''Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too'' is a 1991

Christmas television special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptatio ...

based on the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ''The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by authors A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard, ''The New Adventures'' was the fi ...

'', originally broadcast on December 14, 1991, on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and produced by Walt Disney Animation (France), S.A. and

Walt Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney Ge ...

. The special received a primetime

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for Outstanding Children's Program in 1992.

Plot

Two days before

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Christopher Robin Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney a ...

writes out a letter to

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

for him and his friends in the

Hundred Acre Wood The Hundred Acre Wood (also spelled as 100 Aker Wood, Hundred-Acre Wood, and 100 Acre Wood; also known as simply "The Wood") is a part of the fictional land inhabited by Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Winnie-the-Pooh series of children's s ...

, asking for presents;

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

wants a new fly swatter to stop bugs from eating carrots;

Eeyore Eeyore ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-P ...

wants an umbrella to keep the snow off his house;

Tigger Tigger is a fictional character, fictional character, an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic Stuffed toy, stuffed tiger. He was originally introduced in the 1928 story collection ''The House at Pooh Corner'', the sequel to the 1926 book ''Winnie- ...

wants a snowshoe for his tail so he can bounce on the snow without his hands and feet; Christopher Robin wants a sled "big enough for him and maybe a friend or two"; and Piglet says that Santa Claus can bring him anything. He sends the letter off into the wind, but on Christmas Eve,

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

realizes, after Piglet informs him, that he did not ask anything for himself, so they search for the letter, which has not gotten very far. Afterwards, they, along with Tigger and Eeyore, go to Rabbit's house and rewrite the letter to include Pooh's present, a pot of honey. Along the way, however, they become greedy and start upgrading their desires. Following this, Tigger, Eeyore, and Rabbit go off to get a giant Christmas tree, with help from a reluctant

Gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

. Meanwhile, Pooh and Piglet go back to the point where Robin sent the letter and cast it off into the wind again. But the wind shifts southward, and the letter follows Pooh to his house. He goes to Piglet and informs him of what happened. Knowing that the rest of the gang will not get their presents as a result of this, Pooh tells Piglet they must take it into their hands to make sure the gifts are delivered. Pooh (disguised as Santa) sneaks out and delivers Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore a super-bouncer

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

, a bug sprayer made from a

teapot A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water, and for serving the resulting infusion which is called tea. It is one of the core components of teaware. Dry tea is available either in tea ba ...

, and a mobile home made from a

suitcase A suitcase is a form of luggage. It is a rectangular container with a handle typically used to carry one's clothes and other belongings while traveling. The first suitcases appeared in the late 19th century due to the increased popularity of ma ...

, respectively - or rather, handmade versions of the said items that break apart upon use. Demanding to know what is going on, the three of them corner Pooh, who says that he is Santa. However, Piglet, disguised as a "sorry-lookin'

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

", slips and makes his sled fall downhill before crashing, exposing Pooh's disguise. After explaining what happened, Pooh decides to try to deliver the letter to Santa himself, telling the rest of the gang it would be worth missing Christmas if he could "bring Christmas" to them. He does not get far, though, as the wind suddenly takes the letter, so he gives up. At the Christmas tree, Pooh's friends bemoan that spending time with him at Christmas is more important than getting gifts just as Pooh reunites with them. Robin shows up on his new sled and brings them the gifts they had originally asked for. Even though Pooh doesn't feel like he deserves his gift due to his failure to deliver their letter, he gives Christopher Robin a hug after he urges Pooh to accept his gift as they celebrate Christmas.

Cast

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as th ...

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, humanitarian, inventor and ventriloquist whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Paul Winchell S ...

Ken Sansom Frank Kenneth Sansom (April 2, 1927 – October 8, 2012) was an American actor. Among his best known roles, Sansom voiced Rabbit in animated television series, television specials, and films for Disney's ''Winnie the Pooh'' franchise from 1988 t ...

John Fiedler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

as Piglet *

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other c ...

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

Edan Gross Edan Gross (born October 10, 1978) is an American businessman and former child actor. Career He appeared in many guest spots on television programs in the 1980s and 1990s including ''Cheers'', '' Murphy Brown'', ''The Golden Girls'', ''Empty N ...

Broadcast history

When ''Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too'' originally aired, it was introduced by way of a short introductory skit featuring

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...

and the

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

walk-around versions of the ''Winnie the Pooh'' characters. The special was then accompanied by the

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

cartoons ''The Hockey Champ'' and ''Bearly Asleep'', as well as a promo for ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

''. also as The special was then accompanied by promo for '' Walt Disney Fairy Tales'' and The Making of ''

The Muppet Christmas Carol ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dic ...

'' The first airing of the special ranked 53rd out of 92 shows that week, averaging a 10.8/20 rating/share, ranking second place in its first half hour behind ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

'' and first place in its second half hour ahead of '' Walter and Emily''. The special was first released on VHS in 1994. The VHS was re-released in 1997, with a sneak peek at '' Recess'' before the special. Also, it was later partnered with ''Mickey's Christmas Carol''. It was originally broadcast on

. The special was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in 1995. After Disney's purchase of ABC, that network once again became the home of all subsequent broadcasts. It re-aired on ABC in 1998 and kept on air until 1999. It returned for the first time on December 11, 2007, but immediately edited down. The edited 2007 version aired on

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

(now Freeform), as part of their "

25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...

" as of December 2008. Currently, the only

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

release available is the

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

release '' Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year'', where it is edited into the main feature. However, Christopher Robin's lines are re-dubbed by his voice actor in the film's main story, and Rabbit's animation is recolored to have him in his usual yellow-furred appearance (as opposed to his greenish fur in the ''New Adventures'' series). This is also the only presentation of the special on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

Reception

In 2004, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' ranked the special number four on its 10 Best Classic Family Holiday Shows list.

References

External links