I have always loved Winnie the Pooh, and the TV series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is not only one of my childhood favourites but also one of Disney's best shows, animated or not. As far as the collection of Winnie the Pooh tapes and the show goes, Growing Up is still great but not one of the best.
For me, I prefer Detective Tigger, Helping Others, Sharing & Caring and especially Making Friends. As I said, Growing Up is not at all bad, in fact it is great with four wonderful episodes and everything that I love about The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on display. It's just that apart from perhaps "Cloud, Cloud Go Away" the episodes aren't quite as relevant to the theme of growing up than "A Very, Very Large Animal" was for Helping Others and "Tigger, Private Ear" for Detective Tigger for examples. If there is one episode that suits the theme to a tee, in my opinion it's "Grown But Not Forgotten".
"Cloud, Cloud Go Away" is a fun episode, that is very touching at the end. The reason why it is perhaps the most relevant episode to the theme of Growing Up is because Tigger matures and learns from his mistake here, a side that as much as I adore Tigger I rarely see from him. The story is simple, easy to follow and innocent, the animation and music beautiful and the voice acting top notch, but the writing with quotes such as "I think it wants to grow up to be a storm" is the strongest asset. And as I have said before, if "Cloud, Cloud Go Away" makes you want to hug a cloud afterwards, you know it has done its job right.
"Me and My Shadow" is one of the sweeter and more whimsical Winnie the Pooh episodes. When I saw "Me and My Shadow" when I was little, it inspired me to play with my shadow just like Piglet does here, and I thought the part where Pooh and the others tried to cheer Piglet up by sharing their shadows with him was very cute, almost as cute as the sight of Pooh in the sun outfit. There are always room for some funny moments, nobody does funny sneezes like Tigger, and also perhaps the most poignant first two minutes of a Winnie the Pooh episode, who can resist tearing up at "But...I haven't got anybody else."
"Easy Come Easy Gopher" is probably the episode on the tape that has least to do with Growing Up. All the same, it is a great episode, with colourful animation, dynamic music, a charming story and great writing, Pooh's "It's the most wonderful I don't know what I have ever seen" is a real laugh out loud moment not to mention it is adorable. All the characters are very likable, Rabbit is much more considerate of others than he can be, but my favourite was Gopher, I just love it that this show gives him more to do than he has in the movies, specials and other TV series where he is little more than a cameo or not even used. Usually Tigger has the best lines, and sometimes Pooh, but Gopher has the lion's share here, which was refreshing.
"The Bug Stops Here" is more to do with the theme of making friends(alongside "Cloud, Cloud Go Away" it did actually feature on the video of the same name) than Growing Up, but again the episode is a lot of fun especially in the simple and innocent story and the droll writing. But the animation, music and characters, as well as the voice acting also delight as always. Tigger's "Don't worry Christopher Robin, we are even better at catching bugs than losing 'em" always makes me smile, just knowing what the characters are letting themselves in for, that said I love how loyal they are to Christopher Robin and how they'd do anything for him.
All in all, a very good video if not among the best of the video collection. 9/10 Bethany Cox
For me, I prefer Detective Tigger, Helping Others, Sharing & Caring and especially Making Friends. As I said, Growing Up is not at all bad, in fact it is great with four wonderful episodes and everything that I love about The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on display. It's just that apart from perhaps "Cloud, Cloud Go Away" the episodes aren't quite as relevant to the theme of growing up than "A Very, Very Large Animal" was for Helping Others and "Tigger, Private Ear" for Detective Tigger for examples. If there is one episode that suits the theme to a tee, in my opinion it's "Grown But Not Forgotten".
"Cloud, Cloud Go Away" is a fun episode, that is very touching at the end. The reason why it is perhaps the most relevant episode to the theme of Growing Up is because Tigger matures and learns from his mistake here, a side that as much as I adore Tigger I rarely see from him. The story is simple, easy to follow and innocent, the animation and music beautiful and the voice acting top notch, but the writing with quotes such as "I think it wants to grow up to be a storm" is the strongest asset. And as I have said before, if "Cloud, Cloud Go Away" makes you want to hug a cloud afterwards, you know it has done its job right.
"Me and My Shadow" is one of the sweeter and more whimsical Winnie the Pooh episodes. When I saw "Me and My Shadow" when I was little, it inspired me to play with my shadow just like Piglet does here, and I thought the part where Pooh and the others tried to cheer Piglet up by sharing their shadows with him was very cute, almost as cute as the sight of Pooh in the sun outfit. There are always room for some funny moments, nobody does funny sneezes like Tigger, and also perhaps the most poignant first two minutes of a Winnie the Pooh episode, who can resist tearing up at "But...I haven't got anybody else."
"Easy Come Easy Gopher" is probably the episode on the tape that has least to do with Growing Up. All the same, it is a great episode, with colourful animation, dynamic music, a charming story and great writing, Pooh's "It's the most wonderful I don't know what I have ever seen" is a real laugh out loud moment not to mention it is adorable. All the characters are very likable, Rabbit is much more considerate of others than he can be, but my favourite was Gopher, I just love it that this show gives him more to do than he has in the movies, specials and other TV series where he is little more than a cameo or not even used. Usually Tigger has the best lines, and sometimes Pooh, but Gopher has the lion's share here, which was refreshing.
"The Bug Stops Here" is more to do with the theme of making friends(alongside "Cloud, Cloud Go Away" it did actually feature on the video of the same name) than Growing Up, but again the episode is a lot of fun especially in the simple and innocent story and the droll writing. But the animation, music and characters, as well as the voice acting also delight as always. Tigger's "Don't worry Christopher Robin, we are even better at catching bugs than losing 'em" always makes me smile, just knowing what the characters are letting themselves in for, that said I love how loyal they are to Christopher Robin and how they'd do anything for him.
All in all, a very good video if not among the best of the video collection. 9/10 Bethany Cox
