The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by author A. A. Milne, The New Adventures was the first time a major Disney character headlined an animated, made-for-television series. The cartoon premiered with a limited run on The Disney Channel on January 17, 1988. Nine months later, the show moved to ABC as part of their Saturday morning lineup. New episodes continued until October 26, 1991. Proving popular with children and older fans, it remained on television in the United States for nearly two decades.

The series depicts the everyday lives of Christopher Robin and his companions Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo. Rather than a straightforward adaptation, the show was more Americanized than previous Pooh efforts. Episodes dealt with strong messages about honesty, responsibility, persistence, cooperative effort, friendship, and caring. Many stories are designed to help young children distinguish between fantasy and reality and overcome common childhood fears.

Publications ranging from The Los Angeles Times to TV Guide gave the series extremely positive reviews for its resemblance to the earlier Disney efforts and its high production quality, receiving praise for its wholesome tradition. The show won back-to-back Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program as well as two Humanitas Prizes. The show was well received by both children and their parents. Most of the viewer mail the crew received were from parents thanking the staff for producing a show that they can watch with their children. The New Adventures is credited with bringing about a resurgence of Pooh animated media, including a series of television and video specials.

The series became available on Disney+ when the service launched on November 12, 2019.

## History

### Origin

Winnie the Pooh was created by British author A.A. Milne in the 1920s. The character was named after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne. He had named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear he often saw at London Zoo, and "Pooh", a swan they had met while on holiday. Drawing from this and other toys owned by his son, Milne created the world of Winnie-the-Pooh. He first appeared by name on December 24, 1925, in a Christmas story commissioned and published by the London Evening News. The following year, a collection of Pooh stories was formally released bearing the name *Winnie-the-Pooh*. The stories proved very popular and inspired a sequel.

The idea for a television series was first discussed in 1957. NBC suggested Jay Ward undertake the pilot, then titled *The World of Winnie the Pooh*, with an option for thirty-nine episodes. Some songs and bits of dialogue were recorded, but the project was ultimately abandoned. In 1961, Walt Disney bought the film rights to make an animated movie starring the characters. He subsequently produced a series of three short featurettes throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with *Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree*. Disney had also aired a variety show with the characters that used electronically controlled puppetry and life-sized costume titled *Welcome to Pooh Corner*. This became the highest rated program on the Disney Channel. The original featurettes also proved popular, with video sales topping the charts in 1986 and 1987.

## Characters

* **Winnie the Pooh** (Jim Cummings) is the main character, a "bear of very little brain". He is very naive yet lovable and is always good-natured. Cummings called the program timeless.
* **Piglet** (John Fiedler) is Pooh's best friend. He is shy, very kindhearted and is obsessed with keeping things neat and tidy, and enjoys beautiful things like flowers. His fears and nervousness often hinder his life, as he runs and hides when unnecessary and often stutters when nervous, but has been shown to have a lot of hidden courage and often faces danger to help others. He sometimes has an inferiority complex, although his friends think highly of him. Episodes about him tend to revolve around these traits as well as his small size. Fellow actor Jim Cummings described his voice as "kind of like the wind blowing through tall grass. It sounded homey, and it sounding comforting." Fiedler was very proud of his work on the show and enjoyed the role just as much as when he started in 1968.
* **Tigger** (Paul Winchell, Jim Cummings) is an ebullient tiger. Tigger is always filled with great energy and optimism, and though always well-meaning, he can also be mischievous, and his actions have sometimes led to chaos and trouble for himself and his friends. He is very confident and has quite an ego, having a high opinion of himself. He has a notable habit of mispronouncing various words, or stressing wrong syllables in them. Unlike previous adaptations, Tigger is shown living in a large treehouse. Winchell thought of him as a cross between the Dead End Kids and the Cowardly Lion. Winchell voiced Tigger in the first two seasons, before Cummings took over the role for the last two seasons. When Cummings took over the role, Winchell said "Take care of my little friend for me."
* **Rabbit** (Ken Sansom) is a sarcastic and finicky rabbit. In addition to wanting to be organized and practical, Rabbit's tendency to take charge is inflated to the extent that he becomes a control freak who insists on doing things exactly right, in his way and in the proper order. He keeps a garden and does whatever he can to protect it from other animals such as bugs and crows and he gets upset when anyone or anything tries to steal his vegetables. He and Tigger are usually foils for each other, reluctantly working together. He was shown as green in the series, compared to yellow in later efforts. Sansom described voicing Rabbit as the best experience he's had.
* **Roo** (Nicholas Melody) is a young joey. He wears a light blue shirt. The smallest of the characters, Roo frequently is seen hanging around Tigger.
* **Kanga** (Patricia Parris) is Roo's mother. She rarely appears, but is shown to be kindhearted and calm.
* **Gopher** (Michael Gough) plays a more prominent role in this series. He is shown to be a bit of a workaholic, and is obsessed with dynamite and digging in his tunnels. He speaks in a Southern accent and wears a helmet with a light attached. He often helps the others out with construction plans.
* **Eeyore** (Peter Cullen) is a gloomy donkey. He is somewhat less caustic and sarcastic in this version than in the original stories. Despite his depressive nature, Eeyore is capable of great compassion. He usually expects misfortune to happen to him, such as his house of sticks to be knocked down regularly, but accepts it when it does.
* **Owl** (Hal Smith) is the eldest character in the series. He presents himself as a mentor and teacher to the others, but is really quite scatterbrained. He enjoys telling stories about his distant relatives, whenever something reminds him of one, but many of his stories are pointless or absurd. He speaks with a strong Southern English accent.
* **Christopher Robin** (Tim Hoskins) is a young boy that has adventures with the stuffed animals.

For the most part, the show used a limited cast consisting only of characters in the original Milne books. However, several minor characters did make appearances. Christopher Robin's mother (voiced by Patricia Parris) is shown occasionally, but always with her face obscured.

Kessie, a bluebird that Rabbit rescues, makes her first appearance in this series; she would later appear in *The Book of Pooh*. Stan Woozle and Heff Heffalump appear as a pair of honey thieves. This marked the first time heffalumps and woozles were seen on-screen. Prior to this, they had always been portrayed as creatures that did not exist and were representative of childhood fears. Instead, the show used other unseen villains such as Jagulars and the "Grab-Me Gotcha." A father and son heffalump also appeared from time to time. Other characters on the show include Owl's cousin Dexter (voiced by Hal Smith) and Skippy the Sheepdog. Chuck McCann provided additional voices as well.

## Characters

Main article: List of Winnie-the-Pooh characters
* **Winnie the Pooh** (Jim Cummings) is the main character, a "bear of very little brain". He is very naive yet lovable and is always good-natured. Cummings called the program timeless.
* **Piglet** (John Fiedler) is Pooh's best friend. He is shy, very kindhearted and is obsessed with keeping things neat and tidy, and enjoys beautiful things like flowers. His fears and nervousness often hinder his life, as he runs and hides when unnecessary and often stutters when nervous, but has been shown to have a lot of hidden courage and often faces danger to help others. He sometimes has an inferiority complex, although his friends think highly of him. Episodes about him tend to revolve around these traits as well as his small size. Fellow actor Jim Cummings described his voice as "kind of like the wind blowing through tall grass. It sounded homey, and it sounding comforting." Fiedler was very proud of his work on the show and enjoyed the role just as much as when he started in 1968.
* **Tigger** (Paul Winchell, Jim Cummings) is an ebullient tiger. Tigger is always filled with great energy and optimism, and though always well-meaning, he can also be mischievous, and his actions have sometimes led to chaos and trouble for himself and his friends. He is very confident and has quite an ego, having a high opinion of himself. He has a notable habit of mispronouncing various words, or stressing wrong syllables in them. Unlike previous adaptations, Tigger is shown living in a large treehouse. Winchell thought of him as a cross between the Dead End Kids and the Cowardly Lion. Winchell voiced Tigger in the first two seasons, before Cummings took over the role for the last two seasons. When Cummings took over the role, Winchell said "Take care of my little friend for me."
* **Rabbit** (Ken Sansom) is a sarcastic and finicky rabbit. In addition to wanting to be organized and practical, Rabbit's tendency to take charge is inflated to the extent that he becomes a control freak who insists on doing things exactly right, in his way and in the proper order. He keeps a garden and does whatever he can to protect it from other animals such as bugs and crows and he gets upset when anyone or anything tries to steal his vegetables. He and Tigger are usually foils for each other, reluctantly working together. He was shown as green in the series, compared to yellow in later efforts. Sansom described voicing Rabbit as the best experience he's had.
* **Roo** (Nicholas Melody) is a young joey. He wears a light blue shirt. The smallest of the characters, Roo frequently is seen hanging around Tigger.
* **Kanga** (Patricia Parris) is Roo's mother. She rarely appears, but is shown to be kindhearted and calm.
* **Gopher** (Michael Gough) plays a more prominent role in this series. He is shown to be a bit of a workaholic, and is obsessed with dynamite and digging in his tunnels. He speaks in a Southern accent and wears a helmet with a light attached. He often helps the others out with construction plans.
* **Eeyore** (Peter Cullen) is a gloomy donkey. He is somewhat less caustic and sarcastic in this version than in the original stories. Despite his depressive nature, Eeyore is capable of great compassion. He usually expects misfortune to happen to him, such as his house of sticks to be knocked down regularly, but accepts it when it does.
* **Owl** (Hal Smith) is the eldest character in the series. He presents himself as a mentor and teacher to the others, but is really quite scatterbrained. He enjoys telling stories about his distant relatives, whenever something reminds him of one, but many of his stories are pointless or absurd. He speaks with a strong Southern English accent.
* **Christopher Robin** (Tim Hoskins) is a young boy that has adventures with the stuffed animals.

For the most part, the show used a limited cast consisting only of characters in the original Milne books. However, several minor characters did make appearances. Christopher Robin's mother (voiced by Patricia Parris) is shown occasionally, but always with her face obscured.

## Impact and legacy

The series helped spawn a successful *Winnie the Pooh* media franchise, which grew into a series of made-for-TV holiday specials, two additional television series, and four theatrically released movies. Many of the cast members continued to work with these Winnie the Pooh adaptations. Jim Cummings continues to voice Winnie the Pooh and Tigger in the present day. Paul Winchell briefly reprised his role as Tigger in *Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin*. John Fiedler voiced Piglet until his death in 2005. Ken Sansom and Peter Cullen continued voicing their characters until 2010. Much of the writers and directors returned for *Pooh's Grand Adventure* and *The Book of Pooh*. Bruce Talkington has since written many children's books based on Winnie the Pooh.

The show was one of the last times *Winnie the Pooh* was designed and marketed for audiences of all ages. In the years following the series, Walt Disney Home Video began to reposition their strategy and marketed the television series, and Winnie the Pooh in general, towards younger age groups, despite critics claiming the show can be enjoyed by members of all ages. In later years, the show has been touted as strictly for preschoolers. DVDizzy summarized the idea saying "Even though Milne's books had won over readers of all ages and even though kids weren't buying movie tickets and merchandise, Disney seemed set on the idea that Pooh was strictly for little ones, those not even old enough to attend school".

The program caused a resurgence of popularity of *Winnie the Pooh* that continues to this day, to the point of the character being Disney's second largest franchise. Following the home video releases, Disney's annual revenue from *Winnie the Pooh* rose from $100 million to more than $1 billion in just four years. Winnie the Pooh is now the most successful Disney character, surpassing Mickey Mouse. As of 2012, it is the third most popular media franchise in the United States.

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