Welcome to Pooh Corner

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Welcome to Pooh Corner
Winnie-the-Pooh, as seen in an episode of Welcome to Pooh Corner.
Genre	Live-action/puppets
Running time	Approx. 0.30 per episode
Starring	Hal Smith Will Ryan Ron Gans Phil Baron
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	The Disney Channel
Original run	1983–1995
No. of episodes	120

Welcome to Pooh Corner was a live-action/puppet television series airing on The Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie-the-Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was usually a traditional puppet. Some children found the puppets odd, disturbing, and creepy.

Each show began with an introduction sequence with Laurie Main speaking to the audience. He would relate what he was talking about to an event that occurred in the Hundred Acre Wood, the home of the Pooh characters, and then he would proceed to read from a book entitled Welcome to Pooh Corner. He would then narrate the episode acted out by the characters. The action was filmed before a blue screen, rather than using traditional sets.

Since the show was designed for the Disney Channel before it began airing commercials, there were no breaks for commercials. As a result, the show lasted a full thirty minutes. The main story ran about twenty minutes followed by two shorter segments. The first segment was a music video featuring one of ten songs, used over and over throughout the show's run. These songs were written by the Academy Award winning Sherman Brothers who had provided the majority of the Winnie the Pooh music over the years.

The last segment of the show was a presentational arts and crafts demonstration. One of the cast members would speak to the narrator, looking directly into the camera, while they showed the viewers at home how to make something. In addition to normal episodes, several holiday episodes were also produced, along with a special Too Smart for Strangers, where Pooh and his friends explain to people what to do when they meet someone they don't know.

Dumbo's Circus, another Disney Channel live-action/puppet television series, was produced in a similar way, with actors in costumes in front of a blue screen.

The show's title derives from the second Winnie the Pooh storybook, The House at Pooh Corner.

Welcome to Pooh Corner began airing in 1983, and was removed from the channel when it began airing commercial breaks in 1996. As a result, the show's VHS releases have become hard to find.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

This was the first television series based on Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh franchise.
This series was hosted and narrated by Laurie Main.
There are no plans for a DVD Release.