As a kid, one of my favorite movies was most definitely Winnie the Pooh.
I loved everything about it from the child perspective; the colors, the characters, and of course the stories it told. The other day I came across a quote from Eeyore, "It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine." Now as a child I never gave a second thought to why the characters acted the way they did, I merely assumed that was just how the story was written and that was that. It is not until I watch now, as an 18-year-old (I may legally be an adult, but I never miss an opportunity to indulge in a good classic from my childhood), that I see what could be the underlying meaning for each of the characters and their character traits.
Perhaps the characters were put together to represent the normal human emotions we feel every day. If you think about it, every problem that ever occurred on the show, could not be solved by any one single character, though they tried. It was a complete and total group effort. A lot like how if we as humans let one single emotion take over, nothing substantial can ever be accomplished.
Okay, but what are these emotions and how do the characters represent them?
Let's start with Eeyore because he inspired this all.
Eeyore
Eeyore is depressed. There is no fancy way to put it. He cannot seem to find the sunshine no matter how hard he may try. He represents the portion of depression that hides in each of us no matter how big or small.
Piglet
Piglet is afraid of anything and everything. To me, Piglet represents the anxiety we feel for all different things throughout life and the fear that results.
Rabbit
Rabbit likes to keep order and structure. He leans on rules to help him maintain that and attempts to keep the other characters in line. He represents our conscience that tells us whether what we are doing is right or wrong.
Owl
Owl is the brains of the One Hundred Acre Woods. He craves knowledge and is more than willing to share his findings with his friends. He represents the power each of us holds through knowledge.
Roo
Roo is just a small kangaroo whose innocence and no worries attitude represents the inner child in all of us, although some may not want to admit it.
Kanga
Kanga is the mother figure of not just Roo, but all of the characters in the Hundred Acre Woods. She takes care of them all, and helps them out of any trouble they may get into. She shows each and every one of them the love that is held in a mother's heart and the love that is can be found in all of our hearts.
Tigger
Tigger is carefree and always up for an adventure. Very little can bring him down from his positive outlook on life. He represents the part of us which aches for adventure and can turn any frown upside down.
Last but certainly not least,
Pooh
There are a countless number of ways I could describe Pooh that could very easily fit into my theory. However, I think the most prominent is Pooh's undying love. Whether it be for his friends or his honey, he would go to the ends of the Earth, or the woods in his case, for them. This represents the heart and soul I believe every human being has the potential to cultivate.
When you look at the characters separately, then put them together as one, I bet you will find all of the same traits you have. Some may be more prominent than others but together, they allow you to see an endless array of perspectives if you choose to open your eyes to them.
Maybe I am crazy and perhaps this was never the intention of the creators. However, one of the greatest blessings in life is the ability to find deeper and potentially different meanings in things than as they appear at first.
It is with this perspective that I encourage you all to explore the seemingly simple things in life, such as Winnie the Pooh, for you never know what you could find there.
