A.A. Milne never dreamed that when he created the gloriously unpolluted and uncrowded world of Winnie the Pooh for his own children, he would capture the imagination of generations of children (and children-at-heart). Various television specials have arguably diluted some of the original Pooh charm, but The Tigger Movie is a purist’s dream, returning audiences to the simple beauty of those classic shorts most of us know so well from the feature film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Tigger’s lonely. He can’t persuade any of his friends to go bouncing with him. Despite his oft-repeated claim that “I’m the only one,” he begins to think that surely there must be other tiggers like him to play with. Surely he has a family! So Tigger sets out to find his family, and of course his friends help him out. But it’s soon all to evident that their help may do more harm than good. A snowstorm, an avalanche and “the biggest tree” in the Hundred Acre Wood set the stage for what follows.
Positive Elements: Very little isn’t positive in The Tigger Movie. Friendship rules the plot. Children are taught about the value of teamwork, loyalty, respect and love. Roo learns that telling a fib, even if it’s told to cheer someone up, usually backfires. Voiced by a 9-year-old girl, Roo gets a lot of screen time, providing young viewers with a great role model their own age. Roo ultimately steals the show by diligently trying to learn how to bounce, so Tigger won’t feel so alone. When Roo confides that he wants Tigger to be his older brother, Kanga tells Roo that as long as they care for Tigger, he will always be a part of their family.
Spiritual Content: None.
Sexual Content: None.
Violent Content: An avalanche proves to be the most frightening element in the film, and it would only scare the very youngest of viewers. Roo and Tigger bounce around inside houses crashing into things.
Crude or Profane Language: A single use of darn and a single use of heck come as close to profanity as anything here (unless of course doohickey qualifies).
Drug and Alcohol Content: None. (Does honey count? There’s lots and lots of honey.)
Other Negative Content: While not part of the film, Disney chose to promote sensual Latin singer Lou Bega by including a short feature before the movie in which Bega performs his hit song “Mambo No. 5.” All of the objectionable lyrics in the song are “child-proofed,” but his music receives a huge endorsement (the original lyrics celebrate drinking and imply that men should keep multiple lovers at their beck and call).
Summary: A giant bouncy “T-I-double guh-rrr” thumbs up for The Tigger Movie.
