The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Cleanliness Is Next to Impossible (1988–1991) Online

As a fan of Winnie the Pooh, 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' was always one of my favourite shows as a child. Not all childhood favourites have held up, but 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is one of the strongest examples of those that have.

While the original three 60s-70s short films ('Honey Tree', 'Blustery Day' and 'Tigger Too') and the 1977 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' are just a little better, 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' is one of the Winnie the Pooh franchise's high points. Even though it scared me as a kid, scaring me more than any other episode of the show, "Cleanliness is Next to Impossible" has always been a favourite. An episode so dark and creepy for a light-hearted, cheerful, humorous and upbeat show should have been out of place and stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was a really interesting change of pace done incredibly well.

The animation is very bright, well drawn and colourful, everything looking lush, detailed and smooth. It also has a darker look than most other episodes, and it really added to the nightmarish atmosphere of the world under the bed. The music is playfully jaunty and beautifully orchestrated, enhancing scarier moments with hauntingly urgent and eerie scoring, sadder moments with poignant and particularly lush and emotional scoring and the more playful moments with a jaunty touch. The theme tune is very rousing and one of the catchiest theme songs of any animated show of the late 80s, while the "Under the Bed" song while brief is fun.

Writing has a perfect mix of whimsy, drollness, wit, charm and childhood innocence, Tigger's "Now I know how a sardine feels" is a very funny line that gives the episode a moment of humorous levity while Christopher Robin and Crud have some great lines too. The story is exciting and adeptly paced with a genuinely scary atmosphere, not just in the under the bed world but also an usually intense opening sequence. Certainly makes one be more vigilant about cleaning up after themselves.

Once again the characters carry the episode without problem. Pooh, Piglet and Tigger are true to character and give the usual humour and heart, while one has to admire Christopher Robin's loyalty and bravery and along with Kessie in "Find Her Keep Her" and Nasty Jack in "Paw and Order" Crud (a rare villain in the show) is one of 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh's' most unforgettable supporting characters. The voice acting is excellent, as good as Paul Winchell and John Fiedler are the episode's best voice acting has to belong to a simply brilliant Jim Cummings as sinister and genuinely frightening Crud.

In conclusion, the scariest episode of 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' but also one of the best. 10/10 Bethany Cox