“Winnie the Pooh” meets “Avenue Q”

A scene from Walt Disney Picture's Winnie the Pooh--which is full of playful letters and words

Lizabeth suggested at about 12:45pm Saturday afternoon that we hit a 1pm showing of Disney’s new “Winnie the Pooh” film, which gave us little time to transition from Eeyore to Tigger mode. But we made it, and enjoyed every second of nostalgia nirvana in the short 73 minute film.

“Winnie the Pooh” is a literature lover’s dream — filled with images of books, letters and punctuation marks that come alive (as muses, not monsters), and scenes of Pooh characters bouncing, stumbling and flying through the pages of a “Winnie the Pooh” storybook.

Tigger doesn’t text or tweet. Kanga and Roo get letters the old-fashioned way — in their mailbox. Friends work together to solve problems. They’re creative. They cheer each other on. And they accept one another, foibles and all. Pull out the Pooh books before heading to the theater — you’ll want to extend the movie magic with a few good reads when you get home.

Robert Lopez wrote music and lyrics for both Avenue Q and Winnie the Pooh

“Winnie the Pooh” is a lovely musical jaunt, full of classical music in various tempos and styles. The movie features an original score by Henry Jackman and original songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, a married couple with impressive joint and individual credits.

Lizabeth spotted Robert Lopez’s name in the credits — because she’s familiar with his work on “The Book of Mormon” and “Avenue Q.” The couple share music and lyric credits for seven songs in the film. Anderson-Lopez voices Kanga and Playbill.com reports that Lopez makes the rumbling sound for Pooh’s tummy. It’s a gift, I suppose.

A careful review of the movie’s credits — which roll as some of the movie’s funniest antics unfold — reveals plenty of familiar names. There’s Zooey Deschanel, who contributes an original song and vocal performance for the film. And Craig Ferguson (the voice of Owl) of late-night fame.

Also actors who’ve voiced characters for Toy Story 3, Phineas & Ferb and SpongeBob SquarePants. Most endearing is the voice of Christopher Robin. It’s that of Jack Boulter, and it’s his first-ever voiceover role. I may have to enjoy the movie a second time just to relish all the voiceover talent — including narration by John Cleese, co-founder of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

A single line in the credits reads “Dan Read-In Memorium” — in honor of a longtime background and visual development artist for Disney Animation films who died in May of 2010 after battling melanoma. I read that donations to local SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) chapters were requested in lieu of flowers.

Film credits mention “caffeination by Carlos Benavides” and thank three museums, including Britain’s Victoria and Albert Museum, where film directors Stephen Anderson and Don Hall studied original “Winnie the Pooh” illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard. The original stuffed animals that inspired Milne’s stories for his son Christopher Robin Milne are housed at the New York Public Library.

Disney's Winnie the Pooh opens with pages from this 1961 book by A.A. Milne

Children and their grown-ups giggled throughout the film as Tigger pounced atop a downtrodden Eeyore, Owl recited his lengthy memoir, Roo braved the forrest in his tea cup helmet, Rabbit found comfort in a checklist and Pooh raced to escape angry bees. There were no angry birds back in author A.A. Milne’s day (1882-1956).

When characters ponder knotting a rope to rescue friends who’ve fallen into a pit, Eeyore suggest that “it’s all for naught.” Later he’s convinced that “we’re all gonna die.” Roo offers a deadpan “Send the pig” (Lizabeth’s favorite line) when scary noises loom, and Tigger spends a lot of time saying “it’s gonna be great.” Pooh dreams of honey, meeting frustrations with a simple “Oh, bother!”

Disney’s “Winnie the Pooh” website offers a “100 Acre Wood Personality quiz” for those of you who’ve yet to identify with a particular character, and there are plenty of games, activities and facts for younger “Pooh” fans. As other folks flock to Harry Potter’s Forbidden Forrest, I’m perfectly content to linger in the 100 Acre Wood.

— Lynn

Note: Lizabeth found a cool “10 Questions” interview of Robert Lopez by Belinda Luscombe of TIME Magazine in which he talks about his “personal connection with Pooh.” Click here to watch the video from TIME.com.

Coming up: Pardon my Pygmalion

Burning questions

Sunday night’s presentation of the 83rd annual Academy Awards left me with plenty of burning questions…

How did they wrestle enough gold from Glenn Beck to make all those Oscar statues? Will we ever actually see Florence’s machine? Who does costuming for Helen Bonham Carter’s off-camera wardrobe?

Can we recruit Mr. Pricklepants and Mrs. Potato Head to host next year’s Oscars? Who knew pregnant and purple was such a powerful combination? And when will I learn to say “JC Penney” and “Tim Gunn” in the same sentence without weeping?

I’ve also got lots of burning questions about Valley theater productions…

Who is the unfortunate 11th Jew who didn’t make it into Andy Warhol’s silkscreened “top ten” list? Why does technology conspire against me every time I try to interview playwright Josh Kornbluth? And how do I get my own “autobiographical monologist” gig?

How are all those folks over at Phoenix Theatre doing in the mastery of puppetry department? Are gay puppets made or are they just born that way? When will “Toy Story” be a Broadway musical so Toby Yatso can land the part of “Woody?” And what do you do — really — with a B.A. in English?

If famed actors Lunt & Fontanne were alive today, which network would carry their reality show? MTV? Bravo? Lifetime? What would all those “Design Stars” say about their tendency to confuse set design with interior decorating? And why were nine chimneys never enough for them?

Finally, a few notes to self…

Attend all future films starring actors who thanked their mothers. Buy a big girl phone so even acts of God won’t imperil interviews with really cool people. Do whatever it takes to wipe the image of Javier Bardem in a near-yellow tux out of your mind. And keep an eye on young Valley actors who may one day walk that famous red carpet.

— Lynn

Note: My three groups of questions for Valley theater companies refer to the following productions: “Andy Warhol: Good for the Jews?” (Actors Theatre, March 4-20), “Avenue Q” (Phoenix Theatre through March 20) and “Ten Chimneys” (Arizona Theatre Company, through March 6).

Coming up: “Macbeth” on the road, Art adventures: Roosevelt Row