Product Review

Endearing Eeyore takes center stage in this compilation of four heartwarming tales focusing on friendship and Valentine's Day. This Book of Pooh entry, with its lifelike puppetry and computer-animated set, is Disney's commendable salute to A.A. Milne's Hundred Acre Wood stories. Rather than the frenzied cartoons of the Playtime series, these stories are gently paced and self-deprecating, with subtle humor reminiscent of the British author's original characters. "Mr. Narrator," for example, describes a day in the life of Pooh and pals when nothing happens at all. Faced with the problematic notion of an "unstory," they ask the narrator to invent one, with comical results. In the program's title segment, everyone receives a Valentine except Eeyore, so Piglet attempts to remedy the oversight with surprises for all. "Beastly Burden" has Eeyore pondering his existence. If Tiggers bounce and Pooh-Bears eat honey, what do Eeyores do best? The answer comes from an unlikely source and is as delightful as the six original songs interspersing the 45- minute program. --Lynn Gibson