User:TravisBernard/Winnie the Pooh (film)

Winnie the Pooh is a 2011 American animated film inspired by three A.A. Milne stories. The film is a reboot of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, and it marks the first time a Winnie the Pooh film will hit theaters since the 1977 film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. In the film, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo embark on a quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. The movie is directed by Stephen Anderson and Don Hall, written by A. A. Milne and Burny Mattinson, produced by Peter Del Vecho, Clark Spencer, John Lasseter, and Craig Sost, and narrated by John Cleese.

The film was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and was released on April 15, 2011 in the UK, with a United States release date set for July 15, 2011. Production for the film began in September 2009 with John Lasseter announcing that they wanted to create a film that would "transcend generations." The film also features six songs by Robert Lopez, as well as a rendition of the "Winne the Pooh" theme song by actress and musician Zooey Deschanel. The movie is preceded by the animated short called The Ballad of Nessie about a friendly Loch Ness Monster named Nessie and how she and her best friend MacQuack, the rubber duck, came to live in the moor they now call home.

Plot
Pooh wakes up one day to find that he is out of honey. While searching for honey, Pooh discovers Eeyore who is even sadder than Pooh because he has lost his tail. Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, and Roo come to the rescue, and Christopher Robin decides to hold a contest to see who can find Eeyore's tail. The prize for the winner is a fresh pot of honey. The next day, Pooh goes to visit Christopher Robin and he finds a note that says "Bizy Back Soon." Because Pooh is unable to read the note, he asks for Owl's help. Owl's poor reading comprehension skills lead Pooh and his friends to believe that Christopher Robin has been abducted by a monster they call the "Backson." Pooh and his friends plan to trap the "Backson" in a pit, but they end up getting stuck in their own trap. Piglet attempts to get Pooh and friends out of the trap, but he fails because he's too timid. Pooh uses the words in the storybook to form a ladder, and the animals are able to get out of the trap. Upon escape, Pooh visits Owl only to find out that Owl was the one that took Eeyore's tail. Owl had been using Eeyore's tail as a pulley for his door. Pooh then goes to Eeyore to tell him about his tail. Christopher Robin is proud of Pooh's kindness and rewards him with a large pot of honey.

Cast

 * Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
 * Tom Kenny as Rabbit
 * Craig Ferguson as Owl
 * Travis Oates as Piglet
 * Bud Luckey as Eeyore
 * Jack Boulter as Christopher Robin
 * Kristen Anderson-Lopez as Kanga
 * Wyatt Hall as Roo
 * John Cleese as the Narrator
 * Huell Howser

Production
Burny Mattinson, a Disney veteran who worked as the key animator on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, served as lead storyboard artist for the film, with Stephen Anderson and Don Helm directing. Director Stephen Anderson is best known for his effort on Meet the Robinsons, Journey Beneath the Sea, Brother Bear, The Emperor's New Groove, and Bolt. Director Don Hall also has veteran status at Walt Disney Animation Studios, significantly contributing to The Princess and the Frog, Meet the Robinsons, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, The Emperor's New Groove, and Tarzan. Supervising animators for the film include Mark Henn (Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin), Andreas Deja (Tigger), Bruce W. Smith (Piglet, Kanga, Roo), Randy Haycock (Eeyore), Eric Goldberg (Rabbit) and Dale Baer (Owl). Similar to The Princess and the Frog, the film also uses Toon Boom Animation's Harmony software. Instead of using live-action book scenes, the book scenes are CGI-animated with the characters interacting with the text.

Originally, the film was supposed to feature five stories from the A.A. Milne books, but the the final version ended up drawing inspiration from three stories. Lasseter had also announced that Rabbit's friends and relatives would be in the film, but they never appeared.

Music
The film was scored by Henry Jackman with additional music by Zooey Deschanel, Robert Lopez, and Kristen Lopez. Zooey Deschanel performs three songs for the film, including a take on the Winnie the Pooh theme song, "A Very Important Thing to Do" and the original end-credit song "So Long," which was written by Zooey Deschanel and performed with She & Him band mate M. Ward. Robert Lopez and his wife Kristen wrote six songs for the film, including “The Tummy Song,” “A Very Important Thing To Do,” “Everything Is Honey,” “The Winner Song,” “The Backson Song” and “It’s Gonna Be Great." In the trailer, the song "Somewhere Only We Know" by English alternative rock band Keane is used instead of the music written by Henry Jackman. The song by Keane is not included on the soundtrack.

Marketing
A trailer and the first images for the film were released on November 11, 2010. Two UK posters for the movie were released in January 2011, with a US poster released in February, 2011. A short film called The Ballad of Nessie also premiered with the film, with the first images appearing online in March, 2011. The Ballad of Nessie was directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters, and it is a story about how Nessie and her best friend MacQuack came to live in Loch Ness.