Pooh's Heffalump Movie Reviews

The innocence of the Winnie the Pooh movies is what engages me the most about them. Here’s an hour, sometimes more but frequently not by much, of gentle, quiet humor, loveable characters, and a complete lack of irony, snark, and pop culture references. The creatures of Hundred Acre Woods learn life lessons, charm with their simple and silly personalities, and live in a world that’s rich and warm with its soft watercolors and solid ink details. It’s easy to enjoy spending time with them.

 

So here’s Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, one of the weaker entries but still a reliably sweet and innocent hour-plus of entertainment. Here the Hundred Acre Woods learn to examine their prejudices, rethink preconceived notions of “the other,” and learn to show compassion and empathy for the plight of those they once feared/misunderstood. It doesn’t hurt that the symbol of that plea for compassion and empathy is an adorable purple stuffed elephant named Lumpy with a British accent and infectious laugh. He befriends Roo and much of the film is about their budding friendship and unlearning the prejudices the adults taught them about the other.

 

Then we get to the end and I haven’t felt quite as much empathy for an animated elephant crying for his mother since my last viewing of Dumbo. While Pooh’s Heffalump Movie is not the equal of that masterpiece, it is an enjoyable little featherweight companion story with a tidy little moral for the tots. It’s clearly a direct-to-video effort that got changed at the last minute, so the animation displays those weaknesses and the Carly Simon songs are generally weak, but there’s still plenty to recommend here, like the sight of Roo and Lumpy frolicking through the forest like the innocent children they are. It’s slight but it does its job well. 

Pooh has proved itself to be as dependable as Pixar. I've never been disappointed thus far with a Winnie the Pooh film, and they've all provided strong, whimsical, and entertaining adventures. And then came Pooh's Heffalump Movie.

Pooh's Heffalump Movie stars Roo, who decides to hunt and capture a heffalump that's on the loose. Roo does find and capture the heffalump (named Lumpy), but it's not as scary as Pooh and friends think, and Roo becomes fast friends with the creature.

Pooh's Heffalump Movie has unfortunately decided to pander more to younger kids this time around. Most of the gags will only appeal to toddlers, and the whimsy that has surrounded previous Pooh films is almost completely gone.

Pooh and the gang is back, more or less as you remember them, though with a few exceptions. Owl is completely omitted, and while we see Christopher Robin briefly in the credits, we never hear him speak.

I was originally skeptical about the newest addition to the cast, the heffalump named Lumpy. But I didn't mind him. I don't think he brings anything new to the cast, and I'm certainly not sad that he hasn't returned to most of the future outings, but he wasn't annoying (mostly), and he was a little cute.

There are a couple songs, which are dull and instantly forgettable. In addition, there are occasionally songs playing in the background, which didn't hurt the film at all, but it did little to improve it. There's not much to say about the score; it's mostly mediocre.

The animation is certainly a cut above that of Pooh's Grand Adventure, but there's nothing jaw-dropping to see.

I scarcely remember laughing at all during the movie. I'm sure this is superb for younger children, but I was usually bored. If you have kids, they'll probably love this. But if you came expecting the heart, fun, and whimsy of previous Pooh films, you'll be sorely disappointed as I was.