Winnie The Pooh A Valentine For You

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Cartoon

Winnie The Pooh: A Valentine For You, Special Edition

The Plot

Christopher Robin, Winnie The Pooh, and friends discover wonderful life lessons when they take on the task of celebrating Valentine's Day.

Starring

Jim Cummings, Jerome Beidler, Brady Blum, Peter Cullen, and more.

The Review

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this Valentine special. My understanding is that this is a re-release from 2004 and except for the addition of "My Hero", there isn't anything different from the earlier release. That being said, if you don't own the earlier version, and you're a Winnie The Pooh fan, I strongly encourage you to check out this version.

This special edition comes with four Pooh adventures: "A Valentine For You"," Un-Valentine's Day", "Three Little Piglets", and "My Hero"—with my personal favorite being "Un-Valentine's Day". It also comes with a remote control game called, "Catch The Love Bug" and 6 very cute Valentine's Day cards your kids can sign and pass out.

In "A Valentine For You", Christopher Robin is visiting the Hundred Acre Wood where he hopes to get the opinion of his friends on a Valentine's Day card he made for a new friend. But when Pooh and his friends discover Christopher has a new friend, they become troubled. First, they don't understand how to cure him since he's been "smitten by the love bug" and second, they're terrified that Christopher will forget all about them as he gets closer to his new friend. Eventually, they confront Christopher Robin, who informs them—through song—that it is possible to have both new and old friends.

In "Un-Valentine's Day", Rabbit decides to boycott Valentine's Day altogether and encourages the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood citizens to do the same. Unfortunately for Rabbit, everyone forgot to tell Eeyore. When Pooh receives a jar of Honey for Valentine's Day, a chain of events take place that cause everyone to run amuck as they try to figure out who started the chain reaction of gift-giving. In the end, they realize that giving of one's self can be pure joy when it is done in love—and not out of obligation or fear of obligation.

In "My Hero", Piglet saves Tigger's life. Determined to return the favor, Tigger decides to become Piglet's servant—which proves to be too much for Piglet. Thankfully, all the mishap Tigger causes trying to repay Piglet doesn't cause any real harm and in the end, Tigger and Piglet realize that friends don't need to repay each other.

In "Three Little Piglets", Pooh tries to retell the story of "The Three Little Pigs"—unfortunately, he doesn't do a very good job. And in my humble opinion, this is an episode that could've been left off the DVD.

There is one caveat when it comes to video quality. None of the episodes were digitally re-mastered so when it comes to the "Un-Valentine's Day" and "Three Little Piglets" you will see videos that show their age via dull, lackluster colors and tiny scratches.

Overall, I believe Winnie The Pooh: A Valentine For You would definitely make a great addition to your Pooh or holiday video collection.

Your Task

Watch both Valentine's specials with your children. When you're done, ask them if they think people can make new friends and still keep the old, then talk about their answers. If they answer, "no", ask them why they feel that way then show them how they can balance both new and old friends without hurting anyone's feelings and without spreading themselves too thin. Next, ask them what they really think Valentine's Day is all about—and if they feel every gift received must be reciprocated with a gift. Then discuss your feelings on this matter—teaching them that gifts are given out of love, not obligation.