User reviews

This is simply a nice little show, and I don't mean that disparagingly. It captures the feel and spirit of the original much better than the frenetic and occasionally just plain bizarre "New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," though as others note the latter is intended for an older audience. The plots and lessons are generally simple, but there's no violence, no screaming, and thankfully no product placements. If you're seeking a quiet and toddler-friendly program, be sure to give this one a try. There's definitely a place for peaceful children's' programming like this; remember, Pokemon and Fear Factor would love to hook kids instead.

I read the Tao of Pooh, which focuses on the East Asian philosophy and the innocence of Pooh. I think Pooh as a concept from England is characteristic of other myth created in England such as Alice in Wonderland. Innocence is a difficult concept to teach once we have been born into a world of environmental stress. For this reason I like to see more of Pooh associated with emptiness type philosophy such as Zen Buddhism as well. Pooh as a constant empty vessel that gets filled with different ideas is both comical and distressful. Because it makes the character of Pooh seem like they can not learn, which I do think is relevant for any animal. So, as the symbol of innocence Pooh has both good and bad concepts founded in education. This is why I say it is more the Tao of Pooh.

As a child, I watched The Book of Pooh show with great enthusiasm. The beloved characters from Winnie the Pooh were brought to life in an exciting new way, inspiring them to embark on new adventures. However, looking back on the show, I realize it fell short of my childhood expectations.

The show had moments of charm and humor, and it was always a delight to see Pooh and his friends get up to their usual antics. The puppetry animation was bright and colorful, and the songs were catchy and fun. However, even as a child, I could tell something was missing.

The show's pacing could be slow, and there were moments when the plot felt repetitive or predictable. I lost interest in specific episodes as a child and wished for more excitement and adventure.

Overall, I give The Book of Pooh a 6 out of 10 stars from my childhood perspective. It was a fun show, but it wasn't as magical or captivating as I had hoped. Despite some flaws, I have fond memories of watching this show with my family. I recommend it to young viewers who love Winnie the Pooh and his friends.

Die-hard fans of the books or the cartoons might not take so kindly to it. But at the very least you have to appreciate the work that goes into making this show. It's an ancient form of Japanese puppetry, and is filmed with a green screen with computer-generated backgrounds added later, making it interesting to watch. The storylines are, as one reviewer put it, rather "fluffy," but you were expecting Shakespeare? The show is targeted at preschoolers. (Actually, there was one episode about Shakespeare, in which the gang put on a play for Owl.)

There are some of differences between "Book of Pooh" and the books and cartoon series. Kanga and Roo were missing for several months, although they do show up in newer episodes. And they brought back Kessie the blue bird, who appeared in two of the cartoon episodes. And I must agree that Rabbit is, for some reason, a lot more bossy than he was in the cartoon series.

Overall, it's a cute show, and little kids will probably like it, although it might be a little too different for those who don't like change.

At 17, I admit I like this show. While not like the books by AA Milne, other than the characters' names, it is cute and charming and nice for preschoolers. The stories are a little on the predictable side, and I admit Rabbit is more bossy than he is in New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the 1977 film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(based on the 3 shorts Honey Tree, Tigger Too and Blustery Day) and the books. However, the background scenery is colourful and nice to look at, the puppetry is above average, the voices are fine and the songs are sweet and memorable in general. I have always had a soft spot for Tigger, he reminds me of my sister when she was little, but I also like the little bluebird Kassie. In conclusion, I like it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Something that I should mention is that I simply adore Winnie the Pooh. I love the fun stories, the great characters, the pretty landscapes, the wonderful music, and the overall innocent feel. Unlike other incarnations, The Book of Pooh relies on puppetry rather than regular animation, but it succeeds at what it does just as well. Kanga and Roo don't make many appearances but it must be kind of hard to make Kanga and Roo puppets (or a Christopher Robin puppet for that matter). However, we do encounter Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, and Eeyore, as well as Cassie (the bluebird in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh). There's also a narrator like the one in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The songs are also very nice and memorable, I especially enjoy the goodbye song at the end of each episode. I must admit that I have a soft spot for Tigger, as he reminds me of myself when I was little (yes, I was that excited about everything all the time). The idea is to teach phonics and each episode centers around some aspect of reading readiness. There's one episode where the narrator gets confused and everyone switches roles, like Pooh is bouncing, Tigger is eating honey, Cassie is gardening, and Eeyore is flying (or trying to).

I've been a diehard Winnie the Pooh fan for all my life, and I got to admit this is a great show! It is similar to Welcome to Pooh Corner, the first Winnie the Pooh TV series, in some ways, but even better! I didn't grow up with Welcome to Pooh Corner because it's from long before my time, and it didn't have any reruns on TV at all during my lifetime. However, I have seen some of the episodes online, and it's not too bad yet not too good either. 99% of the problems I have with it have been fixed here! Pooh Corner lacks some but far from all of the Pooh franchise's charm, but I can't say the same about The Book of Pooh. The only major differences from the cartoons here are Christopher Robin's shortage of screentime (more about that later) and it's live action.

The visuals are bright, colorful, and eye-catching, just like in the cartoons! The locations look very similar to their cartoon counterparts and are paper mache styled, making them look like a pop up book. The visuals are dull and a tad bit dark in Pooh Corner (likely due to the time it was made), but not in this.

All the characters are puppet/animatronic costumes in Pooh Corner, and they're somewhat creepy and some of their designs are slightly inaccurate to the cartoon, but they're all traditional puppets here (except for Christopher Robin and his mother, who are played by live actors), they more closely resemble their cartoon designs, and they're not creepy at all. They look like REAL stuffed animals here (even the heffalumps and woozles), and I feel like I'm watching real stuffed animals come to life while watching the show, and that's a plus because Pooh Bear and his friends are living stuffed animals. The bees have realistic designs and look like real bees.

The characters are very expressive and energetic as well! Unlike most puppets, they can twitch their eyebrows, open and close their eyes, droop their eyelids, and more. Various kid's shows with puppets have limited movements or 90% of the time only reveal the top halves of their bodies, but Pooh and company's full bodies are revealed regularly and have tons of movements. They can do a variety of dance moves, walk, jump, and everything.

Unlike Pooh Corner, most of the characters are voiced by the people who voiced them in the cartoons at the time. Jim Cummings voiced both Pooh and Tigger and still voices them to this day, Ken Sansom voiced Rabbit, Peter Cullen voiced Eeyore and still voices him to this day, John Fiedler voiced Piglet, Kath Soucie voiced Kanga, Nikita Hopkins voiced Roo, and Andre Stojka voiced Owl. That means the voices don't sound weird or off for the most part, unlike Pooh Corner. I do have 1 minor complaint about the voice acting: Piglet's singing voice (by Jeff Bennett) is much higher pitched than his speaking voice.

I find Rabbit more likable in both this and Pooh Corner than in the cartoons. Why? In both shows, he's more relaxed, and he still gets irritated by his friends at times, but not as easily. He's the character I like the least in the cartoons because he can be selfish and rude to his friends at times and go too far with his "perfection." I can't say the same about his portrayal in either of the puppet shows. None of the characters were even the tiniest bit flanderized/butchered here (except for Rabbit of course, but he was flanderized in a good way)!

For some reason, Christopher Robin hasn't appeared in Pooh Corner at all, but he is mentioned in one episode. Unfortunately, he doesn't get much credit here either. During the theme song, he is shown putting the book on the table in his room and leaving to go to school, and he comes back home at the end of every episode. That's better than him not appearing at all! His face never appears on screen, and he's always shown from the neck down, but I don't know why. Did his actor not look like him?

The episodes have some interesting plots, like Pooh and friends putting on a Shakespeare-styled play for Owl to give him some nostalgia, Tigger trying to do nothing but bounce 24/7 and eventually learning he can't do one thing for the rest of his life, Pooh and Piglet helping a lost bee find its way home, Eeyore trying to change himself to become popular and learning to stay true to himself, and the characters making up their own stories when the narrator doesn't have a good story to tell. In one episode, Pooh wishes for 2 honey pots, makes rhymes, and he gets his wishes, which makes him think rhyming can cause wishes to be granted. He tells his friends about it, and they ask him to use his "magic genie rhymes" to grant their wishes, but he fails. He and Piglet do small kindnesses for their friends while they're sleeping early the next morning (e.g., the two of them give Tigger a telescope so he can see the moon "up close," build a stick castle for Eeyore, and pull the weeds out of Rabbit's garden), much to their amazement when they wake up. The episode shows that one doesn't need a magic genie to achieve their dreams nor does one need to do big things in order to be kind to others. This is the first Pooh TV series since Pooh Corner where the narrator appears and is set inside a book, and the only other one.

The songs are great! Some of them tell life lessons or inspiring messages. For example, the song "Your Best Wishes" says that the best wishes are the ones inside your heart, Broken Friendships says the only way to fix a "broken" friendship is to try, On Your Way Back Home says to never give up and to keep trying, and Do the Roo says everyone has their own way of dancing. The closing song/outro, Goodbye for Now, explains that goodbyes aren't (always) so bad because Pooh and his friends will be back another day, they'll be waiting for you to "come back" to the Hundred Acre Wood, and there will always be new adventures coming your way, similar to the Goodbye Song from Bear in the Big Blue House, which is just as great! All the aforementioned songs have soft, sweet, soothing, and beautiful music and vocals, except for Do the Roo, which happens to be a fast-paced and catchy song that is sure to get the audience up and dancing. The music is soft, sweet, and cheerful, and it sounds similar to the music from the cartoons. There is quiet and cheerful music from Bear in the Big Blue House in various scenes with no singing or dancing.

It may be safe to consider the show Pooh Bear's answer to BITBBH because they have some of the same music, both shows' characters are very expressive and energetic puppets, both of their title characters are bears, every episode of both shows ends with the characters recapping the episode, and The Goodbye Song and Goodbye for Now have similar titles and are about similar topics as I mentioned. However, this isn't a BITBBH rip-off because the two shows have nothing else in common. Coincidentally, they were both created by the same person, Mitchell Kriegman.

Overall, The Book of Pooh isn't as good as The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, but it's better than My Friends Tigger and Pooh (don't get me wrong, I like that show too) and especially Welcome to Pooh Corner. If you're looking for a good Pooh puppet show to watch and aren't a fan of Welcome to Pooh Corner, watch this instead. I'm happy it's on Disney+!

This new version of some Pooh tales is the most delightful addition to the Disney Channel lineup. I think that the new approach of bringing the art of Bunraku puppetry to television is not only inspired, but most welcome!

It's great to see a fresh look at the bear and his pals since old episodes of "The New Adventures Of Winnie-The-Pooh" were getting kind of tiresome. It's wonderful that Pooh has some new stories to talk about in a fun and eye-popping environment. Plus, the idea of spreading the importance of literacy is a fantastic approach to get Pooh fans involved in learning.

The songs are hummable and cute, and it's great to see most of the original (or second-generation) voices take part in such an experimental series. I say congrats to the crew at Disney on this terrific & adorable NEW Poo

The Book of Pooh is an all around excellent, visually-delightful children's show. Notice how the majority of negative comments expressed here are critical of the characters' appearance rather than show content, suggesting more than a tinge of irrational resentment. We all feel protective of the shows and characters we grew up watching, which can create a severe bias when it comes to remakes and modernized versions of these shows. The Book of Pooh is a great example of this narrow-minded mentality. The Hundred Acre Wood is brought to life in a near-flawless mix of puppeteering and computer animation, with catchy musical numbers and interesting plots to keep the young mind entertained as well as educated. A very important aspect to keep in mind is the age difference in viewers of the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh cartoon and The Book of Pooh, with the latter aimed at the 2-6 age group, whereas the former is geared towards older children about 6-10. This is why the Book of Pooh has larger characters, simpler backgrounds, and less complex but more educational plots. This is all to keep the attention of toddlers while teaching them basic moral lessons, as well as simple counting and reading skills. Bottom line: It's a charming, imaginative show for the toddler/preschool audience, and adults won't be too bored watching it either. As long as they aren't constantly comparing it to the other Pooh shows. :-)

This film is excellent and my son loves it. Makes a real change from the usual cartoon characters. Education seems to be a key point in this series of films, teaching kids about respect and manners. The DVD contains a series of short episodes so that it becomes unnecessary to have your children sit for hours until it is finished. Certain types of kids with disabilities respond really well to this, my son has cerebral palsy and isn't interested in regular cartoons but is uncontrollably excited when this is played for him. I would rate this as 10/10, and all the better it is available on on-line auctions for a fraction of the price in the shops.

My little brother LOVED this show as a little guy. He's 8 years younger than me so while I grew up on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, he grew up on this. And, while it's not nearly as good as New Adventures,which was written for an older audience to begin with, it's a good show. I watched it again pretty recently and it still holds up. The stories can be a little bland at times, but it's also a show for pre-k so I'm sure kids would love it all the same. But it also retains some of what's good about the cast of characters. While it's not brilliant, it's a lot of fun for little kids and it won't bore parents who have to watch it with them. So I'd say, if your kid is a Pooh fan (or if you're like me and you're an adult Pooh fan), it's definitely worth checking out alongside New Adventures.

"The Book of Pooh" is the second live-action TV adaption of A.A. Milne's beloved character Winnie the Pooh and friends have gotten by Disney. The first was "Welcome to Pooh Corner" some years back, which featured full-body costumes and not so much puppets, as this one does.

I love puppetry, a big fan of Sesame Street and the Muppets myself, but I have a feeling that the move to puppets was made to crank out more of the popular 'Pooh' faster than is possible with animation. Here, the foam and fleece characters don't have much restriction to their movements. The backgrounds are all punched in on a blue screen, so it seems the puppeteers were free to move about the stage.

I guess kids who like Pooh can be happy because their pushing out tons of these, but theres nothing special about the stories and the presentation is a bit fluffy.

The only thing about the Book of Pooh that resemble Milne's series is the looks of the characters. None of the personalities are transferred over to the puppets. Instead of the classic relationships such as Rabbit vs. Tigger we are given sappy, cute, supportive clones. All of this translates to an unwatchable perversion of the classic series. No, this is not Pooh.