Winnie The pooh returns to the big screen this week for the first time in more that thirty five years - directed by Don Hall.
And while the movie reunites old friends Pooh,Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo - and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, the movie does see a change in some of their personalities.
The filmmakers were faced with a challenge when they took on a film with characters known worldwide. Says director Stephen Anderson, "It’s an interesting comparison between creating a world from scratch versus dipping into a world that already exists.
"You don’t have to stare down at that blank page with all its unanswered questions and bang your head against a wall trying to figure it all out.
"But you’re taking characters that are beloved by audiences for years and years. You want to honour their spirit, but you want to find ways that our team can bring something of ourselves to the movie."
The trick, say the directors, is in keeping the treasured classic qualities, while adding contemporary touches that enhance the fun for today’s audiences. "The world that Milne created is a timeless world and we wanted to maintain that," says director Don Hall.
"We’re not trying to give the characters modern contrivances. We want to keep it ageless, but one area we thought we could update was the humour."
While some of the characters - Tigger and Pooh - retained their personalities, Hall says others were tweaked a bit. "Rabbit was pretty stodgy, very neat, tidy, persnickety and at times a little unlikable," says the director.
"He’s kind of grouchy guy he needs to fulfil a little bit of that role in the ensemble. But we thought we could warm him up a little and get a little bit more humour out of him."
And Owl, says Hall, "steals the movie. He’s hilarious. Owl used to be kind of a braggart, a blowhard, but now he’s actually a lunatic. He’s absolutely crazy in a good way."
And crazy just may be the key to the kind of humour the gang from the Hundred Acre Wood has to offer, according to the filmmakers. In fact, executive producer John Lasseter compared the characters in Winnie the Pooh to those from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
And that, says storyman Burny Mattinson, opened a lot of doors. "It really allowed us all to think of these characters in a whole different way. Their humour is so simplistic and yet so off the mark."
The goal, say the filmmakers, is to surprise audiences - in a good way. "They may have a little bit of a preconceived notion about Winnie the Pooh," says Hall.
"We want everyone to realize that Pooh isn’t just a film for preschoolers, it’s something that resonates with everybody - they can find entertainment in any of the characters and will actually see themselves in these characters."
The timing couldn’t be better, adds producer Peter Del Vecho, who says Winnie the Pooh offers life lessons that will resonate with today’s audiences more than ever.
"It doesn’t have to be complicated. These characters keep it simple. It’s all about relationships, and it reminds us all about the importance of imagination. And everyone has at least one character who they identify with."
Says Anderson, "The interesting thing about the friends from the Hundred Acre Wood: you can boil each one down to a word: Piglet is fear, Owl is ego, Rabbit is control, Pooh is innocence, Eeyore is pessimism.
"They all come down to core human values - the human experience, really. That’s what makes them relatable and what makes them entertaining. You can look at it and laugh, and see yourself in these characters."
Winnie The Pooh is released 15th April
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