Piglet’s Big Movie on DVD

Walt Disney Studios dips back into its Pooh-inspired gold mine with this outing, a flick that combines some of A.A. Milne’s classic stories with some new stuff including songs by Carly Simon.

Piglet, the little critter who lives with his stuffed animal friends in the hundred acre wood, is feeling a bit put upon. His friends have embarked on a honey-gathering escapade, but he’s just too small to be a help to them. So, depressed, he wanders off into that famed forest and disappears, prompting his friends to go after him.

At Piglet’s home they discover a picture book of their adventures together, kind of a visual diary that inspires them on their course. They figure, in their hare-brained (pun intended?) way, that if they follow the pictures it will take them to the missing Piglet. Each picture leads to a new story, told in flashback - though they’re new stories and not just a case of Disney rehashing old stuff as a way to enhance its corporate profitability (not that there’s anything wrong with profitability, mind you!).

There’s a nice scene near the end where all the friends color pictures for Piglet, and this might inspire the ankle biters who’ll undoubtedly love this happy little flick to feats of artistry of their own. That’s a good thing, of course, because it encourages creativity - as long as the crayons are limited to paper and not the walls!

One of the nicest things about Piglet’s Big Movie is the message it sends - yet without beating Junior over the head with it. The message is that “Size matters not” (to quote a little Jedi master from a competing studio), that little ones can still manage to do big things.

In the end, of course, it’s Piglet who saves the day - which may be predictable but so what?

The DVD continues Disney’s tradition of releasing fine quality digital discs. The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and the picture quality is superb, with bright colors and nice, sharp edges to the objects and characters.

Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and while there isn’t a lot of surround the overall audio quality is excellent.

You also get typically Disney extras, which means that Mom and/or Dad (assuming they’re actually watching the disc with the kids and not using it as a baby sitter) won’t be challenged by them but the kids at whom the DVD is aimed probably will.

You get Piglet's Big Book of Memories game, which sends you on a mission (well…) to find pages from Piglet’s Book of Memories, and “The World According to Piglet.” There’s also a sing along mode as well as some DVD ROM capacity.

In all, a good flick for the kiddies.

Piglet’s Big Movie, from Walt Disney Home Video
75 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1, 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital 5.1 surround

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