| Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too | |
|---|---|
 Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too VHS cover |
|
| Directed by | Jamie Mitchell |
| Produced by | Jamie Mitchell Ken Kessel |
| Written by | Karl Geurs Mark Zaslove |
| Starring | Jim Cummings Paul Winchell Ken Sansom John Fiedler Peter Cullen Michael Gough Edan Gross |
| Music by | Steve Nelson Thomas Richard Sharp |
| Distributed by | ABC Walt Disney Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 14, 1991 |
| Running time | 26 minutes (US) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too is a Christmas television special based on the Disney television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, originally broadcast on Saturday December 14, 1991, on ABC. It is also the series finale of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Plot
Two days before Christmas, Christopher Robin writes out a letter to Santa Claus for him and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, asking for the following presents:
- Rabbit wants a new fly swatter to use against the bugs who constantly invade his garden
- Eeyore wants an umbrella to prevent snow from falling on his house
- Tigger wants a snowshoe so he can bounce in the snow
- Christopher Robin wants a sled "big enough for me and maybe a friend or two"
- Piglet said Santa Claus could bring whatever he wanted.
He sends the letter off into the wind, but the next day, Winnie the Pooh realizes, after Piglet informs him, that he didn't ask for anything himself, so they go find the letter, which hasn't gotten very far. Afterwards, they, along with Tigger and Eeyore, go to Rabbit's house and rewrite the letter to include what Pooh wants (a pot of honey, of course). Along the way, though, they become greedy and start upgrading their desires (Rabbit wants a bug sprayer, for instance).
Following this, Tigger, Eeyore, and Rabbit go off to get a tree big enough for "the stuff we're gettin'", with help from a reluctant Gopher (he's supposed to be hibernating). In the meantime, Pooh and Piglet go back to the point where Christopher Robin sent the letter and cast it off into the wind again. But the wind shifts southward, and the letter follows Pooh all the way to his house. Knowing that the rest of the gang won't get their presents as a result of this, Pooh takes it into his (and Piglet's) hand to make sure the gifts are delivered.
Disguised as Santa, Pooh sneaks out and delivers Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore a super-bouncer barrel, a bug sprayer, and a mobile home, respectively - or rather, handmade versions of said items that break apart upon use. Demanding to know what's going on, the three of them corner "Santa", who insists that he is who he claims to be. But then, Piglet (disguised as a "sorry-lookin' reindeer") slips and makes his sled fall downhill, thus loosening Pooh's disguise.
After explaining what happened, Pooh decides to try and deliver the letter to Santa by himself, leaving the rest of the gang behind to wait up for him. He doesn't get far, though, as the wind suddenly takes the letter, so he gives up and goes back to the gang. Even after he tells them that he failed in bringing the letter, though, they're happy to have him back, because they've realized what Christmas is really about. Afterwards, Christopher Robin shows up and brings them the gifts they had originally asked for to begin with.
Broadcast history
When Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too originally aired, it was introduced by way of a short introductory skit featuring Michael Eisner and the Disneyland walk-around versions of the Winnie the Pooh characters. The special was then accompanied by the Donald Duck cartoons The Hockey Champ and Bearly Asleep, as well as a promo for Beauty and the Beast.
Subsequent broadcasts of the special, as well as the 1994 VHS release, followed it up with the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh episode "The Magic Earmuffs". The VHS release also contained a short Spot cartoon. Also, it was later partnered with Mickey's Christmas Carol. It was originally broadcasted on ABC. The special was broadcast on CBS in 1995. After Disney's purchase of ABC, that network once again became the home of all subsequent broadcasts. It re-aired on ABC in 1996 and kept on air until 1999. It came back on air on December 11, 2007, albeit edited down, after not airing on ABC since then. On December 10, 2008, the edited 2007 version was shown on ABC Family (along with Mickey's Christmas Carol) part of their "25 Days of Christmas".
Currently, the only DVD release available is the direct-to-video release Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year, where it is edited into the main feature. However, Christoper Robin's lines are re-dubbed by his voice actor in the film's main story, and Rabbit's animation is recolored to have him in his usual yellow-furred appearance (as opposed to his greenish fur in the New Adventures series).
External links
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