Happy Anniversary, Mr. Saunders

This month marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Disney incarnation of A. A. Milne's beloved character, Winnie the Pooh.  The animated short subject Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree premiered in theaters on February 4, 1966.  From humble beginnings, an IP empire was born.  It was the only Disney-produced Winnie the Pooh film released in Walt's lifetime.

Surprisingly, unless you have an old school VHS machine or a laserdisc player, you cannot view Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in its original form.  In 1977, it was absorbed with Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too into the feature length The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  After VHS and laserdisc releases, those short subjects were essentially retired in favor of the longer compilation.