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Even your most beloved stuffed animals celebrate the winter holidays. I’m not talking about Toy Story — I’m talking about the original gang who came to life thanks to literature. Winnie the Pooh may have been dreamed up based on childhood play, but the characters have become a big part of everyone’s lives. A Very Merry Pooh Year came out in 2002, and it’s a wonderful film to get you in the holiday spirit.
This film includes a new story that also pays tribute to an old Christmas adventure at the Hundred Acre Woods. The characters reflect on the story that happened in Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too, a special that aired in 1991 and included Pooh dressing up like Santa to give presents to all of his friends.
But, this one includes some more holidays as well. Pooh has, unfortunately, lost his Christmas gift to Piglet and only makes matters right after New Year’s Eve, when trying to plan a party at Rabbit’s house. The group of friends tries to make resolutions, and things end up getting more complicated than Rabbit had hoped.
Interested in seeing what happens next? A Very Merry Pooh Year is streaming on Disney+, which means that it’s available to watch with your subscription. Here’s how to watch A Very Merry Pooh Year online now.
How to Stream ‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ – Exclusively on Disney+
A Very Merry Pooh Year is one of the fan-favorite Disney original movies that will be streaming exclusively on Disney’s new subscription streaming service, Disney+.
You can sign up for a 7-day free trial of Disney+ HERE, which will allow you to stream A Very Merry Pooh Year and hundreds of other movies and shows on your computer, phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device. If you extend past the free trial, the service costs $6.99/month. You may also opt for this discount bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99/month.
- 1. Sign up for Disney+ here
- 2. Go to Disneyplus.com or download the Disney+ app on your device
- 3. Log in using your information
- 4. Search for “A Very Merry Pooh Year”
- 5. Tap on “A Very Merry Pooh Year”
- 6. Tap the PLAY button
Disney+ also boasts a vast library of Disney-owned movies and series — plus several new original series coming soon. The service includes unlimited downloads so you can watch offline whenever and wherever you want. The list of compatible devices and smart TVs includes iPads, Apple TV, Amazon devices, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Chromecast, Roku, PS4, and Xbox One.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’: Overview
Release Date: November 12, 2002
Creators: Written by Brian Hohlfeld, Karl Geurs, Ted Henning, and Mark Zaslove
Director: Jamie Mitchell, Gary Katona, Ken Kessel, and Ed Wexler
Starring: Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Ken Sansom, Paul Winchell, and Peter Cullen
Rating: G
Synopsis: The gang at the Hundred Acre Woods celebrate Christmas and New Years, and reflect on their last Christmas when they forgot to send Santa their wish list on time.
How Long Is ‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’?
The movie is 63 minutes long.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Plot
At the start of the movie, Pooh gets in an accident while trying to set up his tree and breaks a shelf that contained Piglet’s Christmas gift. Trying to find a new place for it, he hides it in an empty honey pot, later forgetting where it is. While his friends help with the tree, Rabbit tells Roo about last Christmas, when they waited until the last minute to send their holiday wishes to Santa Claus. When Pooh tried to make things right and act like Santa, it still didn’t work out until Christopher Robin came with their presents. In the meantime, they had learned that the most important part of Christmas was being together. After Christmas, Christopher Robin suggests having a New Year’s party, and Pooh thinks that Rabbit’s house would be the best location. But when everyone comes over, they make a mess which frustrates Rabbit, who threatens to move. The gang thinks it might be their personalities that keep driving Rabbit away, so they make resolutions to change. But, it’s an accident that makes Rabbit realize that he likes his friends the way they are. At the end of the movie, Pooh’s gift to Piglet is revealed.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Cast
Many of the original voices came back for A Very Merry Pooh Year. But, based on the fact that this was released in the early 2000s, a few were new. For example, Paul Winchell, who famously voiced Tigger, continued the voice for the Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too segment but was replaced by another voice actor for the new material.
Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
Jim Cummings provided two of the voices in A Very Merry Pooh Year. Even though it was likely challenging to take over the spot from Winchell, especially since Winchell was still technically included, Cummings managed to make the switch not too noticeable for Winnie the Pooh fans. These days, Cummings voices Pete in Mickey and the Roadster Racers and many other series involving Mickey Mouse.
Peter Cullen as Eeyore
Peter Cullen started voicing Eeyore in the early ’90s, starting with The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He was also Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too, meaning that both segments matched up for Eeyore’s character. Aside from playing the glum donkey, Cullen also voices Optimus Prime in most of the Transformers video games and series.
John Fiedler as Piglet
John Fielder has also been voicing Winnie’s meek buddy Piglet since the early ’90s. Unfortunately, his last role as Piglet was in Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie, as he passed away in 2005 at the age of 80.
Michael Gough as Gopher
Michael Gough plays Gopher, who may be an occasional character but is still a big part of the Hundred Acre Woods. Gough first voiced Gopher in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and has continued since, also carrying the voice over to the Kingdom Hearts video games.
Ken Sansom as Rabbit
Rabbit was Ken Sansom’s most popular voice until his death in 2012. The last Rabbit role that Sansom played was in Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which included nine episodes that eventually aired between 2011 and 2014.
Michael York as Narrator
It’s not a Winnie the Pooh story without a good narrator. The narrator usually has a bold yet friendly tone and moves the story along — occasionally helping out the characters if necessary. This was the first time that Michael York was a narrator for a Winnie the Pooh film, but it’s not the only time that he’s narrated a Disney picture. He narrated the 2014 version of Sleeping Beauty. Fans of Gilmore Girls may know him best as Professor Asher Fleming.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Songs and Soundtrack
Jim Cummings takes on three songs for the soundtrack of A Very Merry Pooh Year — “Snow Snows,” “Happy Pooh Year,” and “Hunny, No Not For Me,” all which were arranged by Mark Watters. One of the biggest songs on the film soundtrack is “Winnie the Pooh” — it’s a theme everyone knows, but Carly Simon sang it for this particular release.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ at the Box Office
A Very Merry Pooh Year was a straight-to-video release, meaning that it didn’t appear in theaters. It’s also unclear as to how many DVDs were sold — however, Amazon has it listed as #362 in best-selling DVDs for the Kids & Family section, meaning that plenty of families have played it around the holidays.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Reviews – What the Critics Said
Even Winnie the Pooh fans weren’t completely sold on the movie for one big reason — it used recycled footage that was wonderful and fit it around a not-as-great new story. The New Year’s story was the weaker of the two. While there wasn’t an aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes, reviewer Rachel Cericola from Big Picture Big Sound gave it two out of five stars, saying “Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year isn’t the best Christmas Blu-ray. It’s not even the best Winnie the Pooh Blu-ray. Still, it has a nice message and all sorts of cute characters to captivate your little fan.”
Where ‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Fits in the Disney Movie Pantheon
As it never hit theaters, this isn’t as memorable of a release as other Disney movies. Still, it’s a fun adventure that’s good for the whole family. Having it stream on Disney+ will likely gain new viewers, and introduce a new generation to Winnie the Pooh.
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Trailer
‘A Very Merry Pooh Year’ Trivia: 5 Fast Facts
There are a lot of interesting things that happened behind the scenes while making A Very Merry Pooh Year. Here are five fast facts.
1. One voice had to be re-recorded.
Since this movie contains footage that’s years older, Disney had to rerecord the voice of Christopher Robin in the “Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too” segment. A completely new voice actor was dubbed over the original animation.
2. Even though the trailer said all of his friends were there to celebrate, one was notably absent.
Owl was notably absent from this movie. As he’s usually part of the crew, it’s a mystery as to where he was. This was reportedly the first Winnie the Pooh movie that didn’t include him at all.
3. This film was also historical for Winnie the Pooh filmmakers.
Disney Fandom reports that this was the last Winnie the Pooh movie that was shot in full screen. Even other direct-to-film movies, such as 2004’s Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo, were in widescreen after this one was released.
4. Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too initially aired on ABC before being included within this full-length movie.
Unlike other Winnie the Pooh films, Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too was meant to air on television to celebrate the holiday season. By itself, it was already a beloved short film. It takes up around 26 minutes of A Very Merry Pooh Year, and originally aired on December 14, 1991.
5. When it aired on television, it was accompanied by Donald Duck cartoons.
Before finding a permanent home within A Very Merry Pooh Year, the Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too special aired alongside two Donald Duck features — “The Hockey Champ” and “Bearly Asleep.” A behind-the-scenes preview of Beauty and the Beast was also on air during this time, along with a short of Michael Eisner trying to celebrate Christmas Winnie the Pooh characters. Someone uploaded that intro onto YouTube, and it’s nostalgic for many who taped the Winnie the Pooh special on VHS during that time.
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