The Tigger Movie

The Tigger Movie is a 2000 American animated musical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and animation production by Walt Disney Animation (Japan), Inc., written and directed by Jun Falkenstein from a story by Eddie Guzelian. It is the second theatrical Winnie the Pooh film after The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and features Pooh's friend Tigger searching for his family tree and other Tiggers like himself.

The Tigger Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJun Falkenstein
Produced byCheryl Abood
Screenplay byJun Falkenstein
Story byEddie Guzelian
Based onCharacters created
by A. A. Milne
Starring
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Edited by
  • Makoto Arai
  • Robert Fisher, Jr.
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • February 11, 2000 (2000-02-11) (United States)
Running time
77 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[3][4]–$30 million[5]
Box office$96.2 million[5]

The film was the first feature-length theatrical Pooh film that was not a collection of previously released shorts.

It is also the first in the original films in which Tigger is voiced entirely by Jim Cummings (in addition to Pooh) following the retirement of Tigger's original voice actor Paul Winchell in 1999. Winchell was originally cast as Tigger, but was dropped after the studio considered his voice to be too raspy. Cummings had previously shared the role with Winchell since 1988 and provided his singing voice in most later projects with Winchell as the character's speaking voice.

The film features original songs from the Sherman Brothers. Originally, the film was slated for a direct-to-video release, until then–Disney CEO Michael Eisner heard the Sherman Brothers' songs, and decided to release the film in theaters worldwide. The film was the highest-grossing film in the Winnie the Pooh franchise until it was surpassed by 2018's Christopher Robin.

The film received three nominations on the Annie Awards, including the Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production, the Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production, and the Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production.

Plot

In the Hundred Acre Wood, Tigger searches for someone to bounce with him, but all of his friends are too busy getting ready for the upcoming winter. While he searches for a playmate, Tigger inadvertently destroys Eeyore's house with a boulder. He later damages the complex pulley system that Rabbit has rigged up to remove the boulder, much to the Rabbit's frustration. The rest of Tigger's friends say that they are not quite as bouncy as he is because they are not Tiggers like him. Tigger sadly wanders off in loneliness, wishing there was somebody else like him.

Wanting to play with Tigger, Roo asks if Tigger has a Tigger family he could bounce with. Tigger is fascinated by the idea, and the two go to visit Owl for advice on finding Tigger's family. Owl shows them portraits of his own family and mentions the concept of family trees; Tigger accidentally knocks the portraits over. When he quickly hangs them back up, all of Owl's ancestors appear to be perched on a single tree. Tigger inaccurately concludes that his family tree must be a real tree, and he and Roo go searching for it.

After searching the wood without turning up any giant, Tigger-striped trees, Tigger and Roo go back to Tigger's house to search for clues to his family's whereabouts. Tigger teaches Roo the awesome Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper Bounce. They find a heart-shaped locket that Tigger hopes will contain a picture of his family, but it is empty. Roo suggests Tigger try writing a letter to his family, which Tigger does. Once he finishes, he puts it in the mailbox and lets the wind carry it away, hoping it will take it to his family.

When Tigger's letter gets no response, Roo gathers Tigger's friends together to write him a letter; everyone contributes a bit of friendly advice and signs it "your family". Tigger is overjoyed to receive the letter, however, while "reading between the lines", he misinterprets it and announces that his whole family is coming to visit him tomorrow. Tigger's friends do not have the heart to tell Tigger that the letter is from them, so they disguise themselves as Tiggers and attend his family reunion. Rabbit does not join in, but, rather, berates them for not getting ready for the approaching winter (especially with a savage blizzard on the horizon) and storms off.

Tigger completely falls for the Tigger disguises until Roo attempts Tigger's complex Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper Bounce, crashes into the closet again, and knocks his mask off. Tigger is struck with astonishment and soon finds out that all of his friends are in on it. Frustrated and thinking that his friends have betrayed him, Tigger angrily goes out in the snowstorm Rabbit had warned them about earlier to search for his family, vowing to never return.

Tigger's friends all feel very guilty, humiliated, and worried, including Roo, who becomes heartbroken. He later comes over to Pooh's house, crying and tearfully claiming that it was his fault Tigger had left, for he wanted Tigger as a big brother, and they form an expedition to find him. Rabbit refuses at first, believing he left of his own accord, but soon gives in after realizing how Tigger lightened up their lives. They find Tigger sitting in a large tree with patches of snow on the trunk that resemble stripes, which Tigger has mistaken for his family tree. Rabbit insists Tigger come home, but Tigger refuses to leave his "family tree" until his (nonexistent) Tigger family returns; upon arguing, Tigger's shouting causes an avalanche. Tigger bounces his friends to safety in the tree branches, but is swept away by the snow himself. Roo performs a perfect Whoop-de-Dooper-Loop-de-Looper-Alley-Ooper Bounce and rescues Tigger. The two then perform the bounce together to escape the avalanche and land back on the tree.

When the avalanche subsides, they are joined by Kanga, Owl, and eventually, Christopher Robin. When Pooh explains where they were, he tells Tigger he didn't have to look for his family. He tries to show him the letter, but realizes that he has lost it in the avalanche, and cannot remember what it said. But then, all his friends each recite their parts of the letter from memory, and Tigger finally sees that they are his real family. He throws a new family reunion party with presents for everyone. Eeyore gets a new house, Pooh gets a lifetime supply of honey, Piglet gets a year's worth of firewood, Tigger promises Rabbit that he will look where he is bouncing and Roo receives the heart-shaped locket. Christopher Robin then takes a picture of Roo, Tigger, and the rest of their family to go in it. The film ends with the camera backing away from the family photo as the locket closes up.

Cast

Production

The Tigger Movie was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation's WDTVA division and/or arm of Disney MovieToons, Walt Disney Animation (Japan), Tandem Films, Cornerstone Animation Inc., Studios Basara, Tama Productions, Creative Capers Entertainment, Telecom Animation Film Co., Ltd., Studio Fuga, Studio Moonflower, Buena Vista Imaging, and SimEx Digital Studios, and the Executive in Charge of Production at WDTVA was Sharon Morrill Robinov.

Paul Winchell, the original voice of Tigger, was originally cast to voice Tigger for the film, which was then titled Winnie the Pooh and the Family Tree.[6] During Spring 1998, Winchell participated in a single recording session for the film. However, Winchell dropped from the project after the studio found his voice too raspy.[6][7] The role was given to Jim Cummings, who was already voicing Winnie the Pooh for the film, and doing Tigger's voice on various Disney television shows and for Disney consumer products.[6] When the Disney Imagineers heard about Winchell's dismissal, they hired him to perform the voice of Tigger for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction at Walt Disney World, which opened a year before The Tigger Movie's release; it was Winchell's final performance before his retirement from acting in 1999 and his death in 2005.[6]

Music and soundtrack

The songs for The Tigger Movie were written by Robert and Richard Sherman who had not written a feature for Disney in over 28 years. Their last fully original feature film score was for the Oscar nominated film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks which was released in 1971. Originally slated for video or television release, the score was so well received (in demonstration form) by then Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, that the project's priority level moved up to feature theatrical release. The score of the film is composed and conducted by Harry Gregson-Williams.

This was due in great part to the perceived caliber of the song score throughout the studio. All the songs were created new for the film except for "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" which was originally written in 1968 for the featurette, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (released in 1968). That song was also by the Sherman Brothers. The "punch line" of the song: "But the most wonderful Thing About Tiggers is I'm the only one..." provides the basis of The Tigger Movie's storyline. "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" was the last song written for the film and is a collaborative effort between the Sherman Brothers and singer Kenny Loggins. Richard Sherman described the song as "a song about the picture, as opposed to songs of the picture." It marks the only time the trio worked together on a song.[8]

All tracks are written by The Sherman Brothers.

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers"Jim Cummings 
2."Someone Like Me"Jim Cummings 
3."Whoop-de-Dooper Bounce"Jim Cummings & Nikita Hopkins 
4."Pooh's Lullabee"Jim Cummings 
5."Round My Family Tree"Jim Cummings 
6."How to Be a Tigger"Cast 
7."Your Heart Will Lead You Home"Kenny Loggins[1] 

The original theatrical trailer for the film featured the song "Semi-Charmed Life" by alternative band Third Eye Blind. A Disney spokeswoman said that she was not aware of the sexual content within the song's lyrics.[9]

Release

After a Hollywood red carpet premiere on February 6, 2000 at El Capitan Theatre,[10] the film was released theatrically on February 11, 2000. The movie was on screens for 23 weeks.[5]

Home media

The Tigger Movie was originally released on August 22, 2000, on both VHS and DVD.[11] The VHS and DVD included the Kenny Loggins music video "Your Heart Will Lead You Home." The DVD included additional special features. The film was later re-released on a 2-disc DVD on August 4, 2009 to coincide with its 10th anniversary. The 2-disc release includes a DVD and a digital copy. It contains all the 2000 DVD bonus features, but has more language tracks and special features. The film was also re-released as a Bounce-a-rrrific special edition on Blu-ray on August 21, 2012. It contains the Kenny Loggins music video "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" and "Round My Family Tree" sing-along song video but includes the 10 Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh segments.[12]

Reception

Box office

The film opened at #4 at the North American box office making $9.4 million in its opening weekend. The film was a box office success, earning $45,554,533 in the United States and a further $50,605,267 overseas, resulting in a worldwide gross of $96,159,800.[5] Its budget is estimated at between $15 million[3][4] and $30 million.[5]

Critical reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 62% of critics gave the film positive reviews on 71 reviews with a 5.9 rating. The site's consensus states, "The Tigger Movie may lack the technological flash and underlying adult sophistication of other recent animated movies, but it's fun and charming."[11] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on twenty three critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".[13] William Thomas of Empire Magazine gave the film a three out of four stars, saying: "And while the one-dimensional nature of the plot is unlikely to entertain anyone over the age of 11, the end result certainly includes enough pre-pubescent prerequisites to ensure that the furry fella will never bounce alone."[14] Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of five stars and said: "Tigger's bouncy quest will appeal to younger viewers."[15]

Accolades
AwardCategoryRecipientResult
Annie Awards Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production Jun Falkenstein Nominated
Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production Nikita Hopkins as Roo
Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "Round My Family Tree"
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Family Film Jun Falkenstein and Cheryl Abood
Golden Tomato Awards 2011[16] Best Animated Film The Tigger Movie 4th Place
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award[17] Best Animated Feature Jun Falkenstein Won

In other media

Sequels

Disney released various theatrical and direct-to-videos in the years that followed. There were two theatrical animated films: Piglet's Big Movie in 2003 and Pooh's Heffalump Movie in 2005. Two direct-to-video animated films also followed, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo in 2004 and Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie in 2005.

References
  1. Newman, Kim (2000). "The Tigger Movie (2000)". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  2. "The Tigger Movie (2000)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  3. Orwall, Bruce (December 14, 2000). "Disney Hopes to Get Its 'Groove' Back in Suffering Family Films". The Walt Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. February's "The Tigger Movie," produced for a bargain-basement $15 million,...
  4. Natale, Richard (February 14, 2000). "Moviegoing's Much More Than a 'Scream'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. The low-budget ($15-million) "Tigger"...
  5. "The Tigger Movie Summary". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  6. Hill, Jim (June 27, 2005). "Remembering John Fiedler (1925-2005)". Jim Hill Media. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  7. Graham, Jefferson (November 25, 1998). "Original Tigger voice bounced from 'Pooh'". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015. Fiedler completed that movie, but Disney let Winchell go after his first day, telling the actor's representative that Winchell's voice was now too "raspy."
  8. Susan King, The Pair Who Write Songs for Nannies and Pooh Bears" Archived 2012-11-28 at Wikiwix, Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2000.
  9. Kim, Ellen (2000) [1999]. "NEWSMAKERS: 'Veronica's Closet' star offers settlement". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  10. McCarthy, Todd (February 10, 2000). "Review: 'The Tigger Movie'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  11. "The Tigger Movie - Rotten Tomatoes". Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  12. "Amazon.com: The Tigger Movie: Bounce-A-Rrrific Special Edition (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack in Blu-ray Packaging): Jim Cummings, Nikita Hopkins, Ken Samson, John Fielder, Peter Cullen, Andrew Stojka, Kath Soucie, Tom Attenborough, Jun Falkenstein: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  13. https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-tigger-movie/critic-reviews
  14. https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/tigger-movie-review/
  15. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-tigger-movie
  16. Tapley, Kristopher (March 2018). "2nd Annual Golden Tomato Awards". Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  17. "Early School Years: Feature-Length Films". Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
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