Winne the Pooh Review!

Winnie the Pooh is one of the most timeless literary/animated characters of all time. I grew up watching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and have since passed it on to my children, so when we saw they preview for this film my kids were literally besides themselves. Jill for one has been talking about this movie nonstop since she saw the first preview.

The film itself is inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style (my favorite style by the way). 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.

The film also features a new take on the classic Pooh songs. The songs are sung by She & Him singer Zooey Deschanel. As a total side note if you have never listened to She & Him you need to, they are phenomenal and I thank my almost 21 year old niece everyday for introducing me to them.

The film itself is adorable and the perfect length for young children, it's only 68 minutes long. Plus, before the film starts there is an animated short about the Loch Ness Monster, called The Ballad of Nessie, which I hope is featured on the DVD for this film when it comes out.

Both of my kids loved this film and talked about it the entire way home and the day after. They've also asked if they could go back to see it everyday since Monday. If you have younger kids and are looking for a first film to take them to, definitely make it this one. I have a feeling this will be a movie that we see several more times before it leaves the theaters. The film opens today, July 15th, nationwide.

Are any of you planning on seeing Winnie the Pooh this weekend?

Thank you again to my friends at Moroch and Disney Studios for making this possible!

Walt Disney Studios: Secretariat

Scott and I were lucky enough that we were able to go to an advanced screening of Disney's new film, Secretariat, last night.


Here's the description from Disney:

Based on the remarkable true story, “Secretariat” chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery ( Diane Lane ) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery—with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)—manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.



The big joke between Scott and I before we even stepped foot in the theater was "Well we know how it ends", but the film kept us on the edge of our seats. It literally took all we had not to jump up and start yelling during the race scenes. I even turned to Scott during one of the race scenes and said "I have no idea why I'm nervous" but I literally had that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. You want to root for Penny and Secretariat the whole film.



For me the casting was perfect. I love John Malkovich, he's quirky, funny, creepy (per my sister Cathy) and just flat out awesome. He was perfect in for the role of Lucien Laurin. Diane Lane was also cast perfectly as Penny Chenery-Tweedy. I like that when you are watching a film you forget who the actor is and you see them as the person they are playing. I think this film did an amazing job with that.


When we left the theater Scott and I immediately said this is a must own when it comes to DVD and that we would probably go see it again in the theaters after it's release date (10/8/10). It was that amazing. We both also said we hadn't seen that kind of a movie in a long time, you know the one where you forget that you've been sitting there for 2.5 hours. I think this is a film the whole family would enjoy and it's definitely a must see!

Thank you again to Blogher for the chance to see the film and to Disney for the use of the graphic/clips!

Head over to Multiples and More to see the amazing giveaway we are doing to prepare for the release of Secretariat!