Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh was created by the English writer A. A. Milne.  Milne named the bear after his son’s toy stuffed bear Winnipeg.  His son’s other toys eventually lent their names to Winnie the Pooh’s friends: Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Piglet.  Owl, Rabbit, and Gopher were added later on. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin Milne, was the inspiration for the character Christopher Robin.

 Winnie the Pooh made his debut in 1926 in the children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh, illustrated by E.H. Shepard.  Three other Winnie the Pooh books followed.   The lovable bear was originally intended to be the “bear of little brains.” Forever on the search for honey, Pooh joins his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. 

In 1930 illustrator/producer Stephen Slesinger adapted the Winnie the Pooh character for use in radio, TV, and in story-telling records with Gene Kelly and Jimmy Stewart.

By 1961, Walt Disney Productions obtained motion picture rights on Winnie the Pooh and friends.  Disney successfully adapted the Pooh stories into four movies: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974), and Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (1983).   Other films followed, and in 2005, the Disney Channel on TV began featuring Pooh and Tigger.

The Disney Princesses

Snow White made her screen debut in the 1937 Walt Disney animated feature “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” She was a lovely princess with the infamous, albeit, beautiful Queen, her wicked stepmother.  Snow White manages to escape from the Queen’s castle where she worked dressed in rags and as a scullery maid. In the forest, she befriends the Seven Dwarfs, and happily lives in a small cottage.  One day, the handsome Prince finds the lovely girl and the Magic Mirror informs the Queen.  The Queen transforms herself into a hag and entices Snow White to eat a poisoned apple.  Moments from death, Snow White is awakened with a magic kiss from the Prince.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the highest grossing film in 1938.

The Walt Disney animated feature “Sleeping Beauty” debuted in 1959.  Sleeping Beauty is the story of Princess Aurora, her three good fairy godmothers Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, and the wicked fairy Maleficent.  Maleficent curses the infant princess so that when she becomes a beautiful woman on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die.  Merryweather bestows a gift unto the princess whereby the prick will not cause Aurora to die, but to fall into a deep sleep that can only be broken by a kiss from her true love.  Sleeping Beauty’s true love is Prince Philip. He gallantly fights and kills an evil dragon in order to get to his Aurora.  Once he kisses her, both she and the whole dreary castle awaken.  They happily waltz together in the festive castle as the movie ends.  Disney spent almost ten years making the film “Sleeping Beauty” and the musical score is adapted from Tchaikovsky's ballet.

Walt Disney released the animated feature “Cinderella” in 1950.  Cinderella is a beautiful girl with a wicked stepmother and two ugly and vain stepsisters.  She is oppressed and tormented as a kitchen maid, given a daily list of impossible and unending tasks to perform. Her animal friends include bluebirds and a troop of mice, notably, Gus.  Meanwhile, the King of the land is eager to find a fair maiden for his son, who has no interest in the women of the palace.  He arranges a ball, and, with the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella easily captures the heart and hand of Prince Charming.

Belle is the beautiful heroine of “Beauty and the Beast,” released in 1991 by Walt Disney.  This is the tale of a selfish young prince, who is transformed into a hideous beast.  He is doomed to remain a beast unless he can learn to love again. Belle is a spirited beauty, who lives with her father Maurice, and eventually finds herself in the Beast’s enchanted castle.  Belle is initially repelled by the Beast, seemingly more for his personality than his looks.  As the story progresses, her fondness for the Beast grows.  Once the Best learns that Maurice’s life is in danger, he releases Belle from his castle.  His empathy and charm eventually win her over.  She returns to the castle and professes her love for the now dying Beast, both saving him from death, and transforming him back to his original princely self.

Finding Nemo Sharks

Bruce, Anchor, and Chum are the friendly, fiendish sharks from “Finding Nemo.” They are featured in the misadventures of Nemo on his quest back home to his father.  Released in 2003, this Disney/Pixar film went on to receive an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

The Disney characters are known and beloved worldwide.  Their likenesses can be found on everything from clothing, lunch boxes, toys, watches, jewelry, and wall murals.

Sources: John Grant (1998). Encyclopedia of walt disney’s animated characters. New York: Hyperion; Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (online) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_the_pooh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty#Walt_Disney.27s_Sleeping_Beauty; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_%281950_movie%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_nemo

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