Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and DisneyToon Studios, animated by Toon City Animation, Inc., the film features characters from Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, based on the original characters from the A. A. Milne treasured books.
Plot[]
It is the day before Easter, and Roo, Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore head to Rabbit's house for a practice Easter egg hunt. However, much to their surprise, Rabbit has organized a "Spring cleaning day" instead. He orders the gang to clean his house while he tidies up in his garden. Initially dejected, the gang, not wanting to let Rabbit down, proceed to carry out Rabbit's orders. While dusting, Pooh sneezes violently, cluttering the house. A large trunk falls out of Rabbit's closet, revealing Easter eggs and decorations - including his old "Easter Bunny Hat". Assuming Rabbit had forgotten about Easter, the gang decide to surprise Rabbit by decorating the house. Furious at his friends for disobeying him, Rabbit throws them out and tramples his hat in the process.
Tigger returns to Rabbit's house and tries to persuade him, but Rabbit refuses and declares that the Hundred Acre Wood will never celebrate Easter again. Tigger and the narrator tell Rabbit that he used to love Easter, but Rabbit does not believe them, so Tigger takes him back through the book to last year's Easter celebration.
In the flashback, the gang prepare for Easter, painting Easter eggs and making decorations. Rabbit wants everything to be as organized and orderly as possible, treating Easter as a professional occasion rather than a fun holiday. The others grow tired of Rabbit's bossiness and, under Tigger's suggestion, sneak off with the Easter eggs. Rabbit goes after them and finds them having the Easter egg hunt without him, with the gang agreeing that Tigger is "the best Easter Bunny ever". Overhearing this, Rabbit sadly leaves.
Outside the book, Rabbit admits to Tigger that he did once look forward to being the Easter Bunny, but his exclusion the previous year made him feel unwanted. Tigger says that it was not his intention to leave him out, but Rabbit, still bitter, continues to refuse the Hundred Acre Wood Easter. Tigger returns to the present and delivers the bad news, while Rabbit makes his way back home. The narrator purposely stops on the wrong page, at Roo's house, where Roo says he wishes he could make things up to Rabbit. Rabbit remains unswayed and returns home. He puts away Piglet's pink Easter basket, Pooh's honey pot, Eeyore's bunny ears and Tigger's striped Easter egg in the trunk before going to sleep, much to the narrator's frustration.
The narrator wakes Rabbit up, startling him by speaking in a ghost-like voice, before transporting him forward in time to "unwritten pages of the book" - the future of the Hundred Acre Wood. On one page, it is Spring Cleaning Day and everything is organized exactly as Rabbit wants. Initially delighted, he asks where everyone is, thinking that they're late, but the narrator says they all moved away. Refusing to believe this, Rabbit tries to find them but realizes that the narrator was right when he discovers that their homes are empty. This lead him to regret his terrible behavior towards his friends, but the narrator claims that he certainly "didn't treat them like friends", annoying him. He proves this by showing Rabbit how badly he spoke to them, claiming that he cared only about himself. Denying this at first, Rabbit finally realizes how his actions affected his friends and tries to correct his mistakes. He runs back to his house intent on having Easter, but finds that their things have gone with them.
Rabbit then wakes up on Easter morning and finds himself back in the present, overjoyed to realize he still has a chance to change the future when he sees the Easter supplies are back in the box. Now "giddy as a jackrabbit" he immediately begins to plan the grandest Easter the Hundred Acre Wood has ever had.
At the same time, Roo and the others, unaware that Rabbit has changed, come up with another idea in hopes of cheering Rabbit up. While they are busy working, Rabbit - pretending to still be grouchy - interrupts them, but their fears fade when he surprises them with their Easter decorations, along with a new bunny tail for Eeyore. Rabbit shows them the celebration he prepared and reveals his change of heart, which everyone is very happy to see - especially Roo, who gives Rabbit a surprise of his own: his Easter Bunny hat, now repaired.
The story ends with the annual Easter celebration proceeding as planned, and Roo popping out of the book for a bit saying, "BBFN, Bye-Bye For Now!"
Cast[]
- Ken Sansom as Rabbit
- Jimmy Bennett as Roo
- Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
- John Fiedler as Piglet
- Peter Cullen as Eeyore
- Kath Soucie as Kanga
- David Ogden Stiers as The Narrator