Heffalump: Ein neuer Freund für Winnie Puuh

This movie was the perfect first movie to bring our 3 and a half yr old daughter! It had a wonderful lesson for all of us: don't be judgmental about things we don't yet know.

There is a most tender moment between Roo and Kanga, which is coupled with a heartbreakingly sweet song, sung mostly by Carly Simon. (We bought the CD and it gets a lot of playtime.) Little Roo was courageous and wise - even seeking his parent's help when he couldn't solve a serious problem on his own. Pooh and the gang are featured throughout but are not the 'stars'. Roo plays a charming character growing up just a little bit, and my daughter related to him very well.

NOTE, however, there is a scene that can be seen as a little scary for little ones. My daughter ended up sitting on my husband's lap for security about half way through the film, and stayed there through the end. Afterwards we talked about it a little bit and she hasn't had any bad dreams that we know of. All in all, a new generation of Hundred Acre Wood movies has begun, and so has a new fan base! SEE IT!

Awakening to hear the trumpeting of a Heffalump in the distance, Pooh (Jim Cummings), Piglet (John Fielder), Rabbit (Ken Sansom), Tigger (Cummings) and Eeyore (Peter Cullen) decide they should venture into Heffalump Hollow to investigate and capture one of the beasts. When Roo (Nikita Hopkins) learns he can't come along--even though he was the only one who thought of bringing something practical, a rope, on the "expoohdition"--he leaves on his own, and begins a grand adventure.

Originally slated as a direct-to-video release, Pooh's Heffalump Movie provides rewarding theatrical fare for children and adults alike. Although the animation isn't quite as intricately stylized as some Pooh tales, it is still quality work, and the story is very entertaining, with a slightly surprising and thinly veiled message.

Any Pooh fan will know that Heffalumps originally arose as dream material in Pooh's head--Heffalumps and Woozles were nightmare creatures (inspired by a mispronunciation of "elephants" and "weasels"), who were insanely wacky and out to steal Pooh's Hunny. In Pooh's Heffalump Movie (which is really more of a Roo tale, ala the Tigger tale of The Tigger Movie (2000) or Piglet's turn in Piglet's Big Movie (2003)), we get real Heffalumps, living in an area adjacent to the 100-Acre Wood called Heffalump Hollow. They're the Pooh gang's Other--imagined as having all of the negative qualities absent in the Pooh gang's image of Self.

The journey to seek out and capture a Heffalump involves crossing borders (a fence), passing over abyss-like ravines, crossing water barriers (rivers) and so on. It's a symbolic trip to a foreign, alien world, where unpleasant strangers live. Roo, the most innocent of Pooh's gang, is the first to encounter a Heffalump, and he learns that the Heffalump has a similarly negative depiction of the Other--an equally negative view of Pooh and our friends from the 100-Acre Wood. Both gradually come to terms with their misleading conceptions. The message of the film is to not "dehumanize" or "demonize" the Other--that the Other is probably someone not that different from you and I. Perhaps it's a surprisingly political message for a Pooh story, but it's valuable nonetheless, and easily meshes stylistically with the Pooh universe. It's interesting that director Frank Nissen chose to voice the principal Heffalumpian Other seen in the film, Lumpy (Kyle Sanger), with a British accent. It could have easily worked with an American accent like the other Pooh characters. The British accent is both more daring than we might expect (making the political distancing of the Other more obvious) and less controversial than we might expect (British culture being the closest one can come to American culture yet retain a distinct, recognizable accent).

Of course, kids aren't going to analyze the film in that way. For them, this is a fun adventure story, with moments of slight suspense and even slight scares (nothing that toddlers couldn't handle, though), where two like-minded creatures meet and become great friends. There are a lot of funny bits in the film, and the new characters are just as cute and likable as anyone else in the Pooh universe; I hope we see more of them in the future. There is a wonderful series of gags over the end credits featuring Lumpy in some of the better-known Pooh adventures. The songs by Carly Simon in the film are good, particularly when Carly sings them.

Now, bring us our Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, and Gopher films!

All in all, this is a movie for kids. We saw it tonight and my child loved it. At one point my kid's excitement was so great that sitting was impossible. However, I am a great fan of A.A. Milne's books which are very subtle and hide a wry intelligence behind the childlike quality of its leading characters. This film was not subtle. It seems a shame that Disney cannot see the benefit of making movies from more of the stories contained in those pages, although perhaps, it doesn't have the permission to use them. I found myself wishing the theater was replaying "Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger too", instead. The characters voices were very good. I was only really bothered by Kanga. The music, however, was twice as loud in parts than the dialog, and incongruous to the film.

As for the story, it was a bit preachy and militant in tone. Overall, I was disappointed, but I would go again just to see the same excitement on my child's face.

I liked Lumpy's laugh....

I've rarely liked most of the Disney spinoffs and sequels but to me the 'Winnie the Pooh' sequels are an exception. I've only seen the delightful 'Piglet Movie' and now I've had the joy to watch 'Pooh's Heffalump Movie'. I miss the handdrawn Disney movies nowadays and it is great to see that Disney still makes such quality stuff even though that's rare thanks to nonsense like 'High School Musical' dominating the franchise. In 'Pooh's Heffelump Movie', the animation is vivacious as ever but where it succeeds most is with its adorable characters who have maintained their essence and consistency. The whole gang, that is Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga, Rabbit, Roo and Iyor are here. The comic situations are hilarious and the story is fun too. It has heart and is told in an endearing way that will capture children's attention (yes, there is a lesson to be learned too) but adults can enjoy it just as much with their kids. The new character, Lumpy, has got to be one of the cutest 'member' of the elephant family. But, Lumpy isn't merely some cute caricature. He is brilliantly written and voiced as a real character, that of a curious playful child seeking for adventure with a new friend. The score is splendid and it is always a pleasure to hear Carly Simon's beautiful voice. This little movie is neatly packed in a solid 75 minutes but it doesn't feel rushed at all. One of the last few underrated little gems of Disney.

This is a movie that I really enjoyed when I first saw it and continue to enjoy to this day. We get introduced to Lumpy, a young heffalump. If you remember the original film, heffalumps are creatures that are to be feared, along with the woozle. However, little Lumpy is nothing of the sort. He's a charming character that you warm up to pretty quickly, as does Roo. When Roo tries to convince the rest of the gang that Lumpy is harmless, the others don't believe him and instead live with their prejudices. In the end, the Hundred Acre crew learns that just because someone's different, doesn't mean they can't be good people. If you're looking for a flick that has a charming character and a charming lesson with Pooh and his crew, this is for you. Heffa nice day. :)