Winnie the Pooh-Springtime with Roo (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Childrens	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Game-Sounds Of Spring Game-Decorating Rabbit's House Featurette-Disney's Art Project: 7 Steps To Making A Butterfly
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	62:36
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (50:02)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Saul Andrew Blinkoff Elliot M. Bour
Studio Distributor	Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.	Starring	Peter Cullen Jimmy Bennett Jim Cummings John Fiedler Ken Sansom Kath Soucie David Ogden Stiers
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$36.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired Spanish Portuguese Spanish Titling Portuguese Titling	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    What do you associate with springtime? Probably the traditional things like new life, fresh flowers and newborn babies. In the northern hemisphere they celebrate Easter, which is the focus of this adventure from Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the 100 Acre Wood. I should point out that this Easter story is loosely adapted from the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. If you're confused by that fact, prepare to be bamboozled even more.

    It's the day of the Easter Egg hunt and Roo is chomping at the bit to join his friends in their celebrations which are traditionally held at Rabbit's house. Unfortunately, what should be a fun day of partying turns sour when Poo, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and Roo arrive at Rabbit's to find he has declared the day "Spring Cleaning Day", much to Roo's disappointment. Everyone is recruited to mop and sweep Rabbit's abode and their pleas for a happy Easter with Rabbit as the Bunny go unheard. Thank goodness the wise and all-knowing narrator is watching - he interrupts the story to take a step back in time and remind Rabbit how important his friends are.

    This is one of the better Pooh-related films I've seen - all of the songs are excellent and the screenplay is humorous and well paced. My little one adores the Piglet movie and immensely enjoyed the new Heffalump film, which marked her first ever trip to the cinema last weekend. I can't say for sure if she rates Springtime With Roo as highly as those two, but after a couple of hundred viewings her mind could change.

    Springtime With Roo is great fun for children who are old enough to appreciate Easter festivities, although the seasonal differences on our continent have the potential to cause some confusion. After all, it is a fictional story and there's absolutely no mention of Easter on the DVD cover. If your kids enjoy other Pooh adventures, then this one is sure to please.

Video

    This video transfer is exceptional in every respect. I reviewed this title immediately after the Japanese animated feature Steamboy and despite the massive difference in budget the difference in quality is immediately obvious. The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    This transfer is sharp and clear, with no ugly jagged edges present in the animation. Colouring is rich and vibrant at all times without any bleeding or rendering inconsistencies to be seen. Low level noise is completely absent.

    The transfer is also void of any artefacting, be it MPEG grain or film related artefacts. This DVD presentation is completely clean and the projected image looks excellent.

    There are four subtitle streams available; Spanish, Portuguese, English and English for the hard of hearing. We viewed part of the movie with the English subtitles enabled (which didn't go down too well with my co-reviewer, mind you) and they appear to be well paced and problem free.

    This disc is dual layered, with the layer transition placed during a silent fade to black in the feature at 50:02. The layer change is very well placed and virtually transparent.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are three soundtrack options accompanying this film and the default is decided by your language selection when the disc loads. Portuguese and Spanish language Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are available in addition to the obligatory English.

    Dialogue is always crystal clear and easy to understand despite the familiar characterisations. I didn't notice any sync issues.

    The surround channels are used rarely but effectively for atmospherics and the like. There is some spill of the score to the rear channels, while birds and voices can be heard during the Egg hunt at 36:00. The front soundstage is very well weighted and contains a lot of active panning from left to right.

    The subwoofer lets out a little flutter now and then to accompany the score, which is mainly orchestral. There isn't a lot of call for LFE activity in this film.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Games- Sounds of Spring (3)

    This is a simple 'navigate and press enter' game that rewards the viewer with little sound bites. Three scenes can be explored; The Wood, Rabbit's Garden and Pooh's House.

Game- Decorating Rabbit's House

    Help Roo decorate Rabbit's house for Easter by putting the decorations where they belong, using your remote.

Disney Art Project

    A step-by-step guide to making a butterfly mobile using household items. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow.

    The audio and video transfers are excellent and there are a couple of little activities included.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall