The Tigger Movie Review
by Frankie Paiva (swpstke AT aol DOT com)February 13th, 2000
The Tigger Movie
rated G
76 minutes
Disney
starring Tigger, Roo, Winnie The Pooh, Kanga, Piglet, Eeyore, and Rabbit with voices by Jim Cummings, Peter Cullen, and Ken Sansom
Written and Directed by Jun Falkenstein
A Review by Frankie Paiva
Hollywood has no courtesy to the older actors of their previous time. It seems that countless films today feature an entire cast under 30 or treat old people as the running joke, both of these have happened in a handful of films from the past year. When older actors (or actors over 40) do get really good roles, it's usually in a small independent picture that will be playing in the dark and scary section of town in a small theater where you would never dare to go at night. So let's broaden that phrase, Hollywood has no respect for people in general. Not to mention animals. Which is why I was very concerned walking into The Tigger Movie, one of Disney's Thanksgiving to June animated features (much like The Goofy Movie) that is designed to hold us down until the big Disney animated opus comes out in June. If Pooh and the gang were treated as a throwaway film, imagine what that could do to disgrace the entire set of classic featurettes and the future of the franchise. Fans of Pooh's earlier adventures (kids and adults alike) will find plenty to be excited about, as there are only a few things that have changed.
Tigger is feeling energetic, but alas, there is no one to bounce with. While trying to find a bouncing partner, he interrupts the rest of the gang who are trying to move a boulder off of Eeyore's house and they inform him that they can't bounce with him because they are not Tiggers and can't keep up. Feeling lonely he begins thinking. With the help of one of the six fabulous musical numbers, he decides that there must be a Tigger family out there somewhere in the Hundred Acre Wood. A suggestion of a Tigger family tree from Owl is all he needs to go bounding off into the forest leaving the rest of his friends behind.
There seems to be a very low chance of finding other Tiggers, so Roo (who tags along with Tigger in almost all of his daily bouncing and non-bouncing activities) gets the gang together and they decide on a plan. They will write a letter to Tigger, pretending to be Tigger's family. This only complicates things, Tigger thinks the letter says they will be coming to visit him tomorrow and soon they are painting stripes on themselves and trying to dress up Eeyore as one of Tigger's relatives.
Not a very complicated plot, but it's not a very complicated movie. The original drawings of the Hundred Acre Wood were copied with the greatest of skill and the result is remarkable. The beautiful forest that these creatures live in always manages to be a feast for the eyes throughout the entire movie. But there is also a rather large use of actual animation, drawn by actual hands, in the characters as well. While some sequences are obviously digitally animated, most of the rough black lines that outline the original cartoons are still there, as well as a humorous change to the title sequence. Jim Cummings, who's been Pooh and Tigger on the TV show and in the made-for-video movies does a great job with his two characters, but the rest of the cast falls short. Even Eeyore (who makes more amusing comments than ever before) seems to have lost some of his depressed touch. The film also brings out Roo as a major character, Roo wants Tigger to be his big brother and his constant idolizing (it's almost worship) of him is the only thing that bugged me about the movie. Everything also manages to keep fairly un-modernized while a funny song regarding the family of Tiggers (that includes a homage to Marilyn Monroe) is sure to please adults, there isn't much else going on. I kept waiting for Christopher Robin to say, "Hold on, I have to go check my e-mail." Or, "Let's go play Pokemon instead." But he didn't.
This one is definitely not suited for a video rental, it's rich colors are grrreat and it may be the only time you ever see the gang on the big screen. It's message is easy for children to grasp and kept the kids (and the EXTREMELY NOISY teenage girls behind me) interested. But if you do need to go to Blockbuster (or you are searching through your huge closet of movies you own) take the time to see the original three Pooh featurettes, I bet you won't see much of a difference. While I know it's cliched to say this, Walt would be proud.
B+
Frankie Paiva
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http://pictureshow.8m.com
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
