On the off chance that you are not one of the zillions hoarding tickets for the global Harry Potter send-off or a parent jonesing for the Winnie the Pooh nostalgia fix that's safe for your kids' consumption as well, you might have a difficult time sorting out suitable new viewing this weekend. But we may have found your thing -- especially for Pooh enthusiasts looking to save a few bucks.
Check out "Vinnie Pukh," a Soviet-era, Russian-language adaptation of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh stories. Pretty much all the characters are here, though "Vinnie" himself looks more akin to a stunted brown bear who might trundle out of a Russian forest than the plump, honey-chasing Bear of Very Little Brain with whom Americans of the Disney persuasion are more familiar. And beautiful as the hand-drawn illustrations of the West can be, there's something intoxicating about the styles on display here -- "the sensation that you are actually watching animated characters walk around the illustrated landscape of a children's book," to borrow the description of Salon's Drew Grant (to whom we're indebted for the referral).
All three available episodes are below; the last one is a two-parter. Also: OMG Eeyore. (Click "CC" on the videos for English subtitles.)