First off, we will watch a childhood favorite for many: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977). This film is based around the imagination of a small boy named Christopher Robin (Jon Walmsley). Now, psychologists have proven time and again that kids play based on what they have learned from others. Therefore, I want to argue that the different animal characters in this film are actually representations of both adults and children.
Winnie the Pooh (Sterling Holloway) is a child, specifically the id of a child. A person’s id is the most basic desires and giving in to them without consequences. Pooh demonstrates this by “climb[ing] this tree” for honey despite whether that would actually result in gaining honey or falling out of a tree.
Piglet (John Fielder) is definitely a child. He is afraid of everything and constantly is in need of help. He has to be rescued both from the “blustery day” and the “flood”. He also gives in to giving his house to Owl (Hal Smith). He would rather give up his house and be the nice kid than face any kind of confrontation.
Gopher (Howard Morris) is more child-like, too. He pays little attention to detail. He doesn’t even see Rabbit’s (Junius Matthews) house or understand that Pooh is “the project”. He doesn’t listen long enough to understand the questions Owl asks him. He cannot slow down long enough to pay attention, like a child who thinks they know what is going on.
Another representation of Tigger being an older kid is he clings to Rabbit (more on him next). He wants to be like the big kids and do whatever they are doing while also identifying with other children, like Roo (Dori Whitaker).
Rabbit represents more of an adolescent than a child or an adult. He plants a garden, decorates his house, and tries to make decisions like an adult. However, he is also naïve at times; he can’t even spell carrots correctly. Also, he thinks he can turn the other members of the Hundred Acre Wood against Tigger. However, when the plan goes in to action and Rabbit gets lost because of his pride, Tigger has to save Rabbit from “the mist”.
Eeyore (Ralph Wright) represents an adult the most. He may appear pessimistic, but I think he is actually realistic. He points out facts or solves problems in different situations. After Owl’s house falls, Eeyore takes it upon himself to find a new one for Owl instead of focusing on the tragedy of a friend losing his home. Even when Christopher Robin nails his tail back in, he does not worry about it hurting because “it never does”. He has few fears or concerns, just practical thoughts.
On a side note, where do you think Kanga (Barbara Luddy) and Roo lie in this analysis? Is Kanga an adult because she is a mother, thus making Roo a child? Or is Kanga a child pretending to play house, making Roo an inanimate object she pretends is her baby? What do you think??? Leave a comment below!
In the end, some characters have more child-like minds and mentalities while others act more like adults. This is a reflection of Christopher Robin being a child and learning from adults as well as him growing-up and projecting his new thoughts and actions on his “friends”.
On another topic: What if Christopher Robin was a kind of messiah and the narrator was God? Then who would the other characters be? Hmm…
Another blogger presents a more adult interpretation of the characters in this film. This could ruin your childhood…
There are also some interesting arguments about the characters in the books and films representing different mental disorders.
Thank you for reading! Please stay tuned for Jurassic Park next!!!