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Pooh, the bear of very little brain, is 80 years old. The first story about him appeared in the London Evening News at Christmas 1925.

As Storynory listeners and readers know, we are objecting to Disney’s callous treatment of Pooh’s friend and mentor, Christopher Robin. They are giving him the axe from the TV show. So it is interesting to read on the BBC’s website the following:

Charlie Cain, head of brand management for Walt Disney’s Europe operation, puts the books continuing appeal down to Milne’s “pretty timeless” characters.

“Whenever we do research into the reasons why children enjoy Winnie the Pooh, it is always the characters and their relationships,” he says.

Odd then that Disney tampers with those relationships. Pooh and his “relationships” will live on in the books for another 80 years, and many more years after that. It’s Disney for whom we mourn. The once great company has lost Pooh, Christopher Robin, and the children’s story plot entirely.

I made the mistake of going to see Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, just before Christmas. Narnia is a winter wonder-land, obvioulsy illuminated by strong studio lights. The snow is made of polystyrene and the characters of wood. The Lion, apart from being a very boring, characterless lion, does not move like a cat, large or small. I thought the best performance was by the wardrobe.

Disney needs to re-discover the magic of storytelling. I am sure that one day it will do so, but there may be worse to come before it hits bottom.

By the way, Pooh is only slightly older than Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in 1928.