Welcome to Pooh Corner

My words will be inadequate to describe how good "Welcome to Pooh Corner" is. No other children's show comes close to the quality of this series. I would be willing to pay big bucks to have the entire series (all 120 episodes) on DVD. If that ever happens, I hope it will include bonus materials to tell us how it was done--who wrote the scripts, did the music, manned the characters, did the voices, etc.

Every episode had warmth, humor, and charm, and taught good values. This show appeals to adults as well as children. The songs were fabulous. How did the actors make those puppet heads convey such emotion and how did they synchronize the voices with the facial expressions? The backdrops and scenery were beautiful also. What an amazing bunch of talented people worked on this show! I watched "Welcome to Pooh Corner" with my sons when they were little and now with my granddaughter. I wish I had recorded every episode from the Disney Channel, but I only got 9 of them. Then I bought the 6-volume tape series. But all my videos are worn out from repeat viewing, so I would dearly love to have this on DVD. All 120 episodes, please! I would buy copies for grandchildren and friends, as well as myself. This is too good to disappear. Please bring it back!

Some of these treasured 80s shows have been re-released on DVD like "He-Man & The Masters of the Universe," but those DVDs do not contain all the classic commercials and promos for other shows, which also stir up all the old memories when I see them on my tapes. Back then I didn't appreciate those old commercials. Maybe in twenty years I will wax nostalgic about some of the goofy reality shows that are on TV currently or get excited if I see a Playstation 2 commercial, but there was something so charming and exciting about the 8-bit Nintendo's upcoming "Mario Bros" game back then and none of that seems prevalent now. However, I also watched "The Disney Channel" a lot—mainly because none of the shows on that channel were interrupted with commercials. I came across a few episodes of "Welcome to Pooh Corner" on one of my tapes, and that show is truly 80s and truly a gem. It was the first Winnie-the-Pooh show to ever air (even before "The Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh" cartoon show) and it had all the campy charm and wholesome fun, which appealed to kids and adults. I know I am once again getting very nostalgic here, as I often do, mainly because I am growing older and hope to share some of my old memories with my kids someday—but even more so because these old shows were so wonderful! The Disney Channel as a whole was absolutely wonderful and is nothing like that anymore.

"Welcome to Pooh Corner" was a live action show about Pooh and his friends. It began with a narrator named Laurie, an older gentleman who wore warm and comfortable looking sweaters and had the most assuring voice in the world, and was to me, even more charming than Mr. Rogers. He would open the show with a book on his lap and one of the characters in the form of a stuffed toy on the table next to him—usually the character who was to be starring in that particular episode. For example, if the show centered on Roo, he would have a miniature Roo next to him and would begin to explain his dilemma—whether it was how he didn't want to eat his oatmeal or how he wanted to go play with Tigger instead of clean his room. This may sound silly, but there were great lessons to be learned and I just don't think shows of today contain these lessons. Then, the show went into The Hundred Acre Woods, where all the characters lived, and it used live puppets and scenic painted backdrops to show the settings. After the actual episode was over, the characters would do sort of a music video, where they would sing a song that relayed to the episode, and do an arts-and-crafts type segment where they'd show you how to make things like paper plate letter holders to hang in your home. I absolutely loved the show. It's lead-in was "Dumbo's Circus" which was a similar style show starring Dumbo and all his friends, but it didn't have a narrator and it was not nearly as good. I watched it occasionally, more because it was on right before Pooh. I never taped any of those shows, but again, I'd take that over any of the stuff that's on that network today. Back then, it seemed that the channel was there for kids to watch with their families, but now it seems like they are trying to reach the teenage audience and be more like a Nickelodeon-style channel with all it's sitcoms and advertising. I think the main charm of that channel was that it coincided with the huge popularity of Disney World, which was still pretty new in the 80s and the brand new Epcot Center and MGM Studios. There were often Orlando tour shows which aired that made you feel like you were in Florida and made you so excited about all things Disney. I remember my first Grizwald-like drive down to Disney World through South of the Border very clearly too. At Epcot Center, my favorite ride was Captain E-O and at MGM Studios, my favorite was the Backlot Tour where they showed you the TV sets of the "Golden Girls" and "Empty Nest" houses. Neither ride exists anymore. Another show was "Kids Incorporated" which was about a group of kids who had a band, but it always contained lessons of growing up but nothing too heavy and you never really had to ask your parents what the kids were talking about. It used popular 80s music in every show and it too, was truly a classic. "Donald Duck Presents" was another favorite, it showcased Donald and many of the old classic characters in some of their classic cartoon segments. On local TV, Disney was huge too, and "The Disney Afternoon" on Channel 11 featured "Gummi Bears," "Duck Tales," "Tale Spin," "Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers," and later "Darkwing Duck," "Goof Troop," and a few others which would come and go out of the rotation. Taking classic Disney characters like Baloo the Bear and Chip N' Dale, and focusing on their own current life (like Baloo became a pilot and Chip N' Dale became detectives) was a very popular and agreeable premise. Now you can't find any of those shows on TV. Not on local TV, and not on Disney. I don't know why this is so, because I feel that people in their 20s and 30s like me would love to expose the next generation to all of those same types of programs. Shows don't seem to carry over to the next era anymore, and I feel that by the time I have kids, I won't be able to relate to any of what they are watching. Soon enough, things like "Sesame Street" may even become extinct. At least I have these few tapes, which I will certainly save and show my kids someday.

This said, I don't really consider Welcome to Pooh Corner as just a "kids" show. It is just a wonderful show, that appeals to both kids and adults.

I loved the colourful settings/sceneries, and all the characters apart from perhaps Roo occasionally all look convincing. The songs are simply fabulous, the melodies are inspired are the lyrics are relate-able and delightfully droll.

Welcome to Pooh Corner was also superbly written, with original thoughtfully-written story lines with interesting and important lessons and the dialogue humorous and charming.

All the characters are engaging and have distinct personalities, and the voice acting is consistently good particularly Hal Smith(for me the best Pooh voice after Sterling Holloway) as Pooh.

Overall, a wonderful show and one of the best "kids"(though adults will find much to like about it too) shows there ever was. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I've been a diehard Winnie the Pooh fan since birth (or close enough), but I didn't grow up with Welcome to Pooh Corner because 1) it's from long before my time, 2) it didn't have reruns on TV at all during my lifetime, and 3) I never had any of the video releases. Only three of the episodes are on YouTube, and I've seen all of them. However, I've also seen numerous other episodes on other sites. This is the worst or least good Pooh show of all. I don't like Welcome to Pooh Corner, I don't hate/dislike it, it's a mixed bag. Allow me to explain why.

Premise/format: The show is faithful to the cartoons for the most part, but it's very different in some ways. A little too different, but not a whole lot: Christopher Robin never appears (though he is mentioned in one episode), Roo's shirt is red instead of blue, Eeyore's house more closely resembles a tipi, etc.

I assume that a Christopher Robin costume/puppet would've been hard to make, and I'm guessing that's why he never appears. However, a kid actor with no fursuit could've played him.

At the end of various episodes, the characters would teach random stuff to the audience, which often had nothing to do with the story.

A lot of great morals are present, like be yourself, too much of a good thing is not a good thing, you're the best at what you do best (that's a new one!), try and try again, and more.

Characters: Their personalities are mostly the same, but they feel a little less like themselves. Pooh is a lot smarter than in the cartoons, despite still being called a bear of very little brain. For example, he knows that it isn't always a good idea to talk to strangers and what to do if one were to ever end up in stranger danger. This doesn't make any sense because the Hundred Acre Wood doesn't encounter many strangers, and the animals in the Hundred Acre Wood don't go into the "real" world very much.

Owl can be whiny at times, even though he's supposed to be an old, wise figure, not a child. For example, in one episode, he whined over not being invited to swim with his friends.

Rabbit is more relaxed, but he still gets irritated by his friends at times. For some reason, he is a magician who has a scary habit of randomly appearing and disappearing out of nowhere with his magic wand. I'd be scared if anyone around me randomly appeared or disappeared out of nowhere, and I'm sure you would too. I don't recall him liking magic in any other incarnation.

Tigger should've been the magician instead because it fits him better. I remember him putting on a magic show in a book, an episode of The Book of Pooh, and an episode of My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

However, I find Rabbit more likable here than in the cartoons for the most part, and his flanderization is a positive flanderization, minus the part about him being a magician and appearing and disappearing out of nowhere. Pooh and Owl's flanderizations are barely noticeable, and they were still themselves for the most part. The rest of the characters were still likable, had barely changed, and were not the tiniest bit flanderized.

Visuals: Most of the episodes were recorded with a green screen or blue screen and had custom backgrounds from the cartoons, which I like because that gives me stronger Pooh cartoon vibes. Also, the backgrounds and special effects make it look like the characters are actually in those specific environments and scenarios, and they don't look the tiniest bit fake. I find exceptionally impressive because that probably isn't something you'd expect out of a show from the 80s!

However, the camera quality is a bit dark, dull, and not so bright and colorful, which slightly creeps me out. I find that somewhat justified due to the time this was made.

The characters are a tad bit creepy, and that's one of the main reasons why I don't like Pooh Corner as much as the other Pooh incarnations. Pooh Bear, Kanga, and Roo have whites in their eyes for some reason, which makes them as creepy as they are. If Tigger and Piglet could still have dots for eyes, why couldn't Pooh Bear, Kanga, and Roo?

Piglet's design is accurate, but something about the way his face was built creeps me out. I can't put my finger on it.

Pooh Bear has the creepiest design of the whole cast, and Eeyore and Rabbit look the least creepy.

For some reason, Roo was originally a traditional puppet, while Piglet was a costume with animated eyes and an animated mouth for the entire series, like the rest of the characters. Both of them are much smaller than the rest of the cast in the other incarnations, and Piglet is slightly taller than Roo. They could've both been traditional puppets, or they could've both been costumes for the entire series. However, this problem was fixed later: Roo became a costume like everyone else.

Voice acting: The voices are on par with the cartoons for the most part, but they have a few hiccups. Piglet's voice is the worst offender, which I find hard to believe because he was voiced by Phil Baron, who also voiced Teddy Ruxpin, another one of my favorite fictional characters. His voice is too high-pitched and feminine.

Tigger's voice is decent, but it sounds like a hybrid of his cartoon voice and Grubby's voice from Teddy Ruxpin. He was voiced by Will Ryan, who also voiced Grubby, which explains a lot. I'm surprised that John Fiedler and Paul Winchell didn't return as Piglet and Tigger.

The only voice actors from the cartoons who reprised their roles here were Hal Smith (Pooh and Owl), Will Ryan (Rabbit), and Laurie Main (the narrator). If you're confused, Tigger and Rabbit were voiced by the same person in the show.

Songs: The songs are actually good! The theme song is the same tune as the theme song from the movies, but most of the lyrics are different. That's a plus because this is the only TV series to feature the franchise's theme song! I like it better than the regular Pooh theme song because it gives a brief description of each character, and Pooh sings a few lines in it. Don't get me wrong, I still love the regular theme song too.

All the characters have their own signature songs here, which is another plus because Pooh and Tigger are the only characters who have signature songs in the cartoons for some reason. My favorite is Eeyore's song, "Just Say Yes, I Can," because it surprisingly has a very positive message about never giving up and not focusing on what you can't do.

"Welcome to you and how do you do? Everybody's waiting here at Pooh Corner Waiting for you and Winnie the Pooh to have a happy ho-kie-Pooh Time"



I remember this back for when I was a kid. This show was a live-action version of the original cartoons. It began with the Narrator (Whom may have been the same narrator from the first movie). It contained the main story, with a song and short segment at the end.

I often compare this to "The Book of Pooh". While "BOP" is a pretty good show, it doesn't compare "Welcome to Pooh Corner". First of all, "BOP" is much too built as a kiddie show. "WPC" had a more adult touch to it, while still appealing to kids. Actors wore costumes with talking heads, making a cool look for Pooh and friends.

The only character I didn't like in this show was Roo, who looked too much like a puppet. The Roo in "BOP" is much better.