Here's a Friday treat for animation fans, Keane fans* and fans of slightly trippy dreams about honey: it's the first trailer from Disney's Winnie The Pooh, due out next Spring.
The plot, to the extent that such a thing is necessary for Pooh and his friends, will involve such perennial favourites as Pooh quite fancying some honey, Eeyore's friends trying to find him a decent tail substitute and everyone getting entirely the wrong end of the stick about a note left by Christopher Robin and setting off on a mission to save him from an imaginary kidnapper. But really, who cares? It's all about Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore being adorable really.
This trailer, however, is a weird one: the Keane song is a bit too modern to feel Pooh-ish but also a little old to feel hip and up-to-date. The story feels hugely familiar and entirely in keeping with the Disney Pooh we all know (and indeed AA Milne's wonderful books) but then there are those rather trippy bits with all the honey. And then there's the fun of spotting the voice cast: that's Craig Ferguson as Owl; Pixar's awesome Bud Luckey as Eeyore and John Cleese as the narrator.
It's all headed our way from directors Stephen Anderson (Meet The Robinsons among others) and Don Hall (a story artist on The Princess and the Frog, among others). It will hit the UK on April 15, 2011 - but the US will have to wait until July 15, 2011, when it will open against Deathly Hallows: Part Two.
*The band, not legendary Disney animator Glen Keane. Who wasn't involved in this one to the best of our knowledge.
