Winnie the Pooh

Pooh (voice by Jim Cummings, giving an uncanny imitation of the late Sterling Holloway) and his friends erroneously believe that Christopher Robin (Jack Boulter) has been abducted by a monster, and bravely set out to rescue him. The story is wispy, but too much plot would ruin everything. Also, as with every Pooh movie since Walt Disney was alive, the characters are too American, sacrificing the essential Englishness of A.A. Milne’s tales—but after 45 years, it’s too late to quibble about that now. Besides, it hardly matters; the movie is sweet kiddie entertainment, with charming songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (we can already imagine the singalong DVD), and at just over an hour, exactly the right length (a cartoon short, The Ballad of Nessie, fills out the running time).