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My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Friendly Tails DVD Review
In the hands of Walt Disney animation, the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood have been through virtually every type of incarnation under the sun. They debuted in three short films later combined to form 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. A myriad of full-length features followed, More than most its predecessors, this fourth series is aimed firmly at the preschool crowd Disney has been catering to lately. Led by a new character named Darby, the show follows her, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger as they solve mysteries plaguing the Hundred Acre Wood inhabitants. The first DVD release came last November with the holiday special Pooh's Super Sleuth Christmas Movie. This time around, we find a three-episode compilation entitled Friendly Tails.
The episodes featured are as follows:
"Darby, Solo Sleuth / Doggone Buster" (Not yet aired)
"Darby's Tail / Tigger's Delivery Service" (Originally aired August 4, 2007)
"Pooh-Rates of the Hundred Acre Wood / Tigger's Hiccup Pickup" (Originally aired July 21, 2007)
"My Friends Tigger and Pooh" vaguely follows the popular children's programming mindset of having the audience interact with the proceedings. Thankfully, this aspect is kept to a minimum so that the unintentionally amusing results that stem from such a format are gone. Darby regularly looks at and speaks to the audience, but she rarely pauses to let them shout an answer. Fitting well into the established world with which so many are familiar, the various mysteries don't feature the type of bizarre plot points other series offer. Having two stories per episode keeps things tight and fresh, leaving little room for padding or boredom. The choice to go with CGI was a controversial one, but it actually works rather well. The simplicity of the original Many Adventures designs and backgrounds lends nicely to adaptation, and the translation is faithful (albeit with more saturated colors). The visual style avoids the potentially clinical look of CGI and comes across warmly and smoothly.
The other major concern has been the replacing of Christopher Robin with Darby, and this seems to be a more valid complaint. While there's nothing inherently wrong with Darby as a character, the change is disturbing when one thinks of the whole point of the Pooh franchise. The original Milne stories have always been about a boy whose imagination set him off on adventures with the stuffed animals from his bedroom. By bringing in another human character, it feels as though Darby is invading on Christopher Robin's personal affairs. An easy and potent way out of this would've been to claim that Darby is his daughter who has inherited his childhood belongings. This would actually carry on the idea set up by Milne himself (and touched upon in Disney's version) that Christopher Robin eventually must grow up and leave his Hundred Acre Wood friends behind. It's too late to throw that in, however, for Christopher Robin himself has appeared (in child form) in two episodes thus far.
The diminishing of established characters spreads elsewhere, as well. Owl is completely absent from the series, Piglet and Kanga only have cameo roles, and Gopher has been replaced by a beaver. "My Friends Tigger & Pooh" lacks the sense of wit and whimsy that Pooh is known for, and those familiar with the Pooh franchise will no doubt be disappointed at how only certain characters are given the limelight. There's not as much heart or emotion here as in other Pooh entries, but that's an unfair comparison. The goal of this series is more narrow-minded, focusing squarely on preschoolers rather than the young at heart. With that in mind, it accomplishes its goal well. There's none of the pandering that's come to be expected of a show like this, and the stories are more logical than those found elsewhere. While children in need of a Hundred Acre Wood fix could do better, they can also do worse.
VIDEO and AUDIO
The three episodes of Friendly Tails appear in 1.33:1 fullscreen. Being a digitally-created series, transfers straight from the original source are to be expected. That certainly seems to be the case here, for the image is nearly perfect. The show's vivid hues pop off the screen, and things are well-defined and clean. An occasional bit of digital noise surrounds some edges, but this is barely noticeable. Overall, the episodes look excellent.
Surprisingly, only a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround track is offered here. While that's common for many television series, Disney has usually been good about putting 5.1 tracks on their Playhouse Disney DVDs. In the end, it doesn't make much of a difference. The soundfield isn't active enough to really be opened by the extra channels, but what's here comes across well. Dialogue, effects, and score are all clean and clear. The Pooh franchise has never really been foley effects-heavy, so the presentation here is perfectly acceptable.
BONUS FEATURES, MENUS and PACKAGING
Only one lonely bonus feature is offered here: Darby's Super Sleuth Challenge set-top game, which is divided into three parts. First, one has to choose the correct object based on the descriptive clues Darby gives. In the second portion, the player must locate three items hidden throughout a certain locale. The menus aren't exactly uniform in style. The animated main menu has a magnifying glass displaying clips from the series while Super Sleuth portraits in the background change colors. All other menus are static, featuring headshots of the cast.
With the aid of FastPlay, the disc starts with previews for Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition, Little Einsteins: Flight of the Instrument Fairies, Johnny and the Sprites: Meet the Sprites, Handy Manny: Manny's Pet Round Up, and Disney Movie Rewards. All these can be found in the Sneak Peeks menu with ads for Handy Manny: Fixing it Right, Little Einsteins: Race for Space, The Jungle Book 2: Special Edition, Tinker Bell, WALL-E, and "Handy Manny" on Playhouse Disney.
Found inside the white keepcase, a double-sided insert lists the episodes on one side, and advertises Little Einsteins DVDs on the other. A booklet for Playhouse Disney DVDs and a Disney Movie Rewards code are also included.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
"My Friends Tigger & Pooh" is not comparable to either Pooh's Many Adventures or his "New" ones, nor should it really be. Its target audience is not nostalgic fans who have been exposed to these characters elsewhere, but to young children who are fans of shows like Disney's own "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." Friendly Tails presents three half-hour episodes well with excellent picture and solid audio. The bonus game is a waste, but not many preschoolers seem to play DVD set-top games, anyhow.
The DVD earns a recommendation to fans of the show, but older Pooh fans are advised to watch an episode on television first. Parents wishing to introduce their children to the world of A.A. Milne through Disney should purchase The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh first. "My Friends" rides mostly on the remembered charms from that film, and no one wants to hear a child ask, "Where's Darby and Lumpy?" when watching the older films and shows after this one.
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Reviewed March 2, 2008.
My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas • Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Friendship Edition • Pooh's Heffalump Movie • Piglet's Big Movie
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