… You will find the enchanted neighbourhood, of Christopher’s childhood days. A donkey named Eeyore is his friend, and Kanga and little Roo. There’s Rabbit and Piglet, and there’s Owl, but most of all Winnie the Pooh.
Unless you live under a rock (some days I think I do!) you should know that these are part of the lyrics to the Winnie the Pooh theme song.
I adore Winnie the Pooh and all his friends in the Hundred Acre Woods. I grew up watching the movies and reading the books. I even have a tattoo on my right ankle that pay homage to Winnie the Pooh. I honestly can’t say that I have a favorite character. I really like them all.
Did you know that the Hundred Acre Woods are actually a real place? The man who wrote Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne, grew up on Cotchford Farm which is located in Hartfield, Sussex, England. Hartfield was located by the Five Hundred Acre Woods, otherwise known as Ashdown Forest. Many of the places found in the Winnie the Pooh series are based upon actual places found in the Five Hundred Acre Woods.
A.A. Milne named the character Christopher Robin after his own son, Christopher Robin Milne. Christopher had a plush bear that he named after a black bear he saw at the London Zoo (Winnie) and a swan named Pooh that the family met while on holiday. All of the other characters found in the Hundred Acre Woods, with the exception of Owl, Rabbit and Gopher, were all named after Christopher’s toys (Tigger, Kanga, Roo, Piglet). The characters Owl, Rabbit and the Gopher were added when Disney created their version of A.A. Milne’s stories.
As many people might already be aware of, there is a new Winnie the Pooh movie coming to theaters on July 15, 2011. This is a brand new story based upon the beloved characters.
Back in January when I was out in Hollywood with several other bloggers we were very fortunate to get a behind the scenes tour of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. We got to see where all the magic happens, including a visit to the animation studios. While on tour we met with the men responsible for bringing the new Winnie the Pooh film to life – Stephen J. Anderson (Director), Don Hall (Director), Peter Del Vecho (Producer) and Burney Mattinson (Story Supervisor). Burney was an animator for Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), so he has a long history with Winnie the Pooh.
Stephen J. Anderson wrote and directed one of my all time favorite movies that never got the credit it deserved, Meet the Robinsons (love that movie!).
In the new movie a very hungry Winnie the Pooh sets out to find some honey for his grumbly tummy. Misinterpreting a note from Christopher Robin, Pooh thinks that Christopher Robin has been taken by a creature named “Backson” (Back Soon). Pooh is then able to convince all his friends, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Eeyore that he’s been captured and they all set out to save him.
Here is a trailer for the movie.
When we met the men responsible for putting together this incredible film we learned a lot of the “behind the scenes” details about the making of the new Winnie the Pooh adventure. One of the things that I really got excited about is new movie is that the background images are based upon actual images/places in the Hundred Acre Wood. They used real photographs of real places in the woods to create the background images.
A huge, long wall was covered from top to bottom with photos and drawings for the new film. It was the biggest story board I have ever seen!
While the men were talking to us I couldn’t help but look behind me. I was standing near an opening to a short hallway. On the shelves on walls were various Winnie the Pooh creations, from drawings to crafts. It was like a mini Winnie the Pooh museum! Some of the items were made by gifted artists. Others looked like they may have been made by children or perhaps people who are not necessarily animators. There were even little bumble bees dangling from the ceiling. I have never seen such a collection of Pooh memorabilia and artwork in one place before.
It was fascinating listening to the men talk about the new Winnie the Pooh movie. They are keeping the film the classic 2-D style (not 3-D which is the trend these days).
Don Hall, one of the directors, told us how they found the perfect voice to play Roo. When they were trying out that script they needed someone to play the part of Roo. Don asked his son if he would stand in and do the voice for Roo. Unbeknown to anyone at that time, his son ended up being the ideal voice for Roo. When he was offered the position the young boy was not interested. His dad “bribed” him with some Transformers toys in order to get him to do the voice for Roo for the film. I guess not everyone in Hollywood wants to be in movies. LOL!
Once we had a chance to look over the massive storyboard we were brought into the offices where the Winnie the Pooh movie magic happens. The office space was overflowing with Winnie the Pooh related props, images and more! They even had honey pot garbage cans. It was an awesome sight to see! I would LOVE to work there.
We learned that there are different sections to the animation studios. Each film gets it’s own space and they move around depending on the progress of the film. Once Winnie the Pooh was completed the office space would be turned over to another movie in production. I think that is a fun idea. It makes going to work a lot more interesting.
I REALLY wish we were able to take pictures while we were there. We were not allowed to use our cameras. That is totally understandable. The last thing anyone would want was someone to take photos of something top secret.
The highlight of the tour was seeing an actual scale model of Christopher Robin’s bedroom, complete with all of the characters and of course, Winnie the Pooh.
One thing I HATE about getting older (senile!) is that my memory is not as good as it used to be. Ask me about something that happened during my childhood 30+ years ago and I can recall it in great detail. I can probably tell you what color socks I was wearing (LOL). Ask me to tell you what I had for breakfast yesterday and I can’t tell you.
There is a story behind the plush Winnie the Pooh that was found in the Christopher Robin bedroom there in the office, but for the life of me I cannot remember it. Ugh!!!! I know the Pooh was handmade and it was very old. It was really authentic looking and looked EXACTLY like the Winnie the Pooh from A.A. Milne’s book.
When you see the movie in the theater you’ll see an opening that features Christopher Robin’s room in “real life”. The room we saw was the same room/set from the film. How cool is that?!
After speaking with the marvelous men behind the movie we were whisked off to a small movie theater in the animation building where we were privileged to see a few sneak peaks of the film. I don’t believe I can mention the scenes we saw just yet. Let’s just say afterward I was even MORE anxious to see the film. We even received plush Winnie the Pooh characters to snuggle with while we watched the clips (I have Piglet).
The “cherry” on top of this delightful “sundae” was a very special and unique gift we received when we were leaving. Each blogger received a hand drawn image from the film. These are NOT “cells” but actual paper drawings that they used to create the film. Even better the artwork was autographed by the wonder men who put this great movie together.
The artwork was in a HUGE manila envelope. There was no way I was going to risk getting a wrinkle in it by shoving it in my suitcase. On the ride back to NY I carried it in my hand the entire way. Even on the plane ride home I had the artwork on my lap. Thankfully I got it home in perfect condition. My prized and cherished possession sits in a temporary frame by my desk. One day when I have the $$$ I’m going to get it framed and matted professionally.
I really enjoyed our tour of the animation studios. If I lived in the Burbank area I would love, love, love to get a job working there. It looks like an amazing place to work. Dare I say I would look forward to going to work each day. How can you not be thrilled to work for a company like Disney.
Winnie the Pooh debuts in theaters on July 15, 2011. To learn more visit www.Disney.com/Pooh. On the site you can learn some fun facts about the 100 Acrew Woods as well as “meet the characters”. You can also follow on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/WinniethePooh.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the benefit and enjoyment of my site readers. All opinions expressed are my own.
** Winnie the Pooh toys photo & 100 Acre Wood map found on the Internet. Copyright unknown. If you know the copyright information please contact me so that I can give the proper credit. Thank you.
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
Can’t wait -we are going to go see it on the 9th!
april yedinak says
It sounds like you had a great time. I love Winnie the Pooh and I used to collect tons of Pooh stuff BEFORE I had kids (ya know when I could afford to collect things).
Colleen Turner says
Wow what a wonderful look behind the curtain! I always loved Winnie The Pooh but never knew what went behind making the movies. Now I really can’t wait to see it :)!
won says
You sure got to do a lot of cool things, Kimberly!
Ummm…I forgot what else I was going to say …. LOL
Jammie says
I am such a huge fan of winnie the pooh, my daughter has been begging to go see this in theaters. We got invited by Disney for a pre screening, but money is tight, and not sure if we would have the gas so I had to pass. This is for sure one of the movies we will be adding to our collection!