drug addict. He mopes around on screen determined to find drugs, practically begging his friends to let him have a little hit. He is fiending so badly that he has hallucinations where everything he sees or hears resembles that sweet sweet stuff. What is more troubling are kids reactions to Pooh's series of misadventures. Kids laugh at Pooh as he gets worse and worse, leading me to wonder how they will grow up treating the homeless and drug addicts. While Requiem for a Dream shows people the dark and depressing side of drug abuse, Winnie the Pooh teaches people to mock it and ignore it. I can just imagine these six year olds ten years from now mocking homeless people on the street. They'll look at them with bemused scorn and say, "Pull it together, Pooh Bear!"
Also, Winnie the Pooh teaches kids it is okay to treat your friends badly. Look at how badly Pooh treats Piglet! Pooh makes Piglet go get some drugs for him, leaving him in a precarious situation. Rather than attempt to help Piglet, Pooh's concern is for the drugs first. Then when the drug dealers chase the two, he makes Piglet give him a piggy back ride (haha). Can you imagine a miniature pig giving a full grown bear a ride on his back? He'd get crushed! Piglet is clearly suffering from low self esteem as he allows himself to get bullied around by his friends in hopes that they would like him. Another way of looking at it is that Piglet is that little brother that you can boss around just because he's smaller and doesn't know better. It's just not right.
Then of course there's Eeyore, the depressed donkey. He's lost his tail, but his friends don't seem terribly concerned for him. They think it's about his tail, but there is a more deep rooted problem with Eeyore, who is two steps away from suicide watch. There's also Owl who is arrogant and pompous. Who would want to be friends with him? Don't even get me started on Tiger who is training to be a mugger, or maybe even a rapist, as he lurks in the bushes pouncing on people. Rabbit has anger issues. Kanga uses her son Roo as an excuse not to help out, saying "I am with child." The two redeeming characters are Roo and Red Balloon, who seem like nice guys. I am undecided about Christopher Robbin, though clearly he should learn to spell a little better. He gets his animal friends in trouble by leaving behind an ambiguous note that if spelled correctly would have saved everybody a world of trouble.
So if you can get past the drug abuse and despicable cast of friends, you may be able to find a sweet children's movie that is whimsical and endearing and occasionally pretty funny, even for adults. It is hand drawn with a subtle beauty that is refreshing in today's age of computer animation and 3D effects.
Oh, in case it wasn't clear, I'm talking about honey.
Grade: B
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