In Which Pooh Gets His Own Movie And Everyone Loves It

Apparently, I’ve got clout. Or Klout, to be more exact. All my years of tweeting finally paid off when I was offered a KloutPerk. In case you don’t know, a KloutPerk is an exclusive offer extended to various registered users of Klout. Klout is more or less intended to be your measure of online influence based primarily on your Twitter activity.

I’m not sure that I completely buy into the system because in the not-so-distant past, Klout claimed I was influential on the topic of earthquakes. However, they also claim I’m influential in parenting. And for that, I’m kind of grateful because I’m pretty sure that’s how I came across my latest KloutPerk.

I was invited to a special screening of Winnie the Pooh, the new Disney animated movie. I’ve been a huge Pooh fan for a long time. In fact, the night before the screening, I was on Twitter bursting with excitement. I was even reminiscing about the Winnie the Pooh dress I had. I was sure every girl in the 70s wore one (apparently not).

I woke up early Saturday morning, tired as I don’t know what, but determined to get to that screening. My lovely 4 year old Evan only showed passing interest in seeing the movie. But I’m a tough mom. I was going to make him go.

I was a bit worried about his reaction to the movie (especially after our trip to see Mars Needs Moms). He’s not a typical kid and going to the movies isn’t the thrill it once was for you and me when we were kids. He’d honestly rather sit home on the couch and watch a DVD. That’s okay. I was still going to make him go.

We get to the theater and we’re told that we can sit in the reserved seating. I sat in the Disney-reserved press seats and just felt like asking someone to please pass the Grey Poupon. Yes, I had arrived.

After watching a few previews, we were told by some rather large security men to please put our cellular devices away as they have had a serious issue with privacy. I complied, of course, and the movie began.

A short 1 hour and 15 minutes later we were walking out the door. And guess what? My little grumpasaurus was smiling. In fact, he giggled through the whole movie. He laughed at Piglet’s head getting stuck in the beehive. He laughed at Pooh swimming in a sea of honey. He laughed as we stayed to watch the credits roll.

(You should definitely do this, by the way. Fun scene at the very end.)

I was shocked. My little man who likes to whine and complain about everything truly enjoyed this movie.

And what’s not to enjoy?

This is a true, honest-to-goodness rated G movie. Take your little kids, take your big kids, take your grandparents. No one will be offended. No one will laugh uncomfortably at hidden subtext. No one will have to explain what romance is. It’s just pure kid fun, honest and innocent.

Now, with that being said, I think I need to be fair to today’s parents. Kids have developed a different palate for entertainment. I was worried this would be too simple for my 4 year old. Yes, that sounds sad, but true. Turns out that he absolutely adored it. In fact, he adored it so much that we had to get him his very own, Winnie the Pooh.

Teaching Winnie how to snorkel

Bottom line is I loved the movie and clearly Evan did too. It was nostalgic for me (except for Eeyore’s voice – that just seemed wrong to me) and pure fun for my son. My only wish was that my husband could have gone with us (he’s a Pooh fan too).

My recommendation: Good fun for all ages. Implied monster scariness is the only mild caution. Best suited for kids age 5 and under but truly enjoyable for the whole family!

The movie opens nationwide July 15th. If you plan to see it or go see it, let me know what you think. In the meantime, here’s a little taste.