Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo (2004)

Thanks for the memories!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

To start off with, I have made no secret of loving Winnie the Pooh. It just seems so innocent and pure. Given that Pooh already has Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day, so an Easter special is a logical next step. In fact, I wanted to post this review on Easter but didn't have enough time. My one criticism is that the story feels a little rushed. It starts off very nicely with Roo excited about Easter and very nicely depicts his disappointment (and that of the others) when Rabbit declares it to be Spring Cleaning Day instead. Determined to get Rabbit to repent, the gang decides to clean up and decorate his house and we later see a flashback of how Rabbit acquired his dislike of Easter, which came from his experience of the previous Easter. My one criticism is that the story, which starts out very sweet, seems mostly to jump between the "Rabbit plot" (Rabbit's views on Easter and his redemption) and the "Roo plot" (Roo's excitement for the holiday), especially considering that I was expecting the plot to be focused around Roo given how he's featured so prominently on the box art and is named in the title. But that's a minor criticism. All in all, this is a sweet Easter story worthy of the Winnie the Pooh name.

if you have a toddler and you are planning a Easter egg hunt, than this film will probably appeal to you. i like Easter (after all it is basically a religious holiday), but i'm not that into the whole toddler babyish thing, so i kind of prefer my kiddie movies to have a little more bite than this pacifying baby food mush. still, the animation was the usual top-notch quality you expect from Disney, even for the direct to DVD features.i thought Jimmy Bennet was good as Roo. i'm not saying it was some kind of Oscar worthy performance, but he was pretty good at sustaining the character for a full length role. something that must have been a little challenging since Roo is usually delegated to a one dimensional supporting role in most of the 'Pooh' films and features.my main problem with the 'Disneyized" Pooh, is that Disney has sort of run the whole 'Pooh' franchise into the ground and turned into something so commercial you can barley recognize it as the once gentle Hundred Acre Woods. now it seems like a bunch of loud mouthed self promotion half the time.this was a good entertainment for little kids at Easter and possibly for adults who don't have anything better to do on Easter morning and want to get in a holiday mood. otherwise, besides expert animation, the "baby factor" is through the roof on this stuff.

Quality of this movie may not be at the same level as the Pooh movies of the sixties and seventies, but it's still worth watching, little children will enjoy it, parents and grand-parents that take an interest in there children will take the time to explain the many lessons that this movie has to offer, including how friendship and love can bring people with different goals together, and yes the story is familiar and yes the true meaning of Easter is ignored, but that can give the parent the opportunity to tell their children, or grand-children the real reason to celebrate the holiday. Bottom line this is just a good funny movie, no nudity, foul language, or anything else that makes for a typical "family" Hollywood movie.

For the first time in too long a time Disney has delivered a true family movie that all can enjoy. The movie brings back a technique formerly used with great success by Disney that brings the characters to life. They actually jump in and out of the book itself and from chapter to chapter. The moral of the story is shared through the eyes of Roo who, for the first time gets to stretch his range of emotions. We see how the tale unfolds through the tender, loving and unspoiled eyes of this "child" and immediately realize our own vulnerabilities with our real life relationships. The directors, writers, and producers really tug at the heart strings with this one. It's a keeper!