We’ve been watching a lot of Winnie the Pooh at our house lately. Santa brought the new movie to Chester for Christmas and it is delightful. It makes Chester giggle uncontrollably, which makes me happier than I ever imagined I could be. All week, I’ve been humming and silently singing, “Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, tubby little buddy all stuffed with fluff, he’s Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, willy nilly silly ol’ bear.” You’d think it would be annoying to have the Winnie the Pooh song on a constant loop in your head, but amazingly it’s not. I can’t be in a bad mood or get too upset about anything with the line “willy nilly silly ol’ bear” running through my mind, and believe me when I tell you that has come in quite handy this week.
It occurred to me a few mornings ago that Winnie the Pooh is sort of the original Toy Story. When the first Toy Story movie came out and rocketed Pixar into mega-super-domination of the animation world, I remember thinking what a great and unique idea it was to base a story on the toys in a child’s room coming to life. I certainly mean no disrespect for Pixar or the Toy Story franchise (I’m a huge fan), but I guess the concept wasn’t really all that new. Chester was watching Winnie the Pooh as I was getting breakfast ready and I was enjoying overhearing the part where Balloon (the red balloon that lives in Christopher Robin’s room) wins the prize for finding a new tail for Eeyore. Rabbit presents the award with a monologue about what a loyal, wonderful friend the winner is. He gets Pooh’s hopes up before excitedly announcing that Balloon wins the pot of honey – much to Pooh’s chagrin. The stuffed animals treat Balloon as an equal member of their Hundred Acre Wood community and why shouldn’t they? He is, like all of them, a beloved toy in Christopher Robin’s room.
I loved Winnie the Pooh as a child and cherished my own stuffed animal versions of the characters that my mom sewed herself. My old Kanga and Roo currently watch over Chester’s room from prime real estate on his dresser and my favorite, Eeyore greets me (gloomily, of course) every day from atop the armoire in my closet. I find it fascinating that the Pooh characters are still so relevant these many years later (A. A. Milne’s first book of short stories about Pooh Bear was released in 1926) and resonate as much (if slightly differently) with me as an adult as they did when I was a kid.
My beloved stuffed Eeyore.
A. A. Milne’s characters masterfully depict common human character traits. I’m certainly not the first person (nor the most articulate) to notice and write about that. The humble little bear and his friends have been used by many authors and academics to illustrate complex philosophical ideas. Benjamin Hoff explains Taoism in The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet. Frederick Crews retold Pooh stories in obscure academic jargon in Postmodern Pooh and The Pooh Perplex, and John T. Williams uses Milne’s characters to illustrate the works of philosophers including Descartes, Kant, Plato and Nietzsche.
I’m a big believer that, as human beings, our weaknesses can also be our strengths and vice versa. I remind myself of this whenever Chester is being stubborn and argumentative and a general pain in my ass. I take a deep breath and think to myself “This kid will never be anybody’s doormat. He’s going to be persistent and tenacious and will always stand up for what he believes in.” The Hundred Acre Wood characters are so meaningful to generations of people of all ages partly because they beautifully illustrate the somewhat strange but true dynamic that our strengths and weaknesses can be, and often are, one and the same.
Winnie the Pooh is a loyal friend with a pure heart. Unfortunately, he often underestimates himself. Despite being “a bear of very little brain,” he is frequently quite astute and makes great efforts to utilize his limited smarts. Christopher Robin summarizes Pooh well when he eloquently and lovingly reminds him, "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Eeyore is gray in color with an outlook to match. He is intelligent, but his melancholy mood and cynical wit keep him complaining constantly. He is somewhat of a loner in the forest, often getting left behind, assuming no one wants him around or simply preferring some peace and quiet. Despite his gloomy nature, Eeyore values his friends and, while he certainly never expects kindness or takes favors for granted, he truly appreciates the goodness extended to him.
Piglet is small in stature and timid. He tends to mistake fear for lack of courage. "It is hard to be brave when you're only a Very Small Animal," he says. Piglet’s strengths are kindness, compassion and generosity.
Rabbit is the bossy one of the bunch. He is high strung and strives to create order, as evidenced by his dedication to perfecting his garden, as well as his tendency to make lists, create agendas and generally order the rest of the characters around. Rabbit is clever and knows how to get things done.
Tigger is exuberant; perhaps overly so. He loves nothing more than to bounce – sometimes he bounces his friends in greeting, sometimes on accident, but he always wreaks havoc. He is boastful and overestimates his abilities. Despite his annoying traits, Tigger is so fun-loving and sweet, he is hard not to love. As he is fond of saying, “The wonderful thing about Tiggers is I’m the only one!”
Owl is brainy and immerses himself in intellectual pursuits such as knowing and spelling long words. He can be impatient with the less intelligent characters and often bores them with long-winded stories. While Owl is genuinely smart, he isn’t necessarily as knowledgeable as he leads the others to believe. He occasionally bluffs his way through lack of expertise to maintain his reputation of being wise.
Kanga is the only female of the forest’s core characters and gets along well with everyone. She is nurturing, practical, level-headed and motherly.
Roo is the youngest forest resident. He has the cheerful, optimistic outlook of a child, with an untarnished belief in himself and the world around him. He is bright and brave, but can be a bit of a show-off in his efforts to win praise from his mother and friends.
Milne’s characters have been so beloved, for so long because we all see a little of each of them, in varying degrees, in ourselves. In fact, a quick internet search turned up all sorts of sites that offer descriptions of the characters’ personalities and at least half a dozen “Which Winnie the Pooh character are you?” quizzes. I took a few of the quizzes and interestingly, but not so surprisingly to me, came up with a different character each time. My guess is that it would be difficult for most people to choose only ONE character that represents them. The beauty of Winnie the Pooh is that we can identify with all of them.
A dear friend and colleague of mine had a great product idea based on this concept: Pooh Totems. Totems are usually an animal or other natural figure that spiritually characterizes a person or group of people. In this case, the animals would be Pooh characters and people could construct their own, unique “totem pole” of the characters that represent them best. The objects themselves could take a variety of forms. The characters could be plastic – like pop beads for kids or rendered from precious metals and made into some sort of jewelry concept. They could be key chains or paperweights or any number of things, and they would be appealing to all ages, because honestly, who (besides someone really evil) doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh?
So, for example, my Pooh Totem is Eeyore-Pooh-Rabbit. I’m cynical on the surface, but ultimately believe in the goodness of people and the world. I’m intensely loyal to and have unwavering confidence in my family and friends, but almost always underestimate my own abilities. I’m nothing if not organized. I could easily give Rabbit a run for his money in the creation of lists department, and while I undoubtedly drive a lot of people crazy in the process, I absolutely get things done.
It’s fun and even somewhat addictive to contemplate what the Pooh Totems of friends and family would be. I’m pegging my husband’s Pooh Totem as Pooh-Roo-Piglet (the compassionate part of Piglet, not the small in stature part), with a touch of Eeyore. My five-year-old son is Tigger-Rabbit-Roo (mostly Tigger at this age!)
I’ve even amused myself in particularly boring meetings or kept myself calm in contentious ones by mapping the Pooh Totems of my colleagues. As annoying as that naysayer is, it’s somehow easier to tolerate when I imagine them as a Piglet who finds it hard to be brave. Who hasn’t come across know-it-all Owl types who use meetings and projects as vehicles to create a perception that they are a whole lot smarter than they actually are? And there always seems to be a Tigger – that person who operates with such a lack of finesse and utter disregard for policy, hierarchy and general professionalism that they leave a trail (or a conference room, as the case may be) full of people who literally feel like they’ve been bounced upon. When I want to strangle these people, I try to see them as good-natured Tiggers who are simply unable to contain their enthusiasm.
See how fun and useful Pooh Totems are! Give it a try . . . which Pooh are you?
Christopher Robin's "Winnie-the-Pooh Character Guide". Winnie-the-Pooh FAQ. http://www.lavasurfer.com/pooh-faq.html. (January 6, 2012).
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