My Friends Tigger & Pooh

My Friends Tigger & Pooh

My Friends Tigger & Pooh is a CGI-animated Winnie the Pooh series that aired daily on the Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney programming block in the United States and Canada. The program premiered on April 11, 2007 and spawned three films: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too and Super Duper Super Sleuths. The program's next episode, "Darby-Saurus / Darby's Im-possum-ible Case," aired on July 17, 2010. It feature songs written by Andy Sturmer.

Show Format

This series focuses on the adventures Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, as well two new human characters  -- Darby and her dog, Buster, rather than her older best friend, Christopher Robin, who leaves for college. Christopher Robin only appears in a few episodes. Together, the four form the Super Sleuths, a group of problem-solvers who "Think, Think, Think" and ask questions to solve mysteries and problems within the Hundred Acre Woods. They don special outfits within the Changing Tree and then recite the Super Sleuth Oath. They often check the Finder Flag to see where their help is needed and usually ride there on Sleuther Scooters.

Reception

My Friends Tigger & Pooh met with a mixed reaction from the Winnie the Pooh fanbase. Many were disappointed by the switch to CGI animation, as well as the decision to feature a new character, Darby, replacing her older best friend, Christopher Robin, who went away to college and only appeared in two episodes. Nevertheless, the program proved a mild commercial and critical success, having received numerous merchandise releases, three films and broadcasts in markets around the world. Additionally, the series received a Humanitas Prize in the Children’s Animation Category (Brian Hohlfeld - "Eeyore's Sad Day") and has also been nominated for Daytime Emmys, an Annie Award and a Young Artist Award.

Characters

• Darby (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz)
• Buster (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)
• Winnie-the-Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings)
• Tigger (voiced by Jim Cummings)
• Rabbit (voiced by Ken Sansom)
• Piglet (voiced by Travis Oates)
• Eeyore (voiced by Peter Cullen)
• Kanga (voiced by Kath Soucie)
• Roo (voiced by Max Burkholder)
• Lumpy (voiced by Kyle Stanger) (replaced Owl)
• Porcupine (voiced by Tara Strong) (replaced Grey DeLisle) (Series Original)
• Beaver (voiced by Jim Cummings) (replaced Gopher) (Series Original)
• Christopher Robin (voiced by Struan Erlenborn) 2 Episodes
• Santa Claus (voiced by Jeffrey Tambor)
• Turtle (voiced by Mark Hamill) (replaced Martin P. Robinson) (Series Original)
• Woodpecker (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) (Series Original)
• Raccoon (voiced by Rob Paulsen) (Series Original)
• Mama Heffalump (voiced by Brenda Blethyn) (also replaced Owl)
• Skunk (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) (Series Original)
• Holly (voiced by Mikaila Baumel) (Series Original)
• Possum Twins (voiced by Sydney Saylor) (Series Original)

Episodes

To date, the are 61 known episodes of the program and three film releases. Most episodes continue to be aired on a rotating basis on Disney Junior the channel. Holiday themed episodes are generally only broadcast on or around the appropriate holidays, though non-U.S. markets will often air these episodes at any time of the year but notably, "Home For the Holly Days" premiered in mid-July, but is now being aired as a winter holiday themed episode. See here for a complete list of known episodes of the program.

Tweaks

In its second season, the program retained its basic format, but a few tweaks were made. Kay Hanley’s performance of the title theme was replaced by Chloë Grace Moretz as Darby. This was likely a cost-saving measure, as this change was also applied to repeat broadcasts of episodes of the first season. In addition to the "Think, Think, Think" song, a new song was featured in some stories called "The Question Song."

Theme Song

The show's theme song is a pop song that is played at the beginning of each episode. It was written, composed and produced by Andy Sturmer, and was sung by famous singer Kay Hanley (1st season) and by Darby's voice actress Chloë Grace Moretz (2nd season).

Lyrics

My friends Tigger & Pooh
We're always there for each other
You'll see just how fun it can be
With so much in the Wood to discover
And if I need help on the way
Buster might save the day
Or Piglet, Lumpy, or Roo
Eeyore has a paw to lend
Rabbit has an ear to bend
Now all we're missing is you
Hooray, it's a honey-ful day
So let's laugh and let's play here together
With my friends Tigger and Pooh
Darby, Tigger, and Pooh
My friends Tigger and Pooh

• Listen to a sample of the show’s theme as performed by Chloe Moretz as Darby here.
• Listen to a sample of the show’s theme as performed by Kay Hanley here.
• Listen to a sample of the show’s theme as performed in French here.
• Listen to a sample of the show’s theme as performed in Spanish here.

Music

Many of the show's stories feature original songs and both of the film releases, Pooh's Super Sleuth Christmas Movie and Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too included songs as a driving force for the stories written by Andy Sturmer. Songs are much more heavily used in the program’s second season, whereas first season stories only rarely featured songs but when they did, they were generally short.

Major Crew

• Nicole Dubuc - Writer, Regular Story Editor
• Kay Hanley - Performer: Title Theme (First Season)
• Chloë Grace Moretz - Performer: Title Theme (Second and Third and final Seasons)
• David Hartman - Director
• Brian Hohlfeld - Writer, Regular Story Editor, Executive Producer
• Jeff Kline - Executive Producer
• Don MacKinnon - Director
• Andy Sturmer - Score, Music and Lyrics

Trivia

• Grey DeLisle was supposed to voice Porcupine on this show, but she was voicing Wubbzy instead that she was replaced by Tara Strong.

More to Explore

• My Friends Tigger & Pooh at Wikipedia
• My Friends Tigger & Pooh at TV.com
• My Friends Tigger & Pooh at IMDb