Figure 1.--This is a illustration of Christopher Robin from "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree". It was one of the popular Little Golden Books". The illustrations were clearly done by Disney. It was published in 1994. |
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Christopher Robin as depictd by Shepard in the beloved A.A. Milne books almost always wore strap shoes called Mary Janes in the United States. Walt Disney purchased the rights to the character in 1964 intending to keep Christopher a Brit. Disney 1960s Pooh features gave Christopher a British accent, and always kept him in his single bar strap shoes and white socks unless it was snowing, in which case I think he wore skates. Disney in the 1980s under direction of ABC TV attempted to "Americanize" him for a Saturday morning cartoon series. The major change was to replace his strap shoes with American red sneakers. An interesting questin is wether such actions actually improve ratings among children. I am not sure if that question has ever been addressed. Television producers clearly beleve it be the case. We have, however not seen actual emperical evidence,
There is good news for literary purists. After caving in to pressure from ABC in the 1980s resulting in American red sneakers for Christopher Robin, Disney studios released a new set of Winnie the Pooh kids' books with Christopher back in his traditional strap shoes. We are not sure when this was done, pergaps the early 90s. These books, designed to be sold in grocery stores in sets of 18 volumes, are titled "Lessons from the Hundred Acre Wood". The biggest lesson will be to the general public that srap shoes are just as appropriate for boys as they are for girls! A new special Disney Halloween edition Pooh paperback has Christopher Robin in a devil cape costume along with red Mary Janes (199?). This was another sign that the Disney animators have returned to the original and given Christopher Robin his traditional alternative to those ABC-enforced sneakers. A new Disney video about Tigger was released (199?). Reports say Christopher Robin does NOT appear in it. What a shame! The last video (Search for....) had Christopher in the red sneakers (199?).
Christopher Robin as depictd by Ernest Shepard in the beloved A.A. Milne books. Sherard's illustrations are some of the most beloved children's illustrations of all time. Shepard almost always depicted Christopher wearing strap shoes called Mary Janes in the United States. The illustrations faithfully reproduced what Milne's son Christopher actually wore, although used only a few of his garments.
Walt Disney purchased the rights to the character in 1964 intending to keep Christopher a Brit. Disney 1960s Pooh features gave Christopher a British accent, and always kept him in his single bar strap shoes and white socks unless it was snowing, in which case I think he wore skates. Apparently, Disney himself had no problem with strap shoes in his earlier illustrations. Pinocchio also wore strap shoes if I remember correctly.
Disney in the 1980s under direction of ABC TV attempted to "Americanize" Christopher Robin for a Saturday morning cartoon series. Actually tis might also be viewed as a chronological update with mpre modern clothing. The major change was to replace Christopher's his strap shoes with American red sneakers. An interesting question is wether such actions actually improve ratings among children. I am not sure if that question has ever been addressed. Television producers clearly beleve it be the case. We have, however not seen actual emperical evidence.
There is good news for literary purists. After caving in to pressure from ABC in the 1980s resulting in American red sneakers for Christopher Robin, Disney studios released a new set of Winnie the Pooh kids' books with Christopher back in his traditional strap shoes. We are not sure when this was done, pergaps the early 90s. These books, designed to be sold in grocery stores in sets of 18 volumes, are titled "Lessons from the Hundred Acre Wood". The biggest lesson will be to the general public that srap shoes are just as appropriate for boys as they are for girls!
In Disney's "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" adapted by Mary Packarfd, a Golden Book (101-63) shows Christopher wearing strap shoes (figure 1). The book was published in 1994. This may be part of the Hundred Acre Wood series, but we are not yet sure about this.
A reader writes, "Last weekend I was at an antique store and saw an illustration of him in sneakers in 1991." We are not sure what edition was involved here.
A special Disney Halloween edition Pooh paperback has Christopher Robin in a devil cape costume along with red Mary Janes (199?). This was another sign that the Disney animators have returned to the original and given Christopher Robin his traditional alternative to those ABC-enforced sneakers. A new Disney video about Tigger was released (199?). Reports say Christopher Robin does NOT appear in it. What a shame! The last video (Search for....) had Christopher in the red sneakers (199?).
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