“WINNIE THE POOH” — voices of Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, John Cleese, Kristen Anderson-Lopz; G (nothing offensive); in general release

What unsurprisingly begins as a simple quest for honey (of which the titular, slow-witted bear is, once again, fresh out) quickly turns into a search-and-rescue mission when Pooh’s best friend Christopher Robin mysteriously disappears from Hundred Acre Wood. The only clue to the boy’s whereabouts is a letter that seems to indicate he was kidnapped by a monster known as the “Backson.”

Even though it never succeeds on quite the same level as Disney’s original feature-length adaptation of A.A. Milne’s beloved characters (released in 1977 with the title “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”), it’s obvious that the filmmakers responsible for the anthropomorphic bear’s latest outing took great care to make it look and feel like a continuation of the classic Disney film many parents grew up with. And there is quite a bit for them, as well as audiences new to the Hundred Acre Wood, to appreciate in Disney’s “Winnie the Pooh.”

Featuring a voice cast of actors both old (longtime Pooh performer Jim Cummings) and new (ex-Python John Cleese as the narrator, Craig Ferguson as Owl), Pooh’s latest adventure is a relatively star-studded affair. Actress/musician Zooey Deschanel (from the band She and Him and the star of movies like “500 Days of Summer”) even gives the film a little indie cred by contributing two songs, a cover of the main theme as well as an original tune.

The real star of the movie, though, is its beautiful, often understated artwork. Like Disney’s older films featuring the bear of very little brain, the entire movie is lovingly animated with traditional hand-drawn characters and watercolor backgrounds that capture the whimsical, innocent charm of E.H. Shepard’s original book illustrations. For fans of Disney or animation in general, the chance to see traditional 2-D animation showcased on the big screen might be worth the price of admission alone.

However, in spite of the overall high production values, “Winnie the Pooh” is not without its problems. In particular, it suffers from a poorly developed script that meanders along without any of the cleverness or subtle wit of the 1977 film. Furthermore, the story itself in places feels like an unnecessary retread of iconic scenes rather than an appreciative homage to an established classic from the Disney oeuvre. Finally, except for Deschanel’s contribution titled “So Long,” the original songs written for “Winnie the Pooh” are bland and entirely forgettable — the only other possible exception being a tune you’ll wish you could forget called “The Winner Song.”

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At barely over an hour (69 minutes), “Winnie the Pooh” is extremely short. Parents unwilling to pay full ticket price for a movie half as long as many other films in theaters might prefer revisiting Pooh’s earlier feature-length story instead.

But while “Winnie the Pooh” doesn’t quite live up to the 1977 Disney classic, it does manage to capture enough of the whimsy and charm to both entertain grownup fans and serve as a good introduction for younger audiences to the world of Christopher Robin and his stuffed animal friends.

(As an added bonus, an animated short titled “The Ballad of Loch Ness” plays before “Winnie the Pooh.”)

A native of Utah Valley and a devoted cinephile, Jeff is currently studying humanities and history at Brigham Young University.

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