Posted on 12/13/2005 2:30:52 PM PST by Ultra Sonic 007
A unexpected new character is coming to the Hundred Acre Wood.
Disney is working on a new Winnie the Pooh TV series, to come out in 2007, that will replace Christopher Robin with a 6-year-old girl.
Its new animated series, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, will have the same gentle spirit as the much-loved A.A. Milne classic, Disney says.
But Disney hopes to attract an older audience by introducing a six-year-old tomboy as friend to Tigger, Pooh the bear and tiny Piglet. The Disneyfied characters also will have a new look.
Though the stories will still emphasize trust, friendship and happiness, there will be more physical activity to appeal to more active children in the older preschool age range, Disney says.
"We got raised eyebrows even in-house at first, but the feeling was these timeless characters really needed a breath of fresh air that only the introduction of someone new could provide," Nancy Kanter of the Disney Channel told USA Today.
Disney knows it will face criticism from fans of Milne's stories about the imaginary world of his son Christopher Robin. Lovers of the original stories say they are timeless and don't need an update.
Seeing the animated series will help bring young children to the written word, Disney counters.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Jimmy Neutron?
Gee. I wonder why?
It does seem more like a girl's fantasy, though. You think a tiny defenseless piglet would last long amongst predators like a bear, a tiger, and an owl in a boy's fantasy?
Sigh. And you're right - she does.
Sorry. I put in the wrong title. Could you replace 'Disney lets girl into Winnie's world' with 'Disney plans new friend for Winnie the Pooh'? Thanks.
I love idiots that always feel they need to introduce a "breath of fresh air" into timeless classics. Any bets on how many episodes are made before the plug is pulled?
(And by the looks of the computer animation, they're already suffering their loss of the "Special Relationship" with Pixar. Har!)
Well..... she's still white, but at least she's a womyn.
If you have zero artistic skills, re-hash a classic and pretend you're an "original".....
I think you're thinking about the other "predators" that tend to make front-page news nowadays.
Oh, why the heck didn't they just plop Dora the Explorer in there? Makes about as much sense, as a way to "breathe some fresh air" into these "timeless characters."
I do think they need to work on their understanding of the word "fresh," as well as the word "timeless," though. They're not synonymous with predictable or trendy.
I always thought Christopher Robin was a bit wimpy. This just makes it official.
This actually makes sense.. It seems young girls would be more prone to be Pooh fans and this will help the marketing by giving them a character they would relate to.
Hey dimwit! If the characters are TIMELESS then introducing a new character won't make them better, and if they "needed a breath of fresh air" as you suggest then the characters aren't timeless.
Ooooh, I just can't wait to see what they do with Snow White!
/s
She seems so Modern Asian cartoonish, like speed Racer.
Unlike IMO the sweetness of Christopher Robin. (almost named my son that 26 yrs ago but ended up as Christopher Gene)
Then those people can read the original stories. It's not like Disney is going to go to the original Milne texts and change things. Disney's been making Pooh stuff for years that isn't in the original stories. I don't for instance, recall him taking a bath in any of the originals.
The Introduction:
Disney goes PC.
Give them a couple years and "Christina" will be a raging feminist lesbian who will accompany Pooh and the Gang to the peace rally.
Christa is not color cordinated.
Adding a tom-boy will do nothing. This smacks of PC.
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