Winnie the Pooh Seasons of Giving: 10th Anniversary Edition – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

seasonsofgiving

Tents full of pine trees begin to clutter up parking lots and roadsides. Lights strung between electrical poles and stretching over highways fill the nights with illumination. Stores begin to brighten up and smell sweeter as holiday songs replace top forty music blaring over the loud speakers. Yes folks, the spirit of Christmas is in the air and already has been since before Halloween. Not only is it evident in everyday life but it is only a matter of time before the holiday-themed specials start airing on television. The miracles of DVD and Blu-ray though is making it so we no longer have to wait for this time of year to see our favorite specials, even those that include a bouncing tiger, a mopey donkey, and a willy nilly silly old bear.

Let me start out by saying that something seemed rather amiss when watching this tenth anniversary edition of Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving. It had been quite some time since checking it out, and being a bit older now, something kind of stood out so I decided to do a little research. Well, it appears I was correct because this isn’t one legitimate special holiday show but a combination of a few things. There are two episodes from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh spliced together with a holiday special to make one show that lasts a little over an hour. Oddly enough, this isn’t even really a Christmas special at all, even though we get a souvenir stocking with the DVD. The two episodes deal with Groundhog’s Day and the springtime while the special is all about Thanksgiving. Sounds like someone wasn’t sure of their holiday calendar.

The Hundred Acre Wood gang all gets together and accidentally believe it to be Groundhog’s Day so they end up bothering Gopher of course. This leads to a huge misunderstanding involving Piglet and of course it gets everyone into an uproar before finally being resolved. Spliced in afterwards is the Thanksgiving special in which Pooh and his friends simply want to be together to celebrate all that they are thankful for over a wonderful dinner. A lesson from Rabbit and thoughts of tradition threaten their family-friendly evening and it is up to Pooh to get things back to the way they’re supposed to be. Finally we’re told a tale of Rabbit remembering Kessie, a little bluebird he once took in and taught how to fly. Of everything included on this DVD, this story seems incredibly out of place and it is boggling as to why it’s thrown in here.

Seasons of Giving will be great fun for the kids, but parents and adults are going to sit down to watch it with the family and find themselves wanting to get up maybe fifteen minutes in. It’s not a bad special and it certainly isn’t boring, but it’s just kind of there. Nothing more.

The film is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and I must admit that this special certainly does look ten years old. It’s fixed up a little with some touch-ups make the colors stand out and the picture stay crisp and sharp for a pleasurable viewing experience. You can’t help but notice the age of the episodes more so then anything else because it certainly does show.

The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound which is more then too much for this film, but no complaints will be heard from me. All of the dialogue can be heard clearly and the music fills the room making the whole season a little cheerier.

Decorate Your Own Christmas Tree Game – Just as it says in the title; kids can pick out their own tree and decorate it with lights and ornaments.

Coloring With Piglet Game – A little bit more of a challenge for the little ones as they have to connect colors in order to finish the pictures shown.

Two The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Shorts – The two episodes included are “Magic Earmuffs” and “The Wishing Bear.” Both are cute in their own way and from one of my favorite Saturday morning childhood shows. (33:52)

A Christmas Stocking – Included with the DVD is a small ornament-sized stocking with some of the Hundred Acre Wood friends on it. Very cute.

Winnie the Pooh and his gang of miscreants (I’m kidding) have never been my favorites from the world of Disney, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I hate them or avoid them and such. Seasons of Giving just passes itself off as a Christmas special when it’s anything but that. The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh actually make this DVD worth buying more then anything but that means I wouldn’t be purchasing it for the reason Disney wants us too…and that’s Christmas. Maybe I’m over-analyzing here and looking far too much into this yet it can’t be helped because it’s bothering me. The two extra episodes of New Adventures make me even happier, but it’s still hard to recommend this as a purchase. Try it as a rental first and let your kids see how different animation was twenty years ago as opposed to the CGI of My Friends Tigger & Pooh from today.


Walt Disney Studios presents Winnie ihe Pooh Seasons of Giving: 10th Anniversary Edition. Directed by: Harry Arends & Jun Falkenstein. Starring (voices): Brady Bluhm, Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, and many more. Written by: Barbara Slade. Running time: 63 minutes. Rating: G. Released on DVD: September 29, 2009. Available at Amazon.com