The Film
Now that Halloween candy has been discounted, we can officially start ushering in all of the Christmas cheer. Disney is kicking off the holiday season with a pair of new Christmas-themed Blu-rays, including Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year.
This 64-minute release made its DVD debut back in 2002. It managed to kill two holidays with one release, by sewing together 1991's Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too with 2002's Happy Pooh Year.
The first half finds the cuddly creatures of the Hundred Acre Wood trimming the tree and singing familiar songs. However, being cute doesn't put presents under the tree, so Christopher Robin invites the gang to get in on his letter to Santa. Unfortunately, Pooh forgets to put in his request for a new honey pot and goes in search of the letter, only to find out that it didn't get too far in the first place. That leads Pooh on a journey to find Santa to deliver the goods in person. Silly old bear!
Once we get a lesson about the true meaning of Christmas, the subject matter moves into the New Year, partying and adopting resolutions. However, the plan seems to backfire, as the various characters start adopting each other's bad habits.
Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year isn't the best Christmas Blu-ray. It's not even the best Winnie the Pooh Blu-ray. Still, it has a nice message and all sorts of cute characters to captivate your little fan.
The Picture
The 2011 Winnie the Pooh Blu-ray was one of my favorites that year. Of course, you can't expect the 1.33:1 image on this direct-to-video release to match up. Frankly, the animation is sub par, but that's really the least of its problems. Now that it's "newly remastered in digital high definition," it should look a lot better than the DVD. The image just doesn't offer that much of a boost, which would be acceptable if it didn't have noise and ghosting issues. That said, the colors are probably the most disappointing part here. They aren't consistent and seem a little washed out for a Disney release -- even a direct-to-video one. Also because this is basically two shorts pushed into one, that image changes about halfway though. The most noticable difference is the animation style. Because it's more recent, the second half doesn't have some of the same issues as the earlier segment, but it doesn't look all that great either. It also doesn't do a whole lot for this release's consistency issues.
The Sound
Disney didn't bother giving this direct-to-video release an audio boost. Instead, it comes with a lone Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The film's intended audience won't care all that much, but it certainly won't push you into making this Blu-ray purchase. The dialogue is fine, but some of the special effects don't come off as that special. Instead, the sound is just sort of flat.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
Even without gorgeous animation, it's hard to hate on Winnie the Pooh. He's so darn cuddly! The wee ones will certainly enjoy Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year and it's short enough that it will probably get some repeat viewing. However, the image, audio, lack of new extras and even the actual content don't really make this one worth the upgrade to Blu-ray.
Product Details
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
