Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin

Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
2006 edition DVD cover art
Directed by	Karl Geurs
Produced by	Karl Geurs Gina Shay
Written by	Carter Crocker Karl Geurs
Narrated by	David Warner
Starring	Jim Cummings Ken Sansom John Fiedler Paul Winchell Peter Cullen Brady Bluhm
Distributed by	Walt Disney Home Video
Release date(s)	August 5, 1997 (1997-08-05)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (also known as Winnie the Pooh's Most Grand Adventure in some countries) is a 1997 direct-to-video film from Walt Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. The film follows Pooh and his friends on a journey to find and rescue their friend Christopher Robin from the "Skull". Along the way, the group confront their own insecurities throughout the search, facing and conquering them in a series of events where they're forced to act beyond their own known limits, thus discovering their true potential. Unlike the film's predecessors, this film is an entirely original story, not based on any of A. A. Milne's Pooh stories (however, some elements come from a story in House at Pooh Corner, "In Which Rabbit Has a Busy Day and We Learn What Christopher Robin Does in the Mornings").

The movie is also the first Winnie the Pooh film (and the first Disney direct-to-video film) ever to have its own special edition.

Plot

Christopher Robin is unable to tell Pooh that he must begin going to school, and leaves him with the advice, "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." The next morning, Pooh discovers a honey pot with an attached note - however, he cannot read it himself. As he goes around to his friends Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore, it's clear that the group needs Christopher Robin's help and advice with their own obstacles, and none of them are able to read it. From reading the note, Owl deduces that Christopher Robin has been taken to a distant, mysterious and dangerous land called Skull against his will. Owl equips the group with a map and sends them into the "Great Unknown" of the Hundred Acre Wood, warning them of the ferocious beast that lords over Skull, the "Skullasaurus".

During their travels the group slowly realizes just how helpless they are without Christopher Robin in the outside world. Piglet, Tigger, and Rabbit come to believe they don't have the courage, strength, or intelligence respectively to go on. The group comes to terms with the fact that they are lost and helpless without Christopher Robin, but take shelter in a nearby cave. While everyone is asleep, Pooh heartbrokenly laments getting no closer to finding his dear friend Christopher Robin.

In the morning, the five realize they'd spent the night in Skull Cave. The five split up to search for Christopher Robin on their own, in which Pooh gets stuck in a crevasse, and the four others scare themselves silly before finding the "Eye of the Skull" where Christopher Robin supposedly is. They demonstrate their courage, strength, and intelligence to reach the eye where they find Christopher Robin alive and well. He explains he was at school, and that the Skullasaurus is actually Pooh's growling stomach. Pooh meanwhile frees himself from the crevasse, only to fall into a deep pit where he realizes that Christopher Robin is still in his heart.

Christopher Robin then rescues Pooh from the deep pit. The six exit Skull Cave, only to discover that from the outside, it and all the other locations on the map weren't nearly as big, nor as scary as they seemed. They return home, and that evening, Christopher Robin says he will return to school the next day. Pooh declares that he will always be waiting for him, and the two happily watch the sunset, knowing they will always have each other in the sanctuary of the Hundred Acre Wood.

Songs

"Forever and Ever" was later sung by songwriter and singer Carly Simon for Piglet's Big Movie.

• "Forever and Ever", Performed by Jim Cummings and Frankie J. Galasso
• "Adventure is a Wonderful Thing", Performed by Andre Stojka
• "If It Says So, So It Is", Performed by Ken Sansom
• "Wherever You Are", Performed by Jim Cummings
• "Everything is Right", Performed by Jim Cummings, Paul Winchell, Peter Cullen (uncredited), Ken Sansom, John Fiedler, and Frankie J. Galasso.
• "Wherever You Are" [Reprise] (End Title) Performed by Barry Coffing and Vonda Shepard

Cast

• Jim Cummings - Winnie-the-Pooh / Skullasaurus growls
• Ken Sansom - Rabbit
• John Fiedler - Piglet
• Paul Winchell - Tigger
• Peter Cullen - Eeyore
• Brady Bluhm - Christopher Robin
• Andre Stojka - Owl
• Frankie J. Galasso - Christopher Robin (singing voice)
• Narrated by David Warner

Notes

• Kanga, Roo, and Gopher are absent in this film.
• Frank Welker was originally going to voice the Skullasaurus growls, but was later replaced by Jim Cummings, who also voiced Pooh.
• There was some negative criticism regarding this film. Some believed that the mild horror elements of the film were too scary for young children, such as the scary Skullasaurus growls, falling down the long gorge, and the creepy skull cave.
• This is the first time Brady Bluhm voiced Christopher Robin.
• This was the last Winnie the Pooh film in which Paul Winchell voiced Tigger. However, it wasn't the last time he voiced him. His last time was in Winnie The Pooh: A Valentine For You. He was originally supposed to voice Tigger again in The Tigger Movie in 2000 but his voice had become somewhat scratchy by the recording date, so he was replaced by Jim Cummings, the voice of Pooh.
• Parts of the plotline of this movie (namely the presence of Skull, along with other aspects) were adapted for the 100 Acre Wood world in Kingdom Hearts II.
• This film has 2 remixes by Pogo in 2011.
• Even though the original 1997 videocassette of Pooh's Grand Adventure was not part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, the video does contain the collection's logo at the start of the film as a mistake.

External links

• Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin at the Internet Movie Database
• Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Pooh's Grand Adventure DVD Review and Pictures at UltimateDisney.com