Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore
Encyclopedia
Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore is a Disney
Winnie the Pooh
animated featurette
, based on two chapters from the books Winnie-the-Pooh
and The House at Pooh Corner
, originally released theatrically on March 11, 1983, before the 1983 re-issue of The Sword in the Stone
. It is the fourth and final of Disney's original theatrical featurettes adapted from the Pooh books
by A. A. Milne
.
Produced by Rick Reinert Productions, this was the first Disney animated film since the 1938 Silly Symphonies
short Merbabies to be produced by an outside studio. (The company had also previously produced the educational Disney short Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons
in 1981.)
taking a walk to a wooden bridge over a river where he likes to do nothing in particular. On this day, though, he finds a fir cone and drops it in the river. Noticing that the flow of the river takes the cone under the bridge, Pooh invents a racing game out of it. As the game uses sticks instead of cones, he calls it Poohsticks
.
Sometime later, while Pooh, Piglet
, Rabbit
and Roo
are playing Poohsticks, they see Eeyore floating in the river below. After a somewhat successful attempt to get him to shore with a giant stone, he tells them that he fell in due to being bounced from behind. Piglet assumes it was Tigger who bounced Eeyore into the river. When Tigger arrives on the scene, he claims that his bounce was actually a cough, but with some outside help from the narrator, the animals find out that Tigger
had indeed deliberately bounced Eeyore. Tigger thinks it is all a joke, but nobody else feels that way. Tigger disgustedly says that they have no sense of humor, and bounces away.
As Eeyore seems particularly depressed this day, Pooh follows him to his gloomy spot and asks what the problem is. Eeyore says that he is unhappy because it is his birthday
, and nobody has taken any notice to celebrate it. Pooh decides to give him a jar of honey, but does not get far before he has a hunger attack and ends up eating the honey. Upon realizing this, he decides to ask Owl
for help. Owl writes a misspelled greeting on the pot and flies off to tell Christopher Robin
about the birthday. Piglet has planned to give a red balloon to Eeyore, but falls down and bursts it accidentally.
Piglet is very sad that his gift for Eeyore is spoiled, but he presents it to him anyway, and only a minute later, Pooh brings the empty pot. Eeyore is gladdened, as he can now put the broken red balloon into the pot and remove it again. Pooh and his friends then pitch in and plan a surprise party for their friend.
During the party, Tigger arrives and bounces Rabbit, who is then scared out of his wits as Tigger bounces Rabbit out of his chair. Roo welcomes him to the festivities as Rabbit draws himself up from being bounced on by Tigger, incensed. Rabbit opines that Tigger should leave because of the way he treated Eeyore before. Roo wants Tigger to stay, and Christopher Robin's solution is for everyone to go to the bridge and play Poohsticks. Eeyore, a first-time player, wins the most games, while Tigger does not win at all. Eeyore's secret for winning, as he explains to Tigger afterwards, is to "let [his] stick drop in a twitchy sort of way." As Tigger bounces Eeyore into the river the same time as he did to him earlier before offscreen, Christopher Robin, Pooh and Piglet all decide that "Tigger's all right, really."
Hal Smith, who voiced Owl, also provided the voice of Winnie the Pooh after Sterling Holloway gave up the role. Will Ryan replaced the late Junius Matthews as Rabbit, Julie McWhirter replaced the late Barbara Luddy as Kanga, and Laurie Main replaced the late Sebastian Cabot as the Narrator. This would also be Ralph Wright's final role, for he passed nine months after its release. Smith, Ryan, and Main reprised their roles on Welcome to Pooh Corner, where Ryan also provided the voice of Tigger.
, Disney redubbed some of the voices.
, released on VHS
in 1984, followed by other releases of this film, including the December 28, 1990 Walt Disney Mini-Classics release and the July 11, 2000 Storybook Classics release. It has since been included as a bonus feature on VHS and DVD
releases of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh (Disney)
Winnie the Pooh is an American Walt Disney Company franchise, based on animated fictional characters who have been featured as part of the Disney character line-up. The Winnie the Pooh franchise is based on A. A...
animated featurette
Featurette
Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
, based on two chapters from the books Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh (book)
Winnie-the-Pooh is the first volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne. It is followed by The House at Pooh Corner. The book focuses on the adventures of a teddy bear called Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, a small toy pig; Eeyore, a toy donkey; Owl, a live owl; and Rabbit, a...
and The House at Pooh Corner
The House at Pooh Corner
The House at Pooh Corner is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of the character Tigger, who went on to become a prominent figure in the Disney Winnie the Pooh franchise.- Plot :The title...
, originally released theatrically on March 11, 1983, before the 1983 re-issue of The Sword in the Stone
The Sword in the Stone (film)
The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney and originally released to theaters on December 25, 1963...
. It is the fourth and final of Disney's original theatrical featurettes adapted from the Pooh books
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-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...
by 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...
.
Produced by Rick Reinert Productions, this was the first Disney animated film since the 1938 Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...
short Merbabies to be produced by an outside studio. (The company had also previously produced the educational Disney short Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons
Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons
Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons is an educational short film made by The Walt Disney Company, released on September 6, 1981.- Plot :...
in 1981.)
Plot
The story begins with PoohWinnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-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...
taking a walk to a wooden bridge over a river where he likes to do nothing in particular. On this day, though, he finds a fir cone and drops it in the river. Noticing that the flow of the river takes the cone under the bridge, Pooh invents a racing game out of it. As the game uses sticks instead of cones, he calls it Poohsticks
Poohsticks
Poohsticks is a game first mentioned in The House at Pooh Corner, a Winnie-the-Pooh book by A. A. Milne. It is a simple game which may be played on any bridge over running water; each player drops a stick on the upstream side of a bridge and the one whose stick first appears on the downstream side...
.
Sometime later, while Pooh, Piglet
Piglet (Winnie the Pooh)
Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie-the-Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys/animals featured in the stories...
, Rabbit
Rabbit (Winnie the Pooh)
In the fictional world of the book series and cartoons Winnie-the-Pooh, Rabbit is a responsible rabbit who happens to be a good friend of Winnie-the-Pooh. He is always practical and keeps his friends on their toes, although they sometimes raise his ire unintentionally.-Role in the books:The first...
and Roo
Roo
Roo 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...
are playing Poohsticks, they see Eeyore floating in the river below. After a somewhat successful attempt to get him to shore with a giant stone, he tells them that he fell in due to being bounced from behind. Piglet assumes it was Tigger who bounced Eeyore into the river. When Tigger arrives on the scene, he claims that his bounce was actually a cough, but with some outside help from the narrator, the animals find out that 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...
had indeed deliberately bounced Eeyore. Tigger thinks it is all a joke, but nobody else feels that way. Tigger disgustedly says that they have no sense of humor, and bounces away.
As Eeyore seems particularly depressed this day, Pooh follows him to his gloomy spot and asks what the problem is. Eeyore says that he is unhappy because it is his birthday
Birthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
, and nobody has taken any notice to celebrate it. Pooh decides to give him a jar of honey, but does not get far before he has a hunger attack and ends up eating the honey. Upon realizing this, he decides to ask Owl
Owl (Winnie the Pooh)
Owl is a fictional character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books and in Disney's Winnie the Pooh cartoons. Owl's character is based on the archetype of the "wise old owl", although in the books, the quality of Owl's "wisdom" is sometimes questionable....
for help. Owl writes a misspelled greeting on the pot and flies off to tell Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, appearing in his popular books of poetry and stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. He has subsequently appeared in Disney cartoons....
about the birthday. Piglet has planned to give a red balloon to Eeyore, but falls down and bursts it accidentally.
Piglet is very sad that his gift for Eeyore is spoiled, but he presents it to him anyway, and only a minute later, Pooh brings the empty pot. Eeyore is gladdened, as he can now put the broken red balloon into the pot and remove it again. Pooh and his friends then pitch in and plan a surprise party for their friend.
During the party, Tigger arrives and bounces Rabbit, who is then scared out of his wits as Tigger bounces Rabbit out of his chair. Roo welcomes him to the festivities as Rabbit draws himself up from being bounced on by Tigger, incensed. Rabbit opines that Tigger should leave because of the way he treated Eeyore before. Roo wants Tigger to stay, and Christopher Robin's solution is for everyone to go to the bridge and play Poohsticks. Eeyore, a first-time player, wins the most games, while Tigger does not win at all. Eeyore's secret for winning, as he explains to Tigger afterwards, is to "let [his] stick drop in a twitchy sort of way." As Tigger bounces Eeyore into the river the same time as he did to him earlier before offscreen, Christopher Robin, Pooh and Piglet all decide that "Tigger's all right, really."
Original 1983 version
- Hal SmithHal Smith (actor)Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
as Winnie the Pooh and OwlOwlOwls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish... - Ralph WrightRalph WrightRalph Waldo Wright was a Disney animator and story/storyboard writer who is best known for providing the gloomy, sullen voice of Eeyore from the popular Winnie-the-Pooh franchise...
as 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.... - 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...
as Piglet - Paul WinchellPaul WinchellPaul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
as 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... - Will RyanWill RyanWill Ryan is an American voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
as Rabbit - Kim Christianson as Christopher RobinChristopher RobinChristopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, appearing in his popular books of poetry and stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. He has subsequently appeared in Disney cartoons....
- Julie McWhirterJulie McWhirterJulie McWhirter is an Indiana-born voice actress and impressionist best known for her work as Kanga in "Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore". Her voice acting also includes numerous Hanna-Barbera cartoons, such as Jeannie, Jabberjaw, Casper and the Angels, Drak Pack and The Smurfs...
as Kanga - Dick Billingsley as 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...
- Narrated by Laurie MainLaurie MainLaurence "Laurie" Main is an English former actor. Although Main appeared in many films and television series since the 1950s, he is perhaps best known for hosting and narrating the children's series Welcome to Pooh Corner, which aired on The Disney Channel during the 1980s.His television guest...
Hal Smith, who voiced Owl, also provided the voice of Winnie the Pooh after Sterling Holloway gave up the role. Will Ryan replaced the late Junius Matthews as Rabbit, Julie McWhirter replaced the late Barbara Luddy as Kanga, and Laurie Main replaced the late Sebastian Cabot as the Narrator. This would also be Ralph Wright's final role, for he passed nine months after its release. Smith, Ryan, and Main reprised their roles on Welcome to Pooh Corner, where Ryan also provided the voice of Tigger.
2007 version
For the 2007 version featured on the Friendship Edition of The Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the 22nd full-length animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on March 11, 1977....
, Disney redubbed some of the voices.
- 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...
as Winnie the Pooh - Ralph WrightRalph WrightRalph Waldo Wright was a Disney animator and story/storyboard writer who is best known for providing the gloomy, sullen voice of Eeyore from the popular Winnie-the-Pooh franchise...
as Eeyore - 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...
as Piglet - Paul WinchellPaul WinchellPaul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
as Tigger - 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...
as Rabbit - Trevyn Savage as Christopher Robin
- Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeilleTress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
as Kanga - Aaron Spann as Roo
- Hal SmithHal Smith (actor)Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
as Owl - Narrated by Laurie MainLaurie MainLaurence "Laurie" Main is an English former actor. Although Main appeared in many films and television series since the 1950s, he is perhaps best known for hosting and narrating the children's series Welcome to Pooh Corner, which aired on The Disney Channel during the 1980s.His television guest...
Home video
The first home video release for Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore was Winnie the Pooh and FriendsWinnie the Pooh and Friends
Winnie the Pooh and Friends is a compilation video released in 1984 from Walt Disney Home Video featuring the following 4 cartoon shorts:* Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore: a 1983 cartoon short where it's Eeyore's birthday and nobody has noticed...
, released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1984, followed by other releases of this film, including the December 28, 1990 Walt Disney Mini-Classics release and the July 11, 2000 Storybook Classics release. It has since been included as a bonus feature on VHS and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the 22nd full-length animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on March 11, 1977....
.
Winnie the Pooh featurettes
- Winnie the Pooh and the Honey TreeWinnie the Pooh and the Honey TreeWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is a 1966 animated featurette released by The Walt Disney Company. Based on the first two chapters of the book Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne, it is the is the only Winnie the Pooh production released under the production of Walt Disney before his death later that...
(1966) - Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery DayWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery DayWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is a 1968 animated featurette based on stories from the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The featurette was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution on December 20, 1968 before The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. This was...
(1968) - Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974)
- Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (1983)