"Welcome to Pooh Corner" (1983) TV series 1983-1995

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Denise McKenna

Writers:

A.A. Milne (characters)
Mark Stratton (staff writer)

Release Date:

18 April 1983 (USA)

Plot:

Winnie the Pooh's first live-action television series. The popular "Pooh Corner" consisted of a mix...

Plot Keywords:

Winnie The Pooh | Chroma Key | Rabbit | Donkey | Tiger

Cast

Phil Baron	...	Rabbit & Piglet (voice)
Ron Gans	...	Kanga & Roo (voice)
Laurie Main	...	Host / Narrator (voice)
Will Ryan	...	Tigger & Eeyore (voice)
Hal Smith	...	Winnie the Pooh & Owl (voice)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-Y

Company:

Walt Disney Television

Trivia:

Roo's character originally was like a toddler and was done by a puppet and would most often be sitting on something like Eeyore or Tigger's back Kanga's pouch or his high chair, later his character was portrayed more like a preschool aged and was able to walk around in more scenes and was never in his mother's pouch.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

Unique Kids' Show

Just to add a few comments to what's already been written...

I, too, really loved this show when I was a kid. It aired on The Disney Channel back in the days when the entire channel was built around Disney characters (now it seems aimed at young teenagers and tries to compete with Nickelodeon).

This show used full-bodied costumes with animatronic heads for all of the Pooh characters except Roo (who was sometimes a sophisticated puppet, and at other times was played by a dwarf in a small body costume).

The show did not use traditional sets in most cases but instead was filmed against blue-screen. However, unlike most mid-80s use of blue screen technology, this actually looked quite realistic and did not have the awkward or fake look that most blue-screen of the era exhibited. This show had a companion show called "Dumbo's Circus" that was made a few years later and used the same technology very effectively (that show had Dumbo and a bunch of new characters that were never seen outside this series).

The show had an interesting structure. Each episode opened with an older-British-guy host (not Sebastian Cabot, though) who would begin reading from a Pooh story book and then you would go into the story.

The main story lasted about 20 minutes, and then there were two more segments. The first was a music video for one of about ten or so songs they used over and over. The last segment was usually some sort of game, educational segment, or craft demonstration with one of the Pooh characters would speak directly to the camera and interact with the voice-over of the narrator. This was supposed to be a "practical" segment that taught something kids could learn and use, as opposed to just entertainment. Then there was a very catchy closing song that was used every day (the lyrics went something like "Toodle-oo, So Long, and Goodbye," and it was the best kids' closing song I can think of besides "The Song That Doesn't End" from Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop).

Unlike most of the other Disney-produced Pooh shows, this one had original stories that did not come directly from the A. A. Milne books. It was really well-written and could entertain adults as well as children. It was not a baby-ish show. There were numerous holiday-themed episodes - I have specific memories of watching this show on Christmas morning.

This show is really unique, original, and timeless. It has a visual sense unlike anything I've seen before or since (except it's sister show "Dumbo's Circus"). I'm not sure why Disney doesn't use this technology anymore becuase it doesn't look dated at all. What was so impressive about this show's look was that the colors were so vibrant and sparkled so brightly. As others have suggested, I wish Disney would re-run it or at least put it out on DVD.