Piglet's Big Movie (2002)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:
Soundtrack:

Written by Brian Hohlfeld, based on the writings of A.A. Milne
Original Music by Carl Johnson and Carly Simon
Directed by Francis Glebas
Starring the Voices of John Fiedler, Jim Cummings, Andre Stojka, Kath Soucie, Nikita Hopkins

Features:

• Piglet's Book of Memories
  
• Sing with the Movie
  
• The World According to Piglet
  
• DVD-ROM printable coloring book
  

Released by: Disney Home Video
Rating: G
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Own it if you've got little ones

Everyone in the Hundred Acre Wood is busy working on a plan to harvest some honey...well, almost everyone. Everyone decided that Piglet (Fiedler) was just too little to be able to help them out. So, when Piglet gets his feelings hurt, he ends up getting lost somewhere out in the forest. So, it's up to Pooh, Tigger (both voiced by Cummings), Eeyore (Cullen), Owl (Stojka) and the rest of the gang to use Piglet's scrapbook of memories to try to track him down. However, when they find him, they all learn that little people are capable of big things, too.

Okay. Normally, I'm not a fan of these Pooh movies that have been written in more recent years because they are only loosely based on Milne's original stories and they just seem to be without the heart that was in the first series of tales. However, this movie is an exception to that rule. It just seems that most of the direct-to-video Pooh stories are flat and not very entertaining at all...and even my eighteen month old daughter seems to be able to tell the difference. Disney has not been known for its original ideas (unless you count Pixar) in the past several years, and it seems all the more obvious that they put more time and effort into their major theatrical releases than they do their direct to video line. Luckily, this one's better than most.

Cummings is, as always, infinitely cute and cuddly as Pooh and at that same time rowdy and rambunctious as Tigger. It doesn't hurt that the script they had to work with is above par as I've said, but the rest of the cast are up to the task and there is a great sense of ensemble amongst the actors. They seem to be having fun living out this Pooh story. Also, it doesn't hurt that the main plot line is filled out with little "flashbacks" interjected into the story as the Hundred Acre Crew flips through Piglet's book of memories. Each of these flashbacks is to the point and does not stray too far away from the main plot line, so this is also smart on the part of the scribe.

The disc is very well laid out and easy for little ones to use. Every menu is explained with a voice-over that tells what you can expect from each selection. The DVD is not overloaded with special features, but the ones that are here are very good for the target demographic. There is an opportunity for the little ones to help find some missing pages from Piglet's scrapbook. Finding them is the point of the game, and while it's not that much fun for adults, very young children will love it. Even the map of the Hundred Acre Wood looks like something that a small child would draw.

The feature called "The World According to Piglet" is a look at some of the morals of both the various vignettes in the movie and other Piglet stories. It's not interactive in any way, it's just a little slideshow that is narrated by the same woman that narrates the DVD menus. The "Sing Along with the DVD" features turns the movie into a karaoke machine. The layout of the lyrics at the bottom of the screen is very good: rather than a bouncing ball or something like that, the font changes color when the next word is supposed to be sung. It's very easy to use for young children.

The soundtrack for the movie is excellent; Carly Simon was an absolutely wonderful choice for this project. Her voice is sheer perfection and her arrangements of the classic Pooh songs as well as her own original numbers are equal parts inspiration and dedication. "With a Few Good Friends" is the song that seems to be the main theme of the movie and it is excellent. The CD is broken into three "chapters" with Chapter 1 being the main numbers that were written and/or arranged by Simon. Chapter 2 is a few tracks from the score of the film that was composed by Carl Johnson. This music blends itself well with Simon's tunes and uses some of her themes (or vice versa) very well. The music is not too complicated, nor should it be. It starts out with a very nice soft music-box feel, but his instrumentation quickly shifts back and forth between small combo and full orchestra with relative ease. Chapter 3 is labeled as "Bonus Tracks" and it seems a fitting title; these have a much more "loose" feel to them. Each is identified as Carly's demo for the number; this is exactly what they feel like. It's just Carly with a guitar and maybe a piano and some light percussion. I get the feel that these were put on the CD to appeal to the parents of the little ones because they feel a little more mature than the other tracks--and hey, the fill the thing out, so bonus. If you are a fan of Simon's work, you might want to pick this CD up even if you don't have little kids.

If you have children, this movie should definitely be in your collection. There probably won't be much call to rent it if you don't have kids, even for adult fans of other Pooh tales.