| Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day | |
| Director: | Fyodor Khitruk, Gennady Sokolsky |
| Starring: | Vladimir Osenev Yevgeny Leonov Iya Savvina Erast Garin Zinaida Naryshkina |
| Music: | Mieczysław Weinberg |
| Runtime: | 20 minutes |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
| Language: | Russian |
Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day (Russian: Винни-Пух и день забот|Vinni-Pukh i den zabot, or Winnie the Pooh and a Day of Troubles in the English dub title) is a 1972 animated short film by Soyuzmultfilm, directed by Fyodor Khitruk and Gennady Sokolsky. Based on the book series by A. A. Milne, it is the final part of a trilogy, following Winnie-the-Pooh (1969) and Winnie-the-Pooh Pays a Visit (1971). Twice longer than either of its predecessors, this installment is co-written by Khitruk and Boris Zakhoder, with prototype drawings created by Khitruk and Vladimir Zuikov.
Eeyore and Owl make their first appearance in the trilogy, while Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, and the narrator all return. (Rabbit appears only in the second installment.) Once they learn it's Eeyore's birthday, his friends attempt to mark the occasion.
In 1976 Khitruk was awarded the USSR State Prize for the Winnie-the-Pooh trilogy. The animation characters, as designed by Khitruk's team, are featured on the 1988 Soviet and 2012 Russian postal stamps; they are permanently painted on a public streetcar running through the Sokolniki Park, and their sculptures are installed in Ramenki District in Moscow.
When Khitruk visited the Disney Studios, Wolfgang Reitherman, the author of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day that won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, told him that he liked the Soviet version better than his own.