What’s that old cliché? “Never judge a book by its cover”? Well, you certainly wouldn’t want to make a mistake like that with Disney’s “The Little Big Book of Pooh.”
Okay, I can understand how the look and feel of this particular book might give folks the wrong idea. Make them perhaps think that “The Little Big Book of Pooh” is aimed strictly at the smaller set. (And — given that the various stories that Monique Peterson has assembled for this volume rarely ran longer than a page or two — I guess it would be easy to understand why someone might make that mistake.)
Well, don’t you serious Pooh fans and/or Disneyana collectors make that same mistake. If you do, you may inadvertently miss out on adding a very cool little book to your collection
So what’s so cool about Disney’s “The Little Big Book of Pooh”? Well, let’s start with the amazing illustrations that the book’s designers (Timothy Shaner and Christopher Measom) have assembled for this book. As you page through this volume, you’ll get to see:
Concept art and photos of the actual models used by Walt Disney Imagineering in the creation of Tokyo Disneyland’s “Pooh’s Hunny Hunt” attraction.
Model sheets, inspirational sketches and storyboards that Disney’s animators used to guide them as they made the original “Pooh” shorts: 1966’s “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,” 1968’s “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” and 1974’s “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too.”
Classic photos of the Winnie the Pooh walk-around characters in the Disney theme parks. (Wait ’til you see the picture of the early 1960s version of these character costumes posed in front of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Very, very scary.)
Plus you’ll find photos in here on the world’s first two Poohs (Winnipeg Winnie, the real Canadian black bear who — when he was on display in the London Zoo — so fascinated Christopher Robin Milne; as well as the real teddy bear that served as the inspiration for all those stories that Christopher’s father — A.A. Milne wrote). Plus a picture of all the lead animators who worked on Disney’s “Blustery Day” short (I.E. John Lounsberry, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Larry Clemmons, Woolie Reitherman, Hal King and Frank Thomas) proudly standing around the Academy Award they won for that film.
Plus a picture of the really-for-real Pooh Sticks Bridge. Plus a photo which shows Richard B. and Robert M. Sherman riding herd on a recording session for the score of “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.”
In short, there are photographs and images used to illustrate “The Little Big Book of Pooh” that I’ve never seen outside of the WDI Art Library and/or the Walt Disney Animation Research library. Wonderfully weird pieces (like drawings of the big headed version of Tigger that would have appeared in “Blustery Day” if Disney Feature Animation had stuck with the actor that they had originally cast in this role: Disneyland “Golden Horseshoe” star Wally Boag. Or how about a two page preview of “Piglet’s Big Movie,” the new Disney Television Animation project featuring the Winnie the Pooh characters that isn’t even due out in theaters ’til April 2003? ) that you won’t find in any other books that Disney currently on the market.
Of course, if you ARE looking for a new Pooh book to give the kids, I’m certain that “The Little Big Book of Pooh” could pull double duty. In addition to all the fun illustrations, you’ll also find easy-to-read adaptations of several Disney “Pooh” films as well as kid-friendly recipes like “Eleven O’Clockish Honey Buns” (which might make for a fun family project to tackle over Christmas School Vacation).
Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because this book looks kid-sized, that “The Little Big Book of Pooh” is strictly meant for kids. If you do so, you’re just going to miss out on some fascinating adult-sized info about Pooh & Pals.