Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day

Winnie the Pooh has always been a favorite of mine. The original stories are in the realm of the Mary Poppins stories, i.e., difficult to translate to film. In this instance, Disney has managed to transfer the charm of the Pooh stories intact to the screen. Winnie is simply adorable as an animated character, and Sterling Holloway gives him the perfect voice. All the other characters are voiced with perfection, too, especially Tigger, who makes his debut in this short film. Tigger almost steals the show from Pooh; when he's onscreen, you don't notice anything else. Sebastian Cabot adds just the right touch as the narrator.

The entire film has the feel of the pink elephant sequence in Dumbo; inspired, creative and unforgettable. During the storm, pages from the book blow away as the wind rises, rain washes text down the page and away into a stream, etc. Everyone should love this adaptation; Disney soon cranked Pooh out as a series, and it got tedious and sloppy. But this early effort is a real masterpiece.