In a multiplex crammed with bad teachers, horrible bosses and Michael Bay robot farts, it's a pleasure to sink into an animated family movie from Disney that radiates charm with a gentleness that seems damn near revolutionary. The classic characters that A.A. Milne created for his series of Winnie the Pooh stories have a hand-drawn appeal that carries over beautifully to the movie. There's Pooh, a stuffed bear belonging to one Christopher Robin, starting a brand new day in the English countryside by trying to find food (of course) and then help his donkey friend Eeyore find his misplaced tail. Not enough plot there to stock a Harry Potter trailer. But that's part of what I like about this watercolored honey of a movie. There's not an ounce of pushiness in its remarkably short running time (69 minutes — what!). The voice work, from the sunshine vocals of Zooey Deschanel to the narration of John Cleese, is a match for the artful animation. Jim Cummings, filling in for the late, great Sterling Holloway, has Pooh's voice down to perfection. And cheers to Craig Ferguson for getting in his own fun licks as Owl. OK, the plot doesn't really thicken or even come close. But only those of very little brain (less than Pooh's, that's for sure) would fail to appreciate the subtle magic brewing here. Lovely. Just lovely.

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“Ambling Alp”

The "Ambling Alp" was the nickname of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall Primo Carnera. Though the song is named after the Italian-born 1930s heavyweight champion, Yeasayer are actually paying tribute to boxing legend Joe Louis with this first-person psychedelic dance-rock tune. “I was always interested in writing a song that had boxing mythology in it,” Yeasayer’s Chris Keating said. “It’s pretty fascinating: There were so many amazing characters, and it was so closely entwined with 20th century history.” Yeaseyer also invokes German champ Max Schmeling and hints at the historical significance placed on the historic bouts between the Nazi-era boxer and the African-American Louis.