Welcome to Pooh Corner

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Welcome to Pooh Corner
200px
Second Welcome to Pooh Corner title card
Starring Joe Giamalva
Patty Maloney
Ronald Mangham
Norman Merrill, Jr.
Mark Sawyer
Frank Groby
Sharon Baird
Shelagh Garren
Peter Risch
Voices of Hal Smith
Will Ryan
Ron Gans
Phil Baron
Kim Christianson
Robin Frederick
Narrated by Laurie Main
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 120
Production
Running time 30 Minutes
Distributor Walt Disney Domestic Television Distribution (1983–1985)
Buena Vista Television (1985–1986)
Release
Original network The Disney Channel (now Disney Channel)
Audio format Stereo
Original release April 18, 1983 –
May 30, 1986
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Welcome to Pooh Corner is a live-action/puppet television series that aired on The Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditional puppet. The animatronic costumes used for the characters were created by Alchemy II, Inc., headed by Ken Forsse who later created the toy sensation Teddy Ruxpin. The show was first aired on April 18, 1983, the day The Disney Channel was launched.[1] Its timeslot for its early run was at 8:30 a.m. Eastern/Pacific Time, making it the third program of The Disney Channel's 16 (later 18) hour programming day.[1] Reruns of the show aired on The Disney Channel until at least January 1997.[2]

Hal Smith, Will Ryan, and Laurie Main were the only three actors from the original four Pooh shorts to reprise their roles here (Smith, who had voiced Owl ever since the beginning of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, had recently replaced Sterling Holloway as the voice of Pooh; Ryan had provided Rabbit's voice in the 1983 short Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, replacing Junius Matthews; and Main was the narrator for Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, replacing Sebastian Cabot). The show's title derives from the second Winnie the Pooh storybook, The House at Pooh Corner.

Background

The show was hosted by a middle-aged Englishman (played by Laurie Main) who would present each episode. He would relate what he was talking about to an event that occurred in the Hundred Acre Wood, the home of the Pooh characters, and then he would proceed to read from a book entitled Welcome to Pooh Corner. He would then narrate the episode acted out by the characters. The action was filmed before a blue screen, rather than using traditional sets (the same technique was used for Dumbo's Circus, another live-action/puppet series that ran on The Disney Channel).

Since the show was designed for The Disney Channel before it began airing commercials, there were no breaks for commercials. As a result, the show lasted a full thirty minutes. The main story ran about twenty minutes followed by two shorter segments. The first segment was a sing-along music video featuring one of nine songs, used over and over throughout the show's run. These songs were written by the Academy Award winning Sherman Brothers who had provided the majority of the Winnie the Pooh music over the years. The Sherman Brothers also wrote the show's theme song, using the music from the original Winnie-the-Pooh theme song from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, albeit with a slightly altered tempo.

The last segment of the show was a presentational arts and crafts demonstration that took place at the Thoughtful Spot. One of the cast members would speak to the narrator, looking directly into the camera, while they showed the viewers at home how to make something.

When the series first started out, the narrator was seen siting in a small library. As the series progressed, he is moved into a small playroom which eventually is seen having plush versions of Pooh and his friends.

The costumes, Pooh plushes, the narrator's wicker chair and his book are now displayed in the walk-in prop warehouse of the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Episodes

Holiday Specials

  1. Pooh Corner Thanksgiving (1983)
  2. Christmas at Pooh Corner (1983)
  3. Pooh's Funny Valentine's Day (1984)
  4. Because It's Halloween (1984)
  5. Christmas Is For Sharing (1984)

Educational Specials

  • Too Smart for Strangers - a 1985 TV special (which was also released to home video), where Pooh and his friends tell the viewers about strangers and molestation and what to do.
  • Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure - a fifteen-minute 16mm educational film produced in 1986, where the characters explain the importance of school bus safety.
  • One and Only You - a ten-minute 16mm educational film produced in 1989, where the characters explain about positive self-image and getting along with others.
  • Responsible Persons - a ten-minute 16mm educational film produced in 1989, Pooh and friends demonstrate responsibility and promote interpersonal skills.

Voices

Songs

The songs used in this series were written by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman, including the character's songs that represent each character:

"A Part of Me"

Sometimes, if an episode ended a few minutes early, a certain character would sing a song entitled "A Part of Me", which was written by one of the voice actors, Phil Baron. The song depicts the importance of a certain body part that each character was singing about:

Trivia

  • Welcome to Pooh Corner differs from its other incarnations in a number of ways:
    • Pooh's eyes are different.
    • Piglet always wears a scarf (known as a "muffler" by the narrator). He also has a talent for music.
    • Tigger has a black nose, and has a talent for art.
    • Rabbit is a talented magician, aside from being a gardener
    • Eeyore has a talent for dancing. His house is made of wooden planks, complete with a door and weather vane.
    • Owl always wears glasses and, on several occasions, a pilot's cap and scarf when flying. As Owl begins to take off, a sound of a plane's engine starting can be heard, followed by the take off. He also loves to cook.
    • Roo's character originally was a toddler and would most often be sitting on something like Eeyore or Tigger's back, Kanga's pouch, or his high chair. In later episodes, his character was portrayed as being more preschool-aged; he was then able to walk around in more scenes and was never in his mother's pouch. He also always wore a red shirt, but later changed to a white collared shirt. (One Disney book from 1986 actually depicted Roo wearing the original red shirt.)
  • For the French version of the show, Les Aventures de Winnie L'Ourson, the host was played by French actor Jean Rochefort from 1985 to 1987, and then Vincent Perrot in 1988.

VHS Releases

US releases

File:Welcome to Pooh Corner VHS.jpg
VHS cover of Welcome to Pooh Corner.

Six VHS tapes were released by Walt Disney Home Video in the mid-1980s for the then new video home rental market. Each tape contained four episodes.

  • Volume One contains the episodes "You Need A Friend", "Doing What I Do Best", "The Pooh Scouts" and "Brighten Your Corner".
  • Volume Two contains the episodes "Safety First", "Rabbit Learns to Share", "The Great Outdoors" and "Surprise, Surprise".
  • Volume Three contains the episodes "Piglet Pride", "Roo's Great Adventure", "Eeyore Talks to Himself" and "Snow Falls On Pooh Corner".
  • Volume Four contains the episodes "Hello, Hello There", "Practice Makes Perfect", "The Old Swimming Hole" and "Pooh Makes a Trade".
  • Volume Five contains the episodes "A Bicycle Built for Five", "My Echo and I", "Pooh Learns to Remember" and "Wishing".
  • Volume Six contains the episodes "Don't Quit", "Holiday for Pooh Bear", "Pooh Builds a Bee House" and "Piglet Lends a Helping Hand".

UK releases

The show was also released on VHS PAL in the UK as part of a six-volume set which also each featured an episode of Good Morning, Mickey!, Donald Duck Presents, The Mouse Factory and Mousercise. Each tape contained one episode of Welcome to Pooh Corner.

  • Volume One contains the episode "Eeyore Joins the Band".
  • Volume Two contains the episode "Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti".
  • Volume Three contains the episode "A Bicycle Built for Five".
  • Volume Four contains the episode "Piglet's Slumber Party".
  • Volume Five contains the episode "Eeyore's Costume Party".
  • Volume Six contains the episode "Handyman Tigger".

DVD releases

  • Disney Safety Hits Vol. 2 (Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure & Too Smart for Strangers)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Disney Channel Magazine, April/May 1983 (Premiere Issue), pp. 7, 14.
  2. ↑ The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 14, no. 6, December 1996/January 1997: p. 28.

External links

Preceded by
N/A
 Disney Channel Original Series Succeeded by
Good Morning, Mickey!
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