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WINNIE THE POOH: SPRINGTIME WITH ROO (Dir: Saul Blinkoff & Elliot M Bour, 2004).
A A Milne meets Charles Dickens in a weird hybrid from a time when Disney’s Pooh franchise had seemingly lost both direction and appeal. At least for anyone above pre-school age. Yes, this is Dickens’ A Christmas Carol re-told for Easter with, despite Roo’s billing, Rabbit as an Easter banning Scrooge.
Walt Disney first filmed Pooh in the animated featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1966). Two more featurettes followed and were combined in the movie length compilation The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Reitherman & John Lounsbery, 1977). While some bemoaned the Americanization of Pooh and the replacing of Pooh’s hums with songs by Mary Poppins’ tunesmiths Richard and Robert Sherman, the original shorts were praised for their charming, whimsical nature, delicate storybook-esq animation and general faithfulness to Milne’s text. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, an animated TV series not directly based on Milne, debuted in 1988. While a success, The New Adventures... marked a distinct change of tone for Pooh. Gone is the innocent charm of the featurettes and of Milne’s tales upon which they were based. Insecurity and doubt have crept into The Hundred Acre Wood. This is a new neurotic Pooh for the modern age. Sadly this mood continued through a series of theatrical and straight-to-video features, most notably the dark and downbeat Pooh’s Grand Adventure (Karl Geurs, 1997). Most of the latter Pooh movies are surprisingly melancholic as is this feature in which, after cancelling Easter, Rabbit is shown, via some heavy handed moralising, the negative impact his actions have on his friends.
At 65 minutes Springtime with Roo is mercifully short. The animation by DisneyToon Studios, while not up to the standard of the theatrical product, is bright and colourful but on the whole this movie is a rather joyless affair. Those wishing to indulge in Pooh would be best advised seeking out The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh or, better still, reading A A Milne’s original literary classics ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘The House at Pooh Corner’.
100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
LADY AND THE TRAMP II: SCAMP’S ADVENTURE (Dir: Darrell Rooney, 2001).
46 years after Walt Disney’s original Lady and the Tramp (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske, 1955) comes this belated straight-to-video sequel.
Lady and Tramp’s only son Scamp rebels at life on a leash, runs away from home and hooks up with a gang of tough junkyard dogs. Clashing with gang leader Buster and falling for fetching young pup Angel, Scamp eventually must choose between his family or freedom.
Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation (lately DisneyToon Studios) on a much smaller budget than a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature, resulting in a markedly less polished production than that of its sister studio. The character animation is flat and cartoony, replacing the original movie’s studied realism. The backgrounds, likewise, lack the depth and detail of the first movie, while a homage to Lady and the Tramp’s famous spaghetti sequence and a train dodge scenario lifted from The Aristocats (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1970) are a reminder of how superior those movies are.
Among the cast you may recognise the familiar voices of Disney’s own little mermaid Ariel Jodi Benson as Lady and Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney as Scamp’s pal Sparky. While certainly perfunctory, none of the voice actors make much of an impression. Some serviceable but forgettable songs punctuate the soundtrack, none coming close to Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke’s majestic originals. Here lies the problem with Lady and the Tramp II; it is simply weaker than the first movie in all departments.
In truth, there are worse movies than Lady and the Tramp II. There are probably even worse Disney straight-to-videos sequels. But I honestly do not understand why you would watch this film instead of the masterful original. Lady and the Tramp endures as one of Walt Disney’s greatest animated features. Sadly, this cannot be said about its sequel; a pale imitation of the original and a soulless, artless exercise in exploitation.
A review of the original Lady and the Tramp and a longer, more in-depth review of Lady and the Tramp II can be found on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
THE LITTLE MERMAID II: RETURN TO THE SEA (Dir: Jim Kammerud, 2000).
Released 11 years after the original, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is the first of two sequels to Walt Disney Pictures The Little Mermaid (Ron Clements & John Musker, 1989).
Flipping the events of the first movie, The Little Mermaid II is the story of Melody, the tweenage human daughter of Ariel and Prince Eric. Knowing nothing of her mother’s past and longing to explore the forbidden ocean, Melody strikes a deal with Morgana, the equally villainous sister of sea witch Ursula. With the safety of Melody and the merfolk kingdom of Atlantica at risk, Ariel must ‘return to the Sea’ in a bid to save them.
What drives me to watch a movie like The Little Mermaid II? Let’s say morbid curiosity. Plus the fact that Disney is no longer churning out these straight-to-video cash-ins means I am not supporting their production.
Is it any good? Well, considering its made for the home market origins, this is not a bad looking movie. Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation (latterly DisneyToon Studios), it’s not up to the high standards of a Walt Disney Animation Studios production but it is a step up from usual television fare. Also in its favour is the return of much of the original vocal cast including Jodi Benson as Ariel and Pat Carroll as Morgana.
The returning cast members and the above average visuals suggest that Disney was wary of damaging a popular franchise. However, whatever qualities the movie has are scuppered by some doggedly pedestrian storytelling.
To be fair, I found The Little Mermaid II to be passable entertainment and better than many Disney sequels. Very young viewers, especially those with a penchant for mermaids, should enjoy it. Older children and adults, meanwhile, would do better to stick with the superior original.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for more reviews of Disney classics and their sequels! Link below.
THE LITTLE MERMAID: ARIEL’S BEGINNING (Dir: Peggy Holmes, 2008).
The third and to date final movie of Disney’s animated Little Mermaid franchise. As its title would suggest Ariel’s Beginning is a prequel to the original The Little Mermaid (Ron Clements & John Musker, 1989).
Following the death of his wife Queen Athena, King Triton bans all music from Atlantica. Ariel and pals set about showing him the error of his ways and returning music and happiness to the kingdom. Yes, the plot really is that silly.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning was to be the last of Disney's animated made for video sequels, a line of movies that began 14 years earlier with Aladdin follow-up The Return of Jafar (Toby Shelton, Tad Stones & Alan Zaslove, 1994). Yet while these movies brought in the big bucks, their lower quality animation and storytelling had a detrimental effect on the public perception of Disney animation, possibly contributing to the disappointing box office returns of the studio’s product in the early 2000s.
Considering its made for video origins, Ariel’s Beginning is a visually pleasing film. Unfortunately the quality does not to extend to the storytelling which is decidedly puerile and aimed squarely at the youngest of mermaid obsessives. The movie also suffers, as do many prequels, from the fact that we know the story’s outcome before it has begun.
Returning as the voice of Ariel is Jodi Benson. While her performance is undoubtedly the movie’s highlight it is a shame that no-one thought to write her any decent new songs. The movie as a whole suffers from an overall lack of original tunes, ironic considering its subject. Sadly, the few that are included are instantly forgettable.
With its impressive visuals and its abysmal storytelling The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning showcases the best and worst of DisneyToon Studios output simultaneously. I personally found it a chore to watch. The most undemanding of very young mermaid fans may disagree.
A longer version of this review is available to read on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com
POOH’S HEFFALUMP HALLOWEEN MOVIE (Dir: Saul Andrew Blinkoff & Elliot M. Bour, 2005).
A sequel of sorts to Pooh's Heffalump Movie (Frank Nissen, 2005), the feature which introduced the character of Lumpy the Heffalump to the Pooh universe. As with the previous movie, this one was also animated by DisneyToon Studios, the television production arm of Walt Disney Pictures. Unlike Pooh's Heffalump Movie, which enjoyed a theatrical release, Heffalump Halloween was a made for video effort. The movie is comprised of roughly two thirds new material, the remainder being recycled from the television special Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh (Rob LaDuca, 1996).
Once again, Pooh is relegated to co-star status in a film which largely revolves around Roo teaching his best friend Lumpy about the Hundred Acre Wood's 'trick or treat' traditions on the young heffalump's first Halloween. During the course of which Roo attempts to 'unscare' Lumpy by telling him of the Halloween which was almost a Hallo-wasn't due to Piglet's fears of the spooky season. Taken from the earlier special, this noticeably different footage presents us with the awkward narrative conceit of Roo narrating a story in which neither he or Kanga appear, as both were inexplicably absent from the episode.
Narrative issues aside, the film is passable entertainment for the very young; the toothless, yet sweet, confection contains no real frights for even the smallest of viewers. Children will undoubtedly find Lumpy adorable and may even enjoy the handful of forgettable songs. The expected messages about braveness and friendship are hammered home without a hint of subtlety.
There are certainly worse kid's movies out there than Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, but there are much better Pooh movies. The youngest and most undemanding Pooh fans will probably be enchanted by this spooky special. Older children and grownups would be much better served by watching Walt Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (John Lounsbery & Wolfgang Reitherman, 1977), or by reading the original A. A. Milne stories upon which it based.
THE LION KING II: SIMBA’S PRIDE (Dir: Darrell Rooney, 1998).
Walt Disney Pictures' The Lion King (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994) would prove a massive hit for the studio. A straight-to-video follow-up was put into production almost immediately, eventually hitting Blockbuster shelves four years after the original.
Simba is now the over-protective father of cub Kiara, born at the end of the first film. When venturing into the forbidden Outlands, the curious cub encounters social outcast and heir to disgraced Uncle Scar's pride, Kovu. They strike a friendship which eventually turns to forbidden romance as Kovu's outcast family plan to use the pair to get to Simba and overthrow the king.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
THE LION KING 1 1/2 aka THE LION KING 3: HAKUNA MATATA (Dir: Bradley Raymond, 2004).
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read a longer, more in-depth review of THE LION KING 1 1/2! Link in bio. The third and final feature in Disney’s original Lion King trilogy; burdened with the clunky and less witty title The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata internationally.
Just as Tom Stoppard’s 1966 play Rosencrantz and Guidenstern Are Dead retold William Shakespeare’s Hamlet from the perspective of the comic supporting characters, so too The Lion King 1 1/2 relates the Hamlet inspired The Lion King (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994) from the point of view of co-stars Timon and Pumbaa. A neat framing device of Timon and Pumbaa watching and commenting on the original movie introduces the fairly novel conceit and also provides us with their hitherto untold backstories.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
