Pooh and His Pals Become Cowboys, Pirates and Old-Fashioned Superheroes

Winnie the Pooh and his Hundred-Acre friends generally live very simple lives and go about in the same clothes (or, in most cases, lack thereof) day after day. However, one fun thing about the television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is its expansive imaginative scope. Some episodes allow these plush pals to venture into more unconventional territory. In Cowboy Pooh, part of the Playtime series of Winnie the Pooh videos, we see three episodes along these lines, each spoofing a specific genre.

The Good, the Bad and the Tigger - This Western spoof, also included in the video Growing Up With Winnie the Pooh: It's Playtime With Pooh, finds Pooh (Jim Cummings), Piglet (John Fiedler), Rabbit (Ken Sansom) and Tigger (Paul Winchell) in Christopher Robin's (Tim Hoskins) bedroom admiring his elaborate train set. When his mother calls him away, he warns everyone not to play with the train while he's gone, but Tigger can't resist, sparking a lengthy imaginative sequence set in the Old West. Tigger is a train robber, Pooh is his unwitting accomplice, Piglet is the sheriff determined to mete out justice however difficult that may be, Rabbit and Eeyore are his faithful sidekicks and Gopher (Michael Gough) is the grim judge eager to hand down a sentence for a "swinging."

This episode is a lot of fun because of the way it uses Western conventions, from dastardly villains to dusty, half-deserted towns. The score seems Copeland-inspired, and the chase sequences along the rickety railroad tracks prickle with excitement. Lots of fun, too, are the outfits, complete with ten-gallon hats (and one sombrero). Of course, this being Pooh, the story ends gently for all concerned, but some pretty harrowing situations precede the satisfying resolution that includes a lesson in forgiveness and fessing up to wrongdoing.

Pooh Marks the Spot - I wish I'd watched this video a little sooner; I could have included its infectious pirate ditty in my list of nautical songs for Talk Like a Pirate Day in September. "Yo ho, everyone knows a pirate's life is free. Yo ho, wherever we go, pirates is what we'll be!" Catchy. The pirates in question are Captain Piglet, Tigger, Pooh and Gopher, who roam the Hundred-Acre Wood in a magnificent pirate ship on wheels. I don't know who is responsible for the construction of that contraption - though I suspect a collaboration between handyman Gopher and creative Tigger - but I wish I had one. And someplace where I could ramble around in it, of course.

Rabbit does not think so highly of their pirate activities, especially once they start digging up his garden in search of buried treasure, so he concocts a plan to trick them and hopefully curtail their revelry. However, when a trippy dream sequence leaves him with a boatload of guilt, Rabbit wonders if he went too far. Aside from the brief dream, which is frankly pretty creepy, this does not take place in a fantastical setting, but there are pirate costumes aplenty as well as that remarkable ship. The conclusion includes a cute twist that emphasizes the kindness and creativity of these forest friends.

The Masked Offender - I'm pretty sure that I've seen this before, but as Tigger's secret identity, the Masked Offender, is all I remember, I wonder if I encountered it in another episode or perhaps a book. The rest of the story doesn't seem very familiar. In any case, this is another entertaining tale that seems to draw from classic heroes like the Three Musketeers and Robin Hood. Part of the episode occurs within a storybook Christopher Robin is reading, and this is where we find the most elaborate costumes and props, but Tigger doesn't do too badly in coming up with an outfit for himself after the story inspires him to follow suit.

There's humor in Tigger's choice of name, unintentionally changing "Defender" to "Offender," since all of his attempts to "rescue" others only serve to irritate them. Poor Piglet, roped into being his sidekick, doesn't know how to tell Tigger his heroics are not welcome. This is another episode that includes a mean-spirited practical joke orchestrated by Rabbit, but in this case, he doesn't work alone. Owl (Hal Smith) is particularly anxious to put a stop to Tigger's stunts. However, when a true emergency beckons, will a chastened Tigger step up to the plate to finally be a true hero? The storybook portions of this episode are great fun, but it's the intense action sequence involving one of those impossibly steep Hundred-Acre Wood canyons that really makes this episode.

Disney has released Winnie the Pooh Halloween specials before. Cowboy Pooh includes none of those, but the three episodes, taken together, feel Halloweenish because most of the characters spend the majority of their time in costume. Thus, this is a particularly good video for October, but any time of year, it may just inspire a creative playtime costume or two.