Meeting Pooh in Animal Kingdom 2007

I think meeting the characters is an important part of the “magic” that is a Disney vacation so make sure you take some time to meet your favorites.

Which do you like better…character meet & greets or character dining? Leave me a comment and let me know which one and why.

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I remember back in 2000 when “The Tigger Movie” came to theaters, my boys then 5 and 7 and I made a special weekend out of the movie release and it is something they still mention today. Now, 12 years later you can share “The Tigger Movie” with your family as it bounces onto Blu-Ray Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

Walt Disney Studios brings the magic of the Hundred Acre Wood to life with “The Tigger Movie,” bouncing onto Blu-ray high definition and HD Digital for the first time on August 21, 2012. Featuring new digitally enhanced picture and sound and exclusive bonus features, “The Tigger Movie” Bounce-A-Riffic Special Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack invites families to relive the childhood fun of the one and only Tigger.

The exciting new Blu-ray Combo Pack provides hours of viewing fun with bonus materials including two all-new features: Disney Intermission—when the film is paused, young fans can participate in a variety of Hundred Acre Wood themed games including guess the character, spot the differences and counting; and “A Tigger Tale” a featurette where the filmmakers discuss how Tigger’s literary and film history influenced “The Tigger Movie.”

The Tigger Movie: Bounce-A-Rrrific Special Edition (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) is a tiggerific treat for the whole family and for added fun, comes packaged with a family tree activity poster and stickers.

In this charming musical tale of friendship and adventure, “The Tigger Movie” Bounce-A-Riffic Special Edition follows Tigger as he sets off on an epic journey to find other Tiggers in his family tree. Through a series of exciting adventures he discovers that families come in all shapes and sizes. This fun and playful animated tale delights a whole new generation of fans with its timeless characters and storytelling, rich animation and delightful songs by legendary Disney songwriting team of brothers, Richard and Robert Sherman. The film features the Hundred Acre Wood’s most lovable characters, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet and the rest of the gang.

I LOVE the bonus features on the Blu-Ray. The “A Tigger Tale” featurette gives great insight into the creation of this special film while harkening back to classic Winnie the Pooh tales. The Disney Intermission feature is genius!! Now if you need to pause the movie so one child can run to the potty the other kids will be entertained until you resume the movie. In addition to those brand new features, the Blu-Ray also contains:

• 10 Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh shorts – The journey continues with these 10 animated shorts featuring all of the Hundred Acre Wood characters.
• “Round My Family Tree” Sing-Along Song – In this feature, fans can sing along with Tigger as the lyrics are highlighted on screen.
• Kenny Loggins Music Video “Your Heart Will Lead You Home” – Singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins reunites with the Hundred Acre Wood characters in this heartwarming music video.

If you are a Disney fan or a Tigger fan, this DVD is a must have in your collection. I’d love to know which character from the Hundred Acre Woods is your favorite and why so please leave e a comment and let me know. Don’t forget to like “The Tigger Movie” on Facebook and Follow Disney Pictures on Twitter.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the DVD/Blu-Ray Combo Pack for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% my own. There are affiliate links in this post.

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Mandatory 1st Entry:To enter the giveaway you need to take the Hundred Acre Woods Personality Quiz and tell me which character you are in your entry comment.

Bonus Entries:

• Follow @MomMaven on Twitter
• Use the retweet button at the bottom of this post to tweet about this giveaway-you can do this 2x a day
• Like this post using the Facebook like button at the bottom of this post
• Like The Mom Maven on Facebook
• +1 this post on Google using the button at the bottom of this post

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We enjoyed this brief (66 minute) trip back to the woods with our friends Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Kanga, Roo and of course, Christopher Robin. The three intertwined story lines of Eeyore’s missing tail, Pooh’s search for honey and a wild goose chase to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary monster all felt familiar, yet new. They perfectly fit with previous Pooh movies and were inspired by three stories in A.A. Milne’s books. The new music by Zooey Deschanel was a perfect fit with the feel of the stories and all of the songs in the movie were adorable.

The BLU-Ray bonus features were entertaining and informative.

•  Exclusive bonus short “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon” – In this charming short, Pooh comes up with a daring plan to get a hold of some honey by fooling a group of bees.
• “The Ballad of Nessie” – The animated short film included in the theatrical release is the heartwarming tale of how Nessie found her new home in the Loch Ness.
• “Winnie the Pooh and His Story Too” – A fun and informative behind-the-scenes look at the film, designed for the whole family. Hosted by John Cleese (narrator of the film), and with occasional help from Pooh himself, this featurette explores Winnie the Pooh’s history from his beginnings as a character in a book, to his continued life in the movies. The filmmakers reveal how they worked to keep the look of the characters and settings in this movie consistent with their first appearances on-screen in1966. Pooh, being a bear of very little mind, finds much of this confusing, but the Narrator and the filmmakers make it all clear to Pooh – and you!
•  Deleted Scenes introduced by directors, Stephen Anderson and Don Hall – 5 deleted scenes including “The Tummy Song,” “”Rabbit’s Friends and Relations,” “Original Eeyore Intro,” “Original Tigger Intro” and “Pooh Searches for a Tail”
• Sing-Along with the Movie – Follow the red balloon and changing word colors to seven song lyrics featured in the film
•  Disney Song Selection – “Winnie the Pooh Theme Song,” “The Tummy Song, “A Very Important Thing To Do,” “The Backson Song,” “It’s Gonna Be Great,” “Everything is Honey” and “The Winner Song Finale”

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There is no question which movie I want to see this weekend.

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Like WINNIE THE POOH on Facebook.

WINNIE THE POOH opens in theatres everywhere on July 15th.

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He’s a bear of very little brain. She’s half of the acclaimed band She & Him. This year, they come together on the big screen in “Winnie the Pooh,” which hits theatres on July 15, 2011.

Actress, Musician, Singer, Songwriter Zooey Deschanel (“Almost Famous,” “(500) Days of Summer”) joins Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, performing three songs for the film, including her own take on the classic “Winnie the Pooh” theme song, “A Very Important Thing to Do” and the original end-credit song “So Long,” which was written by Deschanel and performed with She & Him bandmate M. Ward.

“This has been one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had,” says Deschanel. “And I’ve just been thanking my lucky stars that I was able to work on this movie, because it’s delightful.”

Filmmakers were drawn to Deschanel’s signature style. “She was the perfect choice to do the ‘Winnie the Pooh’ song—a classic theme from the Sherman Brothers,” says director Don Hall. “Her music actually embodies the underlying spirit of the movie. We’re taking something that has vintage roots in the sixties, but spinning it in our own way and updating it. If you listen to Zooey’s music with She & Him—that’s their sound to a tee.”

Adds director Stephen Anderson, “It’s a perfect way to start the movie, letting the audience know right off the bat that this is Winnie the Pooh like you know him, but it’s something for today. We wanted to keep the same charm as the original, but give it a fresh spin, a contemporary feel, and she opens the movie with so much freshness, so much energy.”

“It’s always fun to have a contemporary artist rediscover a classic and that’s exactly what Zooey did,” says producer Peter Del Vecho. “She brought her own personality to the song—when she sings about introducing the individual characters, it’s as though she’s known them her whole life—and she has.”

“I’m a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and all his friends,” says Deschanel, who also plays the ukulele in the song. “It’s really hard to pick a favorite: Winnie the Pooh is so special, he loves honey and he’s just cool. Eeyore is amazing, I love Eeyore. And Piglet is so small. It’s really a four-way tie between Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger.”

Among the songs Deschanel performed for the film is “A Very Important Thing to Do”—a song that helps illustrate the contest the friends from the Hundred Acre Wood take on to find Eeyore a new tail. She also lent her voice to “Everything is Honey” and “Pooh’s Finale,” joining Jim Cummings (the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger), Tony Award®-winning songwriter Robert Lopez (“Avenue Q”) and other cast members.

For the end-credit song, Deschanel teamed up with Ward to perform “So Long,” a song Deschanel wrote.  “When I was writing ‘So Long,’ I just held the images for the end credits in my mind,” she says. “I spent a number of days tinkering with ideas, melodies and chord progressions that I thought would fit the images, the new music being written and the original Sherman Brothers stuff– but still be my own thing. The song definitely has its own feel, but also pays respect to the original.”

Deschanel plays piano for “So Long” and turned to the instrument when it came time to write the song. “I usually write on piano because that’s the first instrument that I learned when I was a little kid,” she says. “All of my musical theory knowledge is in linear piano form.”

Her heart, however, is in the vocals. “I’m always thinking in terms of vocals, and arranging a fabric of vocals is the most exciting part. I love to sing backup parts—I always try to squeeze in as many as possible,” she says. “It’s fun; it’s my style.”

Deschanel’s songs, plus the Sherman Brothers classic and a host of original songs by Robert Lopez and wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez (“The Wonder Pets”), as well as original score from composer Henry Jackman (“The Da Vinci Code,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”), will be included on the “Winnie the Pooh” soundtrack (available Spring 2011 in select international markets, and in the U.S. on July 12, 2011) from Walt Disney Records.

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Here’s some info about the movie:

Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh.” Featuring the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail.  “Ever have one of those days where you just can’t win, Eeyore?” asks Pooh.  Owl sends the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey. Inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, “Winnie the Pooh” hits theaters in Europe and Latin America in Spring 2011; the U.S. release date is July 15, 2011.

As you are planning your summer activities, make sure you pencil in Pooh for mid-July, I already have. Here is a sneak peek of the 1st trailer for the new movie.

To stay up-to-date on the latest Winnie the Pooh news make sure you Like the movie on Facebook.

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