Welcome to Pooh Corner is a live-action/puppet

Puppet

A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....

 television series that aired on Disney Channel

Disney Channel

Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditional puppet. The animatronic costumes used for the characters were created by Alchemy II, Inc., headed by Ken Forsse

Ken Forsse

Ken Forsse is an American inventor, author, and producer who created the hit toy Teddy Ruxpin and the subsequent animated series The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin....

 who later created the toy sensation Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin is a children's toy talking bear. The bear would move his mouth and eyes while 'reading' stories which were played on an audio tape cassette deck built into his back. It was created by Ken Forsse with later assistance by Larry Larsen and John Davies. Later versions would use a digital...

.

Very few of the actors who played the characters in Disney's original Pooh short films reprised their roles here, and none of the parts were played by any of the characters' current voice actors, such as Jim Cummings

Jim Cummings

James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...

. The show's title derives from the second Winnie the Pooh storybook, The House at Pooh Corner

The House at Pooh Corner

The House at Pooh Corner is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of the character Tigger, who went on to become a prominent figure in the Disney Winnie the Pooh franchise.- Plot :The title...

.

Background

The show was hosted by a middle-aged Englishman (played by Laurie Main

Laurie Main

Laurence "Laurie" Main is an English former actor. Although Main appeared in many films and television series since the 1950s, he is perhaps best known for hosting and narrating the children's series Welcome to Pooh Corner, which aired on The Disney Channel during the 1980s.His television guest...

) who would present each episode. He would relate what he was talking about to an event that occurred in the Hundred Acre Wood

Hundred Acre Wood

The Hundred Acre Wood is the fictional land inhabited by Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Winnie-the-Pooh series of children's stories by author A. A. Milne...

, the home of the Pooh characters, and then he would proceed to read from a book entitled Welcome to Pooh Corner. He would then narrate the episode acted out by the characters. The action was filmed before a blue screen

Chroma key

Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...

, rather than using traditional sets (the same technique was used for Dumbo's Circus

Dumbo's Circus

Dumbo's Circus was a live-action/puppet television series that aired on Disney Channel, featuring the character of Dumbo from the original film.Many of the show's cast went on to star is the popular Christian radio series, Adventures in Odyssey....

, another live-action/puppet series that ran on The Disney Channel).

Since the show was designed for The Disney Channel before it began airing commercials, there were no breaks for commercials. As a result, the show lasted a full thirty minutes. The main story ran about twenty minutes followed by two shorter segments. The first segment was a sing-along music video featuring one of nine songs, used over and over throughout the show's run. These songs were written by the Academy Award winning Sherman Brothers

Sherman Brothers

The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....

 who had provided the majority of the Winnie the Pooh music over the years. The Sherman Brothers also wrote the show's theme song, using the music from the original Winnie-the-Pooh theme song from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the 22nd full-length animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on March 11, 1977....

, albeit with a slightly altered tempo.

The last segment of the show was a presentational arts and crafts

Arts and crafts

Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...

 demonstration that took place at the Thoughtful Spot. One of the cast members would speak to the narrator, looking directly into the camera, while they showed the viewers at home how to make something.

When the series first started out, the narrator was seen siting in a small library. As the series progressed, he is moved into a small playroom which eventually is seen having plush versions of Pooh and his friends.

The narrator's wicker

Wicker

Wicker is hard woven fiber formed into a rigid material, usually used for baskets or furniture. Wicker is often made of material of plant origin, but plastic fibers are also used....

 chair and book are both now displayed in the walk-in prop warehouse

Warehouse

A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...

 of the Studio Backlot Tour

Studio Backlot Tour

The Studio Backlot Tour is an attraction at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is a combination of a walking and tram tour of the backlot area of the park.-The queue area:...

 at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...

 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Lake Buena Vista is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being home to the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of two Florida municipalities controlled by The Walt Disney Company, the other being Bay Lake....

.

Holiday Specials

1. Pooh Corner Thanksgiving
   Thanksgiving
   Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
   
    (1983)
2. Christmas
   Christmas
   Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
   
    at Pooh Corner (1983)
3. Pooh's Funny Valentine's Day
   Valentine's Day
   Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
   
    (1984)
4. Because It's Halloween
   Halloween
   Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
   
    (1984)
5. Christmas Is For Sharing (1984)

Educational Specials

• Too Smart for Strangers - a 1985 TV special (which was also released to home video), where Pooh and his friends explain to people about strangers
  Stranger danger
  Stranger danger describes the danger to children presented by strangers. The phrase is intended to sum up the danger associated with adults who children do not know. The phrase has found widespread usage and many children will hear it during their childhood lives...
  
   and molestation and what to do.
• Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure - a ten-minute 16mm educational film
  Educational film
  An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
  
   produced in 1986, where the characters explain the importance of school bus
  School bus
  A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
  
   safety.
• One and Only You - a ten-minute 16mm educational film
  Educational film
  An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
  
   produced in 1989, where the characters explain about positive self-image and getting along with others.
• Responsible Persons - a ten-minute 16mm educational film
  Educational film
  An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
  
   produced in 1989, Pooh and friends demonstrate responsibility and promote interpersonal skills.

Voices

• Hal Smith
  Hal Smith (actor)
  Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
  
   - Winnie the Pooh and Owl
• Will Ryan
  Will Ryan
  Will Ryan is an American voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
  
   - Rabbit and Tigger
  Tigger
  Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
  
  
• Ron Gans
  Ron Gans
  Ronald Kenneth Gans , sometimes credited as Ron Kennedy, was an American voice-over artist and character actor, known for portraying Sebastian the alley cat on The Disney Channel's Dumbo's Circus and the voice of Eeyore on Welcome to Pooh Corner. He also voiced the Stunticon Drag Strip in The...
  
   - Eeyore
• Phil Baron
  Phil Baron
  Philip Mitchell Baron is an American voice actor, puppeteer and songwriter who voiced Piglet in the Disney Channel live-action/puppet television series Welcome to Pooh Corner...
  
   - Piglet
  Piglet (Winnie the Pooh)
  Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie-the-Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys/animals featured in the stories...
  
  
• Kim Christianson - Kanga
  Kanga
  Kanga is the name of a recurring fictional character in A. A. Milne's series of books about Winnie-the-Pooh. A female kangaroo, Kanga is Roo's mother and a good friend to Winnie-the-Pooh and all the other residents of the Hundred Acre Wood. She lives with Roo in a house near the Sandy Pit in the...
  
   and Roo
  Roo
  Roo is a fictional character created in 1926 by A. A. Milne and first featured in the book Winnie-the-Pooh. He is a young kangaroo and his mother is Kanga...
  
  
• Robin Frederick

Songs

The songs used in this series were written by Robert B.

Robert B. Sherman

Robert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...

 and Richard M. Sherman

Richard M. Sherman

Richard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....

, including the theme songs that represent each character:

• "Try a Little Something New
  Try a Little Something New
  "Try a Little Something New" is a song from the Welcome to Pooh Corner Cable TV series which premiered in 1983 on the Disney Channel . The song was written by the Academy Award winning songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.-Song placement:New episodes played from 1983-1986 in...
  
  " (Rabbit's Theme)
• "Just Say, 'Yes I Can'
  Just Say, 'Yes I Can'
  "Just Say, 'Yes I Can'" is a song from the Welcome to Pooh Corner Cable TV series which premiered in 1983 on the Disney Channel . The song was written by the Academy Award winning songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman...
  
  " (Eeyore's Theme)
• "You're the Only You
  You're the Only You
  "You're the Only You'" is a song from the Welcome to Pooh Corner Cable TV series which premiered in 1983 on the Disney Channel . The song was written by the Academy Award winning songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman...
  
  " (Tigger's Theme)
• "I Hum to Myself
  I Hum to Myself
  "I Hum to Myself" is a song from the Welcome to Pooh Corner Cable TV series which premiered in 1983 on the Disney Channel . The song was written by the Academy Award winning songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman...
  
  " (Piglet's Theme)
• "The Right Side
  The Right Side
  "The Right Side" is a song from the Welcome to Pooh Corner Cable TV series which premiered in 1983 on the Disney Channel . The song was written by the Academy Award winning songwriting duo Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman...
  
  " (Pooh's Theme; this song was originally written for Mary Poppins
  Mary Poppins
  Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
  
  , but it was not recorded.)
• "Responsible Persons" (Owl's Theme)
• "Be A Buddy, Be A Pal" (Tigger and Roo's Theme)
• "Please and Thank-You" (Pooh and Piglet's Theme)
• "Tiggers Go Up and Down" (Tigger's Theme)

"A Part of Me"

Sometimes, if an episode ended a few minutes early, a certain character would sing a song entitled "A Part of Me", which was written by one of the voice actors, Phil Baron

Phil Baron

Philip Mitchell Baron is an American voice actor, puppeteer and songwriter who voiced Piglet in the Disney Channel live-action/puppet television series Welcome to Pooh Corner...

. The song depicts the importance of a certain body part that each character was singing about:

• "Eyes" (Owl)
• "Ears
  EARS
  EARS may refer to:* Electoral software* Electronic Arts, Redwood Shores campus.* Emirates Amateur Radio Society...
  
  " (Pooh)
• "Feet
  Foot
  The foot is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of one or more segments or bones, generally including claws...
  
  " (Piglet)
• "Nose
  Nose
  Anatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes through the pharynx, shared with the...
  
  " (Tigger)
• "Mouth
  Mouth
  The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
  
  " (Eeyore)
• "Hands" (Rabbit)

Notable differences

Welcome to Pooh Corner differs from its other incarnations in a number of ways:

• Piglet always has on a scarf
  Scarf
  A scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.-History:...
  
   (or a muffler, as the narrator calls it). He also has a talent for music.
• Tigger is colored red with black stripes, and has a talent for art
  Art
  Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
  
  .
• Rabbit is a talented magician
  Magic (illusion)
  Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
  
  , aside from being a gardener.
• Eeyore has a talent for dancing. His house is made of wooden planks, complete with a door and weather vane
  Weather vane
  A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
  
  .
• Owl always has on glasses
  Glasses
  Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
  
  , and on several occasions, has on a pilot's cap and scarf when flying
  Flight
  Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
  
  . As Owl begins to take off, a sound of a plane's engine starting can be heard, followed by the take off. He also loves to cook
  Cooking
  Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
  
  .
• Roo's character originally was a toddler and would most often be sitting on something like Eeyore or Tigger's back, Kanga's pouch, or his high chair
  High chair
  A high chair is a piece of furniture used for feeding older babies and younger toddlers. The seat is raised a fair distance from the ground, so that a person of adult height may spoon-feed the child comfortably from a standing position. It often has a wide base to increase stability...
  
  . In later episodes, his character was portrayed as being more preschool-aged; he was then able to walk around in more scenes and was never in his mother's pouch. He also always wore a red shirt, but later a white collared shirt. (One Disney book actually depicted Roo wearing a red shirt.)

US releases

Six VHS tapes were released by Walt Disney Home Video in the mid-1980s for the then new video home rental market. Each tape contained four episodes.

• Volume One contains the episodes "You Need A Friend", "Doing What I Do Best", "The Pooh Scouts" and "Brighten Your Corner".
• Volume Two contains the episodes "Safety First", "Rabbit Learns to Share", "The Great Outdoors" and "Surprise, Surprise".
• Volume Three contains the episodes "Piglet Pride", "Roo's Great Adventure", "Eeyore Talks to Himself" and "Snow Falls On Pooh Corner".
• Volume Four contains the episodes "Hello, Hello There", "Practice Makes Perfect", "The Old Swimming Hole" and "Pooh Makes a Trade".
• Volume Five contains the episodes "A Bicycle Built for Five", "My Echo and I", "Pooh Learns to Remember" and "Wishing".
• Volume Six contains the episodes "Don't Quit", "Holiday for Pooh Bear", "Pooh Builds a Bee House" and "Piglet Lends a Helping Hand".

UK releases

The show was also released on VHS PAL in the UK as part of a six-volume set which also each featured an episode of Good Morning, Mickey!

Good Morning, Mickey!

Good Morning, Mickey! was a television series on Disney Channel beginning in 1983, which featured classic Disney shorts. Although Mickey Mouse shorts, without surprise, were the primary programming, additional cartoons featuring Goofy, Donald Duck, Chip 'n' Dale, Pluto, and others were also shown...

, Donald Duck Presents

Donald Duck Presents

Donald Duck Presents was a television series on the Disney Channel beginning in 1983, which featured classic Disney shorts. Although Donald Duck shorts were the primary programming, additional cartoons featuring Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Chip 'n Dale, Pluto and others were also shown. It was first aired...

, The Mouse Factory

The Mouse Factory

The Mouse Factory was a syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions, that ran from 1972 to 1974. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies and showed celebrity guests, including Johnny Brown, Charles Nelson Reilly, JoAnne Worley and many more, visiting the Disney...

and Mousercise

Mousercise

Mousercise is the title of several Disney productions:* A 1982 exercise album for children released by Disneyland Records, featuring various Disney songs....

. Each tape contained one episode of Welcome to Pooh Corner.

• Volume One contains the episode "Eeyore Joins the Band".
• Volume Two contains the episode "Spaghetti".
• Volume Three contains the episode "A Bicycle Built for Five".
• Volume Four contains the episode "Piglet's Slumber Party".
• Volume Five contains the episode "Eeyore's Costume Party".
• Volume Six contains the episode "Handyman Tigger".

DVD releases

• Disney Safety Hits Vol. 2 (Pooh's Great School Bus Adventure & Too Smart for Strangers)