If someone hears the name Winnie the Pooh, chances are their thoughts are drawn to that chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff from the Walt Disney animated production. While Disney produced what is now arguably the most famous version of the character, the original silly old bear debuted way back in 1926, from the pen of poet and essayist A.A. Milne.
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Since Pooh and his friends have recently entered the public domain, the ground is there to make a more accurate adaptation of Milne's stories. However, Disney already did a decent job with its animated classics. As suprising as it may be, many of Pooh's grand adventures are pulled from the chapters of the original Winnie-the-Pooh books.
The North Pole
Piglet's Big Movie, much to the surprise of a few Pooh-purists, actually has a handful of scenes that were pulled directly from the source material. However, these sequences were taken from the slightly lesser-known House at Pooh Corner, the second volume in the series.
In the film, Pooh, Piglet, and the rest embark on an expedition to find the North Pole with Christopher Robin. Roo falls into the river and the others use a long pole to pull him out. The only difference between the events in the book and in the movie, along with some Disney embellishment, is that Pooh was the one who "discovered' the pole, not Piglet.
Eeyore’s House At Pooh Corner
If the title wasn't a dead giveaway, the first chapter of The House at Pooh Corner deals with Pooh and Piglet building a home for Eeyore after discovering their grey and gloomy friend has no place to call his own. Apart from some creative liberties from Disney and the song by Carly Simon in the background, the only major difference is Tigger's presence during the whole affair.
Like in the book, Pooh and his friends build Eeyore's famous house made out of sticks on a snowy day. Ironically, their source of material just happened to be a makeshift house Eeyore had built himself. It certainly sounds like a story Disney would adapt.
Pooh’s Tigger Encounter
In the films, Disney introduced Tigger relatively soon in the Blustery Day portion of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. On the other hand, Milne didn't introduce the character until well into his second Pooh book. That being said, he does make his first appearance bouncing through Pooh's house in the middle of the night.
While not as verbose as in the book, the course of events in the movie does happen pretty accurately with the first portions of the chapter. Tigger bursts into Pooh's place after prowling and growling outside, declaring all the things that "Tiggers like best," more bouncing ensues until he sets his sights on bouncing Piglet and his haycorns. Of course, Tigger would always get into more mischief later.
"Unbouncing" Tigger
The third act of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh features quite a great deal of Tigger getting into a little trouble, bouncing and pouncing his way through the woods, and a few of Rabbit's vegetables as well. As with most sequences, the chain of events happens almost identically in the book as it does in the movie, though the film definitely lacks A.A. Milne's gift for words.
That being said, it does keep a few lines directly from the text, such as the fluff getting stuck in Pooh's ear as Rabbit drones on about his anti-Tigger plan. It's simplified, but not completely changed.
Tigger Gets Stuck
Appropriately titled "In Which It Is Shown Tiggers Don't Climb Trees," this is the chapter where things start to hit a bit of a grey area. As the events at the end of the film's third act do focus on Tigger and Roo getting stuck in a tree, some of the dialogue in this story actually appears much earlier in the Disney version.
It's mainly the sections of Pooh talking to himself, which he does very frequently, and the change of seasons that mark the differences between each version. Still, Disney's version does do the more important details justice in a very strong way.
The Heffalumps And Woozles
While Disney's psychedelic musical number about Heffalumps and Woozles seems like something entirely dreamed up by Disney, it actually comes from not one but two instances in the text. The only difference is that it's Piglet who first mentions the creatures instead of Tigger.
Though not as colorful or imaginative as the dreams in the Disney version, Pooh does have visions of large elephantine creatures going after his honey. To a certain silly old bear, it's nothing short of nightmare fuel.
The Rain-Rain-Rain Came Down-Down-Down
The image of Pooh rescuing his Hunny Pots while waiting up in the branches of his tree was directly pulled from E.H. Shephard's illustrations in the books, and there is indeed a flood chapter where the rain-rain-rain comes down-down-down. Piglet's house is soon overcome by water, and soon a rescue party is organized.
The comical imagery of various characters floating to Christopher Robin's house on different objects all come from this chapter, including Pooh on his emptied Hunny Pot and Piglet sending out his message in a bottle. Although the rescue isn't as dramatic as in the Disney version, it is still as charming and endearing as something from the book or movie could be.
Winnie The Pooh And A Day For Eeyore
While it's not written word-for-word as it is in the books, Pooh and Piglet giving Eeyore a birthday party is the subject of both as two entire chapters and a Disney short film. From the invention of Pooh Sticks to the scene with the balloon in the honey jar, it all transpires nearly identically on both accounts.
Taking a chapter from each of the first two Pooh books, the short sees Pooh and his pals bringing joy to their perpetually gloomy friend, Eeyore. While it's still unknown just how the donkey can play Poohsticks without paws, it's still a delight to see him smile at the end of both versions.
Winnie The Pooh And The Honey Tree
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree had the benefit of being both the first time audiences were introduced to Pooh and company on both the page and the screen. Though titled differently in the original book, the first chapters see Pooh try to obtain some honey from a nest of smarter-than-average bees before eventually getting lodged in Rabbit's front door.
This is where Walt Disney truly showed his love for the stories, as he faithfully adapted the scenes involving Pooh's "little black rain cloud" and Rabbit repurposing his backend while he's stuck in his doorway. A stylized adaptation to be sure, but one that remains endearing to this day.
Christopher Robin Leaves His Friends To Go To School
Both the second book and film adaptation end with more or less the same sequence of events, but two entirely different implications. In The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and 2011's Winnie The Pooh, Christopher Robin has to go away to school, as do all children. The difference is the positive and negative suggestions that follow.
In the movies, whenever Christopher Robin goes away to school, he comes back at the very end and it's revealed that his animal friends have just all been hanging out in the woods the entire time. Not so in the book, however. In both the book and the movie Christopher Robin, it's implied that Christopher Robin is actually going away to boarding school, leaving his friends behind. Perhaps sometimes a little Disneyfication is a good thing.