“Walt was on our shoulders while we were writing the score for this film,” said Richard Sherman of The Tigger Movie when discussing the film in a 2000 interview. “We feel as if, in a sense, Walt produced this film spiritually.”
In addition to tunes from the legendary Disney music magicians Robert and Richard Sherman, who crafted indelible songs for such classics as Mary Poppins (1964) and The Jungle Book (1967), among many others, there is much about The Tigger Movie that connects to Walt Disney and his rich legacy.
Author A.A. Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories came to Walt’s attention thanks to his daughter, Diane, who would read them as a child. The first short subject the books inspired was Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree, released on February 4, 1966. It would end up being the last short subject that Walt was involved with, as he passed away that December.
The Winnie-the-Pooh shorts produced by the Studio would be compiled into a feature, 1977’s The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, which would be the last full-length feature to star the characters until The Tigger Movie debuted on February 11, 2000.
Tigger in his theme song, “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers,” always boasted that he was the only one. But, in this movie that bears his name, he searches for his family, seeing if there are other Tiggers in the world.
After wreaking havoc that causes Eeyore to lose his house and a failed attempt to fix that, an embarrassed Tigger heads off, with his pal Roo by his side, to see if he can find his family tree. When Pooh and the gang try to help by crafting a fake letter that is supposed to be written by Tigger’s family, things backfire as Tigger begins to plan a family reunion, and the friends who penned the letter try to make things right.
The Tigger Movie was initially slated to be a direct-to-video release, but then CEO Michael Eisner decided that the film should go to theatres after hearing The Sherman Brothers songs.
The songs included a new version of “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers,” as well as the lively “Round My Family Tree,” and the heartfelt ballad “Your Heart Will Lead You Home,” which is performed over the ending credits by Kenny Loggins.
“That song is so special and so dear,” said Bambi Moé, author of the book Part of the Magic: A Collection of Disney-inspired Brushes with Greatness, who served as the executive in charge of music production for The Tigger Movie. She noted, “The characters in Winnie-the-Pooh represent all of our humanity and our frailties. It was such a special project, but how can you not feel that way when working with the Sherman Brothers.”
“You have to have a purpose for a song, whether it’s for an animated character or a human character,” said Robert Sherman in 2000 when discussing the songwriting process. “Your sensitivity is based on your experiences. When you’re writing a song, your sensitivity and your experiences dictate how you think and how you write.”
“Bob and I don’t like to be anachronistic,” added Richard during the same interview. “We like to write in the period and the world that the song is emanating from. So, if it’s a British song, it’s going to have to have a British flavor; if it’s a French song, it’s going to have a French flavor; and if it’s a Winnie-The-Pooh song, it’s going to have to have a Hundred Acre Wood flavor.”
Helping to bring the Hundred Acre Wood to life in The Tigger Movie was a voice cast that included the legendary Jim Cummings as Tigger and Pooh. Cummings replaced the original voice of Tigger and another legend, Paul Winchell.
Director Jun Falkenstein and producer Cheryl Abood
The cast also included John Fiedler as Piglet, Peter Cullen as Eeyore, Kath Soucie as Kanga, Andre Stojka as Owl, Ken Samson as Rabbit, Nikita Hopkins as Roo, Tom Attenborough as Christopher Robin and John Hurt as the Narrator.
At the helm of The Tigger Movie was director Jun Falkenstein, who made her feature debut with the film. She and her team of artists do an admiral job of bringing the world of the Hundred Acre Wood to life with an autumn and winter setting, allowing it to look consistent with the Studio’s previous Pooh efforts.
There are also nice character moments, particularly Tigger and Roo’s brotherly relationship, and some creative animation, especially in the song “Round My Family Tree,” which shows us Tiggers through time and in pop culture.
The Tigger Movie, celebrating its 25th anniversary, also offers solid messages about the value of friendship and how friends become family. The film really is about your heart leading you home in more ways than one. Richard Sherman noted this just before the film’s release, saying, “Bob and I cut our eye teeth in the motion picture music business with Walt Disney. He was our mentor once we graduated from popular songwriting. For over ten years, we wrote almost everything exclusively for Walt Disney Productions, and this film was like a homecoming.”
