Hey All!
I can’t tell you enough how much I love Winnie the Pooh! He’s the Pooh bear! I’m so happy Disney is making a brand new movie for this lovable character! And actress Zooey Deschanel is going to be a part of it.
Heās a bear of very little brain. Sheās half of the acclaimed band She & Him. This year, they come together on the big screen in āWinnie the Pooh,ā which hits theatres on July 15, 2011. Actress/Musician/Singer/Songwriter Zooey Deschanel (āAlmost Famous,ā ā(500) Days of Summerā) joins Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, performing three songs for the film, including her own take on the classic āWinnie the Poohā theme song, āA Very Important Thing to Doā and the original end-credit song āSo Long,ā which was written by Deschanel and performed with She & Him bandmate M. Ward.
āThis has been one of the most fun experiences Iāve ever had,ā says Deschanel. āAnd Iāve just been thanking my lucky stars that I was able to work on this movie, because itās delightful.ā
Filmmakers were drawn to Deschanelās signature style. āShe was the perfect choice to do the āWinnie the Poohā songāa classic theme from the Sherman Brothers,ā says director Don Hall. āHer music actually embodies the underlying spirit of the movie. Weāre taking something that has vintage roots in the sixties, but spinning it in our own way and updating it. If you listen to Zooeyās music with She & Himāthatās their sound to a tee.ā
Adds director Stephen Anderson, āItās a perfect way to start the movie, letting the audience know right off the bat that this is Winnie the Pooh like you know him, but itās something for today. We wanted to keep the same charm as the original, but give it a fresh spin, a contemporary feel, and she opens the movie with so much freshness, so much energy.ā
āItās always fun to have a contemporary artist rediscover a classic and thatās exactly what Zooey did,ā says producer Peter Del Vecho. āShe brought her own personality to the songāwhen she sings about introducing the individual characters, itās as though sheās known them her whole lifeāand she has.ā
āIām a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and all his friends,ā says Deschanel, who also plays the ukulele in the song. āItās really hard to pick a favorite: Winnie the Pooh is so special, he loves honey and heās just cool. Eeyore is amazing, I love Eeyore. And Piglet is so small. Itās really a four-way tie between Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger.ā
Among the songs Deschanel performed for the film is āA Very Important Thing to Doāāa song that helps illustrate the contest the friends from the Hundred Acre Wood take on to find Eeyore a new tail. She also lent her voice to āEverything is Honeyā and āPoohās Finale,ā joining Jim Cummings (the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger), Tony AwardĀ®-winning songwriter Robert Lopez (āAvenue Qā) and other cast members.
For the end-credit song, Deschanel teamed up with Ward to perform āSo Long,ā a song Deschanel wrote. āWhen I was writing āSo Long,ā I just held the images for the end credits in my mind,ā she says. āI spent a number of days tinkering with ideas, melodies and chord progressions that I thought would fit the images, the new music being written and the original Sherman Brothers stuff– but still be my own thing. The song definitely has its own feel, but also pays respect to the original.ā
Deschanel plays piano for āSo Longā and turned to the instrument when it came time to write the song. āI usually write on piano because that’s the first instrument that I learned when I was a little kid,ā she says. āAll of my musical theory knowledge is in linear piano form.ā
Her heart, however, is in the vocals. āIām always thinking in terms of vocals, and arranging a fabric of vocals is the most exciting part. I love to sing backup partsāI always try to squeeze in as many as possible,ā she says. āItās fun; itās my style.ā
Deschanelās songs, plus the Sherman Brothers classic and a host of original songs by Robert Lopez and wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez (āThe Wonder Petsā), as well as original score from composer Henry Jackman (āThe Da Vinci Code,ā āPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Manās Chestā), will be included on the āWinnie the Poohā soundtrack (available Spring 2011 in select international markets, and in the U.S. on July 12, 2011) from Walt Disney Records.
I think this is going to be a beautiful movie to see and hear when it comes out! I highly recommend you check it out as well.
***Disclosure: I was not compensated or paid in any way for this post. All opinions are my own.***
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