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Friday, March 21, 2003
Toddlers will find 'Piglet' a squeal, but for others it's a bit of an ordeal
Piglet's first feature-length movie certainly kept the toddlers (including mine) at an advance screening engrossed, but for parents and reviewers, it was more of a struggle. Clocking in at a scant 75 minutes, "Piglet's BIG Movie" felt longer and still managed to muddle an initially promising message.
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Deep in the 100 Acre Wood, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit have hatched a plan to snatch a batch of honey from the bees. Piglet wants to help but he's brushed aside with the warning that it's too big a job for such a little guy. Nevermind that in his own unobtrusive way, Piglet saves his friends from being stung when the swarm becomes angry.
Feeling dejected and sad, Piglet walks off into the forest, helping even smaller creatures than he who are caught in harm's way. When a storm brews, the friends return to Piglet's house only to find him gone. Tigger finds Piglet's "Book of Memories" and the group begins to look at the drawings, remembering past times with their pal.
In flashback, they recall the things their little buddy has undertaken in order to make their lives richer: rescuing Roo from a river, building a house for Eeyore and welcoming Kanga and Roo when they first move into the wood.
With new songs written by Carly Simon, "Piglet's BIG Movie" must have seemed a sure thing. But as directed by Francis Glebas, whose previous directing credits include only the "Pomp and Circumstance" segment of "Fantasia 2000," the focus is less on Piglet's strengths despite his size and more on the rest of the gang's routine adventures.
Still, the film kept the toddler audience going even though there was some restlessness in the ranks of the older kids. I can't help but think that "Piglet's BIG Movie," which is very much formatted like Disney's half-hour TV show "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" rather than the enchanting classics like "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," missed its opportunity.
It would have been much more empowering for toddlers to identify with a character who, though despite being small, was capable of such great big things. But this falls by the wayside in favor of a more innocuous and bland commercial appeal.
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