The wonderful thing about tiggers, is - oh nevermind. Parents of young children will undoubtedly be subjected to multiple viewings of the movie until they go mad, but for everyone else, Disney's new The Tigger Movie is a pleasant enough experience. Nothing particularly stands out in the movie, but it is a familiar trip back into the world of A.A. Milne, sure to inspire a feeling of nostalgia among everyone who grew up with Winnie the Pooh. All of the characters are back, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, and of course, Tigger.
Tigger's love to bounce, sometimes to the dismay of his friends. He begins to realize how different he is from everyone else in the Hundred Acre Wood. He is lonely, because there is no one like him to share his experiences. Everyone must have a family somewhere, so Tigger sets out to find his. Pooh and friends exacerbate the problem when they try to cheer Tigger up. They write a letter from Tigger's family, and send it to Tigger. Tigger takes the idea that his family is real and sets off to find them. The Tigger Movie is a nice little fable for small children, extolling the virtues of family and friendship in a genteel way, while not being so boring that adults will not enjoy it. In addition, writer and director Jun Falkstein (Pocahontas II) keeps the movie short enough the match the attention spans of its core audience.
The characters and scenes in The Tigger Movie look pretty much like everyone expects them to. Much of the work was done in Japan, although it is hardly noticeable. The most jarring thing for adults will be the vocal talents. Many of the original voices of Milne's characters are long retired, replaced by newer, slightly different voices. Children, however, will not notice and will not care. Jim Cummings (a veteran voice actor) plays the roles of both Tigger and Pooh. The songs are by Richard and Robert Sherman, returning to Disney after being gone twenty years. They are the same team behind It's a Small World, the songs of Mary Poppins, and many others. The songs in The Tigger Movie are not especially memorable, but like everything else in the movie, is a pleasant enough diversion for a while.