Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
| Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree | |
|---|---|
 Storybook Classics VHS cover |
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| Directed by | Wolfgang Reitherman |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Written by | A.A. Milne Ralph Wright Ken Anderson Larry Clemmons |
| Narrated by | Sebastian Cabot |
| Starring | Sterling Holloway Junius Matthews Bruce Reitherman Hal Smith Howard Morris |
| Music by | Robert & Richard Sherman Buddy Baker |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
| Release date(s) | February 4, 1966 |
| Running time | 26 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is a 1966 film combining live-action and animation. It was 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 Walt Disney's supervision before his death later that year. It was later added as a segment to the 1977 film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Music and lyrics were written by the Sherman Brothers, (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman). Background music was provided by Buddy Baker. This featurette was shown before The Ugly Dachshund. The Estates of A. A. Milne including Christopher Robin Milne, were not happy with the ending of the film, especially the part when Pooh flies though the air, landing inside a bee tree.
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[edit] Plot
Winnie-the-Pooh is in the Hundred Acre Wood doing his morning stoutness exercises; not to get in shape, but to make him hungry for more food. During his exercise he accidentily rips the stitching on his bottom. After repairing his torn rump he visits his pantry, finds that his jar of honey is empty (save for a sticky part on the bottom) and starts wondering where he can get more. He hears a bee fly by, and decides to try to get honey from the bee's hive in the nearby honey tree. He climbs the tree and reaches as high as he can, but the branch he is standing on breaks, and he falls into a gorse bush.
Not one to give up, Pooh decides to go to Christopher Robin's house, where Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and Roo are waiting for him. Pooh gets a blue balloon from Christopher Robin to try to get the honey from the honey tree. He rolls himself in a black mud puddle to disguise himself as a little black raincloud, and then uses the balloon to float up next to the hive. However the angry bees end up chasing Pooh and Christopher Robin, and the two barely manage to escape the angry swarm by diving into the mud puddle.
With honey still on his mind, Pooh Bear goes to Rabbit's house, hoping to find honey there. Rabbit politely invites Pooh for lunch, despite being aware of Pooh's vast appetite. Pooh Bear then proceeds to eat every last bit of honey in Rabbit's house, thanks Rabbit and waddles off to leave. He tries to climb through Rabbit's front door, but he has become so fat and full of honey that he gets stuck tight. Rabbit tries to free Pooh by pushing on his over-sized bottom, but the bear won't budge. In a panic, Rabbit runs off to fetch Christopher Robin for help. While Pooh waits, he is visited by Owl and Gopher. Owl tries to cheer Pooh up, but ends up making Pooh feel embarrassed by his tight predicament. Gopher offers to free Pooh using dynamite. Rabbit then comes back with Christopher Robin, who tries to pull Pooh Bear out, but he won't budge an inch. Christopher Robin then suggests pushing him back in, but Rabbit protests, shoving a chair up against Pooh's rear to prevent him from going back into Rabbit's house. Eventually, Christopher Robin suggests Pooh will just have to wait to get thin again. Rabbit is forced to make the best of a bad situation and tries various methods of disguising the bear's bottom, including painting a moose face on it and using his legs to hold up a shelf. Kanga and Roo stop by and give him a bouquet of honeysuckle flowers, which causes him to sneeze, thus sending the shelf (and the objects on it) flying.
One night, Gopher returns to see Pooh. Pooh wonders what's inside Gopher's lunch box. When he learns that Gopher has a pot of honey, Pooh asks him for a little taste of it, but Rabbit, who overheard their conversation, runs out, confiscates the honey, and reminds Pooh that he can't eat anything until he is thin again.
Many days later, Rabbit discovers that Pooh has budged ever so slightly when he leans on him, sending him dashing off to find Christopher Robin. Christopher Robin, Kanga, Eeyore, Owl, Roo, and Gopher start pulling on Pooh Bear while Rabbit frantically pushes from behind, but the bear won't move. Fed up with all the delay, Rabbit takes several steps backwards and charges into Pooh Bear. With a loud "pop!" he got out of Rabbit's front door like a bullet from a gun and goes flying through the air. He lands in the honey tree, getting himself stuck again and frightening the bees away. The gang runs after him, and Christopher Robin tells Pooh that they will help him get out again but Pooh tells them to take their time; he is quite content to remain stuck as he happily eats his honey.
[edit] Voice cast
- Sterling Holloway as Winnie the Pooh
- Junius Matthews as Rabbit
- Bruce Reitherman as Christopher Robin
- Hal Smith as Owl
- Howard Morris as Gopher
- Clint Howard as Roo
- Barbara Luddy as Kanga
- Ralph Wright as Eeyore
- James MacDonald as The Bees (uncredited)
- Dal McKennon as The Bees (uncredited)
- Ginny Tyler as The Bees (uncredited)
- Narrated by Sebastian Cabot
[edit] Songs
- "Winnie the Pooh"
- "Up, Down and Touch the Ground"
- "Rumbly in My Tumbly"
- "Mind Over Matter"
- "Little Black Rain Cloud"
[edit] Winnie the Pooh featurettes
- Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)
- Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)
- Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974)
- Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (1983)
[edit] External links
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