Digital Pooh and Tigger Too!

Digital Pooh and Tigger Too!
John Cawley chronicles Winnie the Pooh's long history in film, leading up to his new CG incarnation in My Friends Tigger & Pooh.

May 11, 2007
By John Cawley

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CGI comes to Winnie the Pooh with My Friends Tigger & Pooh, a new series created for Disney's pre-school block, Playhouse Disney. Unless noted, all images © Disney Enterprises. All rights reserved.

For a bear with very little brains, Winnie the Pooh has been very smart in his ability to adapt. More than 80 years after his first print appearance (1926), this bear "stuffed with fluff" has managed to be a bear for all seasons. This year he evolves into a character with depth thanks to a new CGI series, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, debuting on the Disney Channel, May 12, 2007, at 10:00 am. It will mark the fourth TV series to star A.A. Milne's classic ursine, on top of his numerous shorts, specials, features and videogames. Pooh even has a star on Hollywood Boulevard! Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Pooh represents a time when Walt Disney made a mistake -- but more on that later.

Pooh's latest venture, My Friends Tigger & Pooh is a CGI rendition created by Walt Disney Television Animation for Disney's pre-school block, Playhouse Disney. The person behind the series is Brian Hohlfeld, a fellow who has spent the last few years with Pooh in the Hundred Acre Woods. Hohlfeld began in the business writing live-action features like He Said, She Said. However, he found the writing business spotty, so he packed up his family and moved to St Louis.

Soon after, he heard from a friend that he had worked with writing material for The Mighty Ducks. It seemed Disney was looking for someone to write a Pooh holiday special. Hohlfeld quickly agreed. Though the eventual special got shelved, Hohlfeld was asked to write the script for Piglet's Big Movie (2003). The team of Hohlfeld and Pooh was born. Hohlfeld handled writing chores on the next few Pooh projects, including the theatrical, Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005).

Floyd Norman's studio gag drawing shows Walt Disney debating how to imagine Pooh's hands. From Norman's FASTER! CHEAPER! published by Get Animated! Reproduced with permission.

Finally, Hohlfeld got the chance to build a new series. The premise was to create an interactive show around the Pooh characters. Hohlfeld felt that one of the dreams many kids have is to actually visit the Hundred Acre Woods. So the idea of bringing a contemporary friend into the environment was born. The result was Darby, a young tomboy of a girl who plays with Pooh and his friends. It was decided not to give her any sort of backstory. So she is not explained as a "friend" or "neighbor" of Christopher Robin. She is just another child visiting the woods.

Each story involves a problem that ensures that the characters will call to the audience to help. "I think an educational series is almost organic to Pooh, who often has to 'think, think, think' in the stories," explained Hohlfeld.

The press sheet states, "Each endearing episode presents an intriguing mystery for Darby, Pooh and Tigger to unravel. To discover the answer, they don homemade superhero costumes to transform themselves into the Super Sleuths, a trio of dedicated problem solvers. Each member of the group brings their own unique perspective and talent to the perplexing puzzler, as they work together to analyze the situation. Along the way, the friends -- and viewers at home -- learn to apply 'reflective' thinking skills and learn important lessons about cooperation and responsibility"

As mentioned, Pooh has been able to adapt to every need. As a children's classic, the stories and best-known illustrations by E.H. Shepard were legend. Pooh might have been simply another children's book bear, had not Walt Disney stepped in and acquired the rights in 1961. Walt envisioned a feature starring the popular characters. He put some of his best creative talent on the project, including his new finds, the Sherman Brothers. But as production dragged on, Walt felt that Pooh was just "too soft" for an American audience.

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