Walt Disney is great at creating characters that people cherish long beyond the boundaries of childhood. Among these are the memorable collection of characters who inhabit the Hundred Acre Wood. Disney’s various Winnie the Pooh tales follow the plots of stories originally told by English author A.A. Milne in the 1920s.

Interestingly, many of Milne’s characters were inspired by his son Christopher’s collection of stuffed animals. Christopher’s teddy bear, the model for Winnie the Pooh, got his name from an actual bear named Winnipeg whom the family liked to visit at the London Zoo. The “Pooh” bit came from the name of a swan. Milne’s sweet stories are charmingly written and still have great appeal to young audiences.

Winnie the Pooh and his friends have appeared in many Walt Disney animated features over the past four decades, even making it to theatres. One of the most favorite releases-and one with particular appeal to the youngest of audiences is Piglet’s Big Movie.

Piglet’s Big Movie lets Piglet blossom as the hero he really has been humbly inhabiting through all the friends’ adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood. The story does not begin triumphantly for Piglet however, as he is brushed aside as too little to be of any assistance help in his friends’ hunt for honey (or “hunny” as Pooh spells it!) Shamed, tiny Piglet disappears into the Hundred Acre Woods. In searching for him, the friends turn to Piglet’s Book of Memories and finally grasp what a huge role Piglet has played in all their adventures. Piglet learns that it is alright to be little. His contribution to the group is tremendous.

The film’s message that size does not prevent someone from doing remarkable things is nice for children to hear, who often feel brushed aside as Piglet does. Children need to feel like they make a contribution, and Piglet?s Big Movie does a lovely job of letting them see that little people matter a lot.

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