What was the first Disney animated short featuring Winnie the Pooh?
Answer
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
The first Disney animated short featuring Winnie the Pooh was Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
Released in 1966, the 26-minute featurette was Disney’s first animated film based on A. A. Milne’s Pooh stories. It adapts material mainly from the first two chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh, including Pooh’s attempt to reach honey from a beehive and his visit to Rabbit’s house.
Walt Disney had acquired the film rights in 1961. Rather than begin with a full-length feature, Disney chose to introduce the characters through a shorter theatrical production. Wolfgang Reitherman directed it, Sebastian Cabot narrated it, and Sterling Holloway supplied Pooh’s voice. The Sherman Brothers wrote its songs.
A common mix-up is naming The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, released in 1977. That is the later compilation film containing Honey Tree and two subsequent featurettes: Blustery Day and Tigger Too. Honey Tree itself premiered on February 4, 1966.