The Book of Pooh
Encyclopedia
The Book of Pooh is an American television series that aired on the Disney Channel
. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne
's works; the other two were the live-action Welcome to Pooh Corner
(to which this series bears resemblance) and the animated The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
which ran from 1988-1991. It premiered on January 22, 2001, and completed its run on July 8, 2003. The show is produced by Shadow Projects, Sirius Thinking Ltd.
and Playhouse Disney
.
This is the first Pooh show where Jim Cummings
voices Tigger
filling in for the late Paul Winchell
.
Beginning in February 2012, it will air reruns on the Disney Junior
channel, which will replace SOAPnet
.
is clearly a fifth grader and 11 years old. The series departs from many of the established facts of Milne's books; for example, Tigger resides in the Hundred Acre Wood from the start, and Kanga and Roo are later introduced as newcomers. Neither Christopher nor his mother speak with an English
accent, however in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher has an American accent.
Each show begins entering Christopher Robin's bedroom and hearing his mother say, "Christopher, time for school." Christopher Robin answers, "OK, Mom!", grabs a book and leaves. This is where the book with Pooh and his friends in it opens and the theme song begins. The show can be viewed as non-canonical in other ways. For example, Tigger likes - or at least is shown to eat - honey (compared with most other versions of the Winnie the Pooh stories where "Tiggers don't like honey!") and can climb up - but more importantly climb down from trees. In addition, Rabbit lives in a tree, as opposed to living in a burrow in other versions. However, it is explained why in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
.
ese bunraku
puppetry, and this — along with the cut-out style backgrounds gives the show the look of a pop-up book
— hence "The Book of Pooh". It was the first use of the Shadowmation process developed by creator Mitchell Kriegman which was later used in the PBS series "It's A Big Big World
".
The design and animation of the show was done by Chris Renaud
The series received two Emmy Awards.
The characters who appear regularly are:
The versions of Tigger and Pooh seen on this show later made an appearance in a music video by the We Are Family
foundation.
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
's works; the other two were the live-action Welcome to Pooh Corner
Welcome to Pooh Corner
Welcome to Pooh Corner is a live-action/puppet television series that aired on Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditional puppet...
(to which this series bears resemblance) and the animated The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television that ran from 1988 to 1991, inspired by A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories.-Overview:...
which ran from 1988-1991. It premiered on January 22, 2001, and completed its run on July 8, 2003. The show is produced by Shadow Projects, Sirius Thinking Ltd.
Sirius Thinking Ltd.
Sirius Thinking Ltd. is a New York City-based production company founded in October 1995. The production company specializes in the creation of character-based, mission-driven children's educational entertainment media properties. The co-founders are John Sculley, Christopher Cerf, Norman Stiles,...
and Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
.
This is the first Pooh show where Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
voices Tigger
Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
filling in for the late Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
.
Beginning in February 2012, it will air reruns on the Disney Junior
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....
channel, which will replace SOAPnet
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
.
Overview
The series appears to take place some time after the events of Milne's original stories since his son Christopher Robin MilneChristopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin Milne was the son of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories and in two books of poems.-Early life:...
is clearly a fifth grader and 11 years old. The series departs from many of the established facts of Milne's books; for example, Tigger resides in the Hundred Acre Wood from the start, and Kanga and Roo are later introduced as newcomers. Neither Christopher nor his mother speak with an English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
accent, however in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher has an American accent.
Each show begins entering Christopher Robin's bedroom and hearing his mother say, "Christopher, time for school." Christopher Robin answers, "OK, Mom!", grabs a book and leaves. This is where the book with Pooh and his friends in it opens and the theme song begins. The show can be viewed as non-canonical in other ways. For example, Tigger likes - or at least is shown to eat - honey (compared with most other versions of the Winnie the Pooh stories where "Tiggers don't like honey!") and can climb up - but more importantly climb down from trees. In addition, Rabbit lives in a tree, as opposed to living in a burrow in other versions. However, it is explained why in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television that ran from 1988 to 1991, inspired by A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories.-Overview:...
.
Style of puppetry
The style of puppetry is based on JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
puppetry, and this — along with the cut-out style backgrounds gives the show the look of a pop-up book
Pop-up book
The term pop-up book is often applied to any three-dimensional or movable book, although properly the umbrella term movable book covers pop-ups, transformations, tunnel books, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, pop-outs, pull-downs, and more, each of which performs in a different manner...
— hence "The Book of Pooh". It was the first use of the Shadowmation process developed by creator Mitchell Kriegman which was later used in the PBS series "It's A Big Big World
It's a Big Big World
It's A Big Big World is an American children's television show on PBS Kids, that debuted January 2, 2006. It was originally part of Miss Lori and Hooper's schedule block, but it was replaced in that block on September 3, 2007, though ran for a few years that followed...
".
Characters
The characters in the show regularly sing and dance in ways that enhance the story being told. Many of the episodes do not have much basis in the main A.A. Milne stories, excepting the characters.The design and animation of the show was done by Chris Renaud
Chris Renaud
Chris Renaud is a former backstroke swimmer from Canada, who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1996. His highlights include setting a world record in the short course 50 m Backstroke in 1997, and several Canadian titles...
The series received two Emmy Awards.
The characters who appear regularly are:
- Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
: Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal... - Piglet: John FiedlerJohn FiedlerJohn Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
- Rabbit: Ken SansomKen SansomKenneth Sansom is an American actor and voice actor who first began acting in the early seventies. His first role was in an episode of Mayberry R.F.D., a continuation of the The Andy Griffith Show. He is best known for his role as Rabbit in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He also voiced...
- TiggerTiggerTigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
: Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
(this is the first Pooh TV show where Cummings regularly voiced Tigger. In New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, he voiced Tigger in some episodes) - EeyoreEeyoreEeyore is a character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh....
: Peter CullenPeter CullenPeter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor, known as the voice of Eeyore in the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the original Transformers series, and the narrator in both of the original American Voltron series... - Owl: Andre StojkaAndre StojkaAndre Stojka is an American voice actor. He is best known for his role as Owl in Winnie-the-Pooh projects beginning with The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, inheriting the role from Hal Smith. He was also the voice of the horse Starlite in all of the animated Rainbow Brite productions...
- Kanga: Kath SoucieKath SoucieKatherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...
- RooRooRoo is a fictional character created in 1926 by A. A. Milne and first featured in the book Winnie-the-Pooh. He is a young kangaroo and his mother is Kanga...
: Nikita HopkinsNikita HopkinsNikita Hopkins is an American child actor who is most notable for his Annie Award-nominated portrayal of the character Roo in the recent Winnie the Pooh films.-Selected filmography:*Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving "Roo"... - Kessie: Stephanie D'AbruzzoStephanie D'AbruzzoStephanie D'Abruzzo is an American actress and puppeteer.-Early life:D'Abruzzo grew up in McMurray, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb she has described as a "plastic bubble kind of town." She graduated from Peters Township High School, where she was active in the theater program, and attended the...
(later replaced by Amanda Maddock)
The versions of Tigger and Pooh seen on this show later made an appearance in a music video by the We Are Family
We Are Family Foundation
The We Are Family Foundation is an American 501 nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by songwriter, musician, and producer Nile Rodgers in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks...
foundation.