The Tigger Movie
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| The Tigger Movie | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Jun Falkenstein |
| Produced by | Cheryl Abood Jennifer Blohm Richmond Horine |
| Written by | Jun Falkenstein Eddie Guzelian A.A. Milne (books) |
| Narrated by | John Hurt |
| Starring | Jim Cummings Nikita Hopkins John Fiedler Ken Sansom Peter Cullen Andre Stojka Kath Soucie |
| Music by | Richard M. Sherman (songs) Robert B. Sherman (songs) Klaus Badelt Harry Gregson-Williams Steve Jablonsky Kenny Loggins Steve Nelson |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 11, 2000 |
| Running time | 77 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997) |
| Followed by | Piglet's Big Movie (2003) |
| IMDb profile | |
The Tigger Movie is a 2000 film produced by The Walt Disney Company and directed by Jun Falkenstein. Part of the Winnie the Pooh series, this film features Pooh's friend Tigger in his search for his family tree and other Tiggers like himself. As such, the story line may be viewed as an allegory about an adoptee's search to understand the meaning of family.
The film was the first feature-length theatrical Pooh film since 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Thanks to its success, two more feature-length Pooh movies were released to theaters: Piglet's Big Movie in 2003 and Pooh's Heffalump Movie in 2005.
The film features original songs from the Sherman Brothers, the long-time Disney songwriting team who are well known for their contributions to other Disney films such as Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Jungle Book, as well as the original Winnie the Pooh shorts.
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[edit] Voice cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jim Cummings | Tigger/Winnie the Pooh |
| Nikita Hopkins | Roo |
| John Fiedler | Piglet |
| Ken Sansom | Rabbit |
| Peter Cullen | Eeyore |
| Andre Stojka | Owl |
| Kath Soucie | Kanga |
| John Hurt | The Narrator |
| Tom Attenborough | Christopher Robin |
[edit] Plot
The story begins with a live-action sequence, where the Narrator introduces the book as 'Winnie the Pooh'. However, Tigger leaps from the pages and changes the title to suit himself. The narrator allows the change to happen, and lets Tigger introduce his story.
While trying to find somebody to play with, Tigger accidentally destroys Eeyore's house with a large boulder by bouncing off it, subsequently pushing the boulder into the mud along with everyone else. In frustration with Tigger's relentless antics, Rabbit informs him that he is really 'the only one' and nobody in their right mind would play with him. By the time that Roo (being the one resident of the 100 Acre Wood who enjoys having Tigger for a playmate) catches up with him, he finds a very lonely Tigger leaning over the side of the bridge, watching all the other animals with their families.
Roo reminds him that he must have a family too, somewhere, finally convincing Tigger of the same. They go to Owl's, where they are told 'to find one's family, you must find one's family tree'. Taking the idea literally, they search for a tall, orange- and black-striped tree with Tiggers bouncing all over it. After giving up, they decide to search Tigger's cupboards and wardrobes, then finally send a letter.
That night, the first night of winter, everybody (excluding Tigger)gathers at Piglet's house. Feeling sorry for him, Roo announces that they should write a letter to him. Everyone adds a bit of friendly advice before signing 'your family' at the bottom of the page. Roo then slips the letter into Tigger's letter box.
The next day, everybody is woken by Tigger, who brandishes the letter. He shouts joyfully that his family has written to him and also that they are coming to visit the next evening. They are all shocked, as they had never written down anything that even resembles that; nevertheless, Tigger replies that he always reads between the lines. The others are flustered.
Later, Roo gathers Pooh, Piglet, Owl and Eeyore over to his home. He and his mother Kanga say they are going to charade as fellow Tiggers to attend the party and make Tigger feel loved. They are halfway through making the costumes when Rabbit bursts through the door, telling them that they should be gathering supplies (or should already have) for the impending snowstorm.
Meanwhile, Tigger is preparing for his party when somebody rings the doorbell. He opens the door to reveal a large number of Tiggers who claim to be his family. A party ensues with drinks, dance and games, and all the while Tigger believes they are his family. Yet when the smallest (Roo) attempts the Whoopty-Dooper Loopty-Looper Ally-Ooper Bounce and his mask falls off, the others reveal themselves as Tigger's friends. In despair, now sure that he must truly be the One and Only, he leaves the room, stating that he is leaving forever ("T-T-F-E, Ta-Ta, For-Ever!!").
He hikes through the snow until he finds a large tree on the cliffside which matches the description he gave of his family tree. He bounces across the branches, finding nothing, so he sits there, waiting for his family.
Rabbit protests against going to find Tigger, but the others are intent on it. Ignoring his continued protests, they drag poor Rabbit out into the blizzard to look for their friend. When they find him, they explain about the letter. Tigger does not believe their explanation and is greatly offended by it, but when a sudden avalanche caused by his irate shouting occurs, he pulls them all out of trouble.
Unfortunately, Tigger himself is still caught in the avalanche. Roo remembers the Whoopty-Dooper Loopty Looper Ally-Ooper bounce and travels down through the rock and snow to Tigger and wakes him from unconsciousness. To get out of the avalanche, they perform the signature bounce together. When everyone tells Christopher Robin why Tigger left, Christopher tells Tigger he didn't have to leave to find his family. Tigger objects and reaches for his letter that, until recently, he believed to be from his family, but finds it missing. It's not until Owl, Kanga, Roo, Eeyore, Pooh and Piglet recite the letter for him that he realizes that THEY sent the letter, not his family. Hearing this, Tigger finally comes to realize what was true all along, that his family is right here and always has been: his friends. Once they return home, Tigger gives everyone gifts: Eeyore gets a new house (the guest house meant for Tigger's "Family"), Pooh gets lots of Honey, Piglet gets a stack of firewood, and Rabbit is promised that he will watch where he's going. Lastly, he gives Roo his heart pendant, but it's still empty. As the story ends, Christopher Robin remedies this by taking a picture of Tigger's "family".
[edit] Songs
The songs for The Tigger Movie were written by Robert and Richard Sherman who had not written a feature for Disney in over 28 years. Their last fully original feature film score was for the Oscar nominated film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks which was released in 1971. Originally slated for video or television release, the score was so well received (in demonstration form) by then Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, that the project's priority level moved up to feature theatrical release. This was due in great part to the perceived caliber of the song score throughout the studio. All the songs were created new for the film except for "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" which was originally written in 1968 for the landmark Winnie the Pooh featurette, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (released in 1968). That song was also by the Sherman Brothers. The "punch line" of the song: "But the most wonderful Thing About Tiggers is I'm the only one..." provides the basis of The Tigger Movie's storyline. "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" was the last song written for the film and is a collaborative effort between the Sherman Brothers and singer Kenny Loggins. It marks the only time the threesome worked together on a song. Song titles include:
- "How to Be a Tigger"
- "Pooh's Lullabee"
- "Whoop-de-Dooper Bounce"
- "Someone Like Me"
- "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers"
- "Round My Family Tree"
- "Your Heart Will Lead You Home"
[edit] Animation
The animation work for the movie was simultaneously performed at the Walt Disney Studios and its Japanese chapter Walt Disney Animation Japan. The animation is traditional (2D), with characters moving across backgrounds painted in soft, warm watercolor hues in the style of book illustrations in children's literature [1]. Each chapter starts off as a static illustration on a printed page, where characters then start moving. The bold ink lines in the foreground, as well as the watercolor washes of the background are reminiscent of the original Pooh illustrator Ernest Shepard. [2] Graphics during end credits are pen and ink line drawings also reminiscent of Shepard.
[edit] Awards and Nominations
The film was Nominated for numerous awards in 2000 including the following[3]:
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- for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production"
- Jun Falkenstein
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- for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production"
- Richard M. Sherman (music and lyrics)
- Robert B. Sherman (music and lyrics)
- For the song "Round My Family Tree"
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- for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production"
- Nikita Hopkins
- As the voice of "Roo".
- Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
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- The Sierra Award for "Best Family Film"
[edit] Theatrical trailer and TV spot controversy
The original theatrical trailer for the film featured the song "Semi-Charmed Life" by alternative band Third Eye Blind. The song is about crystal meth addiction ('Those little red panties/they pass the test,' 'Doing crystal meth/will pick you up until you break'), but was presumably chosen for the trailer because of its bright, catchy sound. Although the portions of the song used in the trailer don't feature the most explicit lyrics (about both drugs and sex), there was still a public outcry about the inappropriateness of its use in the trailer for a children's movie. Once informed of the song's meaning, Disney recalled the original trailer and substituted a different song.
[edit] Box Office
The film was a Box Office Success, This film earned $45,554,533 in the United States and $96,159,800 worldwide against a budget of $30 million [4].
[edit] References
- ^ Review, New York Times, February 11, 2000
- ^ reel.com review, L.A. Times review
- ^ The Tigger Movie (2000) - Awards
- ^ Box Office Mojo
[edit] External links
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