Welcome to Pooh Corner

Welcome to Pooh Corner
Second Welcome to Pooh Corner title card
Starring	Joe Giamalva Patty Maloney Ronald Mangham Norman Merrill, Jr. Mark Sawyer Frank Groby Sharon Baird Shelagh Garren Peter Risch
Voices of	Hal Smith Will Ryan Ron Gans Phil Baron Kim Christianson Robin Frederick
Narrated by	Laurie Main
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	120
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Left Coast Television Walt Disney Television
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	The Disney Channel
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	April 18, 1983 (1983-04-18) – May 30, 1986 (1986-05-30)

Welcome to Pooh Corner is a live-action/puppet television series that aired on Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditional puppet. The animatronic costumes used for the characters were created by Alchemy II, Inc., headed by Ken Forsse who later created Teddy Ruxpin. The show was first aired on April 18, 1983, the day The Disney Channel was launched.^[1] Its timeslot for its early run was at 8:30 a.m. Eastern/Pacific Time, making it the third program of The Disney Channel's 16 (later 18) hour programming day.^[1] Reruns of the show aired on The Disney Channel until at least January 1997.^[2]

Hal Smith, Will Ryan, and Laurie Main were the only three actors from the original four Pooh shorts to reprise their roles here (Smith, who had voiced Owl ever since the beginning of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, had recently replaced Sterling Holloway as the voice of Pooh; Ryan had provided Rabbit's voice in the 1983 short Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, replacing Junius Matthews; and Main was the narrator for Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, replacing Sebastian Cabot). The show's title derives from the second Winnie the Pooh storybook, The House at Pooh Corner.

Background

This series was the only incarnation in the history of Disney's incarnations of Winnie the Pooh in which we could actually see the narrator aside from only hearing his voice. He would present each episode. The show would start off with him greeting the viewers "Welcome to Pooh Corner" and then relate what he was talking about to an event that occurred in the Hundred Acre Wood, the home of the Pooh characters, and then he would proceed to read from a book entitled Welcome to Pooh Corner. He would then narrate the episode acted out by the characters. The action was filmed before a blue screen, rather than using traditional sets (the same technique was used for Dumbo's Circus, another live-action/puppet series that ran on The Disney Channel).

Since the show was designed for The Disney Channel before it began airing commercials, there were no breaks for commercials. As a result, the show lasted a full thirty minutes. The main story ran about twenty minutes followed by two shorter segments. The first segment was a sing-along music video featuring one of nine songs, used over and over throughout the show's run. These songs were written by the Academy Award winning Sherman Brothers who had provided the majority of the Winnie the Pooh music over the years. The Sherman Brothers also wrote the show's theme song, using the music from the original Winnie-the-Pooh theme song from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, albeit with a slightly altered tempo.

The last segment of the show was a presentational arts and crafts demonstration that took place at the Thoughtful Spot. One of the cast members would speak to the narrator, looking directly into the camera, while they showed the viewers at home how to make something.

When the series first started out, the narrator was seen sitting in a small library. As the series progressed, he is moved into a small playroom which eventually is seen having plush versions of Pooh and his friends.

The costumes, Pooh plushes, the narrator's wicker chair and his book were displayed in the walk-in prop warehouse of the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida until its closure in 2014.

Episodes

With

• Laurie Main - Narrator

With the Voice Talents of

• Hal Smith - Winnie the Pooh and Owl
• Will Ryan - Rabbit and Tigger
• Ron Gans - Eeyore (Will Ryan provides his singing voice)
• Phil Baron - Piglet
• Diana Hale - Kanga
• Kim Christianson - Roo
• John Walker - additional voice

Cast

• Robin Frederick
• Joe Giamalva
• Patty Maloney
• Ronald Mangham
• Norman Herrill, Jr.
• Mark Sawyer
• Frank Groby
• Clancy Gorewit

Music Composed by

• Will Ryan
• Phil Baron

Songs

The songs used in this series were written by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman, including the character's songs that represent each character:

• Welcome to Pooh Corner Theme Song
• "Try a Little Something New" (Rabbit's Song)
• "Just Say, 'Yes I Can'" (Eeyore's Song)
• "You're the Only You"
• "I Hum to Myself" (Piglet's Song)
• "The Right Side" (Pooh's Song; this song was originally written for Mary Poppins, but it was never recorded.)
• "Responsible Persons" (Owl's Song)
• "Be A Buddy, Be A Pal" (Tigger and Roo's Song)
• "Please and Thank-You" (Pooh and Piglet's Song)
• "It's What's on the Inside That Matters" (Rabbit/Tigger and Piglet Song)
• "Smile When You Say That" (Rabbit/Tigger and Piglet Song)
• "Clouds" (Rabbit and Eeyore's Song)
• "Trees" (Tigger and Owl's Song)
• "Tiggers Go Up and Down" (Tigger)
• "The Tigger Strut" (Tigger, with the Pooh Corner Band)
• "Mr. Song and Dance" (Eeyore, with the Pooh Corner Band)
• Welcome to Pooh Corner Closing Song

Trivia

• Welcome to Pooh Corner differs from its other incarnations in a number of ways:
  • The characters have their own performing ensemble, the Pooh Corner Band.^[3] All band members contribute vocals to the songs.
  • Pooh is a little smarter than usual (despite being a bear of very little brain) and his eyes are different. He plays drums in the band.^[3]
  • Piglet always wears a scarf (known as a "muffler" by the narrator). He also has a talent for music, playing the xylophone in the Pooh Corner Band, which is represented by a series of milk bottles.^[4]
  • Tigger has a black nose, and has a talent for art, which he discovers in "Tigger Finds a Hobby". He also lives with Kanga and Roo, rather than have a house of his own. In the Pooh Corner Band, he plays guitar.^[4]
  • Rabbit is a talented magician, aside from being a gardener. In the Pooh Corner Band, he plays trumpet.^[4]
  • Eeyore has a talent for dancing. His house is made of wooden planks, complete with a door and weather vane, making it look a little like a barn. In the Pooh Corner Band, he plays a variety of instruments, including cymbals, bells, and harmonica.^[5]
  • Owl always wears glasses. He wears a pilot's cap and scarf when flying. When Owl flies and lands the sound of a plane's engine can be heard. When Owl jumps off the branch of his tree to take off a slide whistle is heard. He also loves to cook. In the Pooh Corner Band, he plays the acoustic bass.^[5]
  • Roo's character originally was a toddler and would most often be sitting on something like Eeyore or Tigger's back, Kanga's pouch, or his high chair. In later episodes, his character was portrayed as being more preschool-aged; he was then able to walk around in more scenes and was never in his mother's pouch. He also always wore a red shirt, but later changed to a white collared shirt. (One Disney book from 1986 actually depicted Roo wearing the original red shirt.)
• For the French version of the show, Les Aventures de Winnie L'Ourson, the host was played by French actor Jean Rochefort from 1985 to 1987, and then Vincent Perrot in 1988.
• This is the final series where Laurie Main provides the Narrator's voice.
  • This is the final series where Hal Smith provides Winnie the Pooh's voice.
  • This is the final series where Will Ryan provides Rabbit's voice, as well as the final series where Ryan provides Tigger's voice.

VHS releases

DVD releases

• Disney Safety Hits Vol. 2 (Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure & Too Smart for Strangers)

References

External links

• Welcome to Pooh Corner on IMDb