Pooh's Heffalump Movie

Amusing, beautifully drawn one-hour film.

The gentle story, told via old-fashioned "flat" animation, is perfect for the very youngest viewers.

Director Frank Nissen strikes a nice balance between slapstick and sentiment, and I'll admit to getting a bit choked up at the appropriate moments.

It's a charming-looking, tenderly told story about friendship and diversity.

Delivered without irony or subtext but lots of gentle humour, a kind of family fare that is rare on the big screen these days.

It's the perfect "smackeral" of adventure for youngsters craving Pooh Bear and his pals.

So insubstantial that it practically evaporates on screen, Pooh's Heffalump Movie likely will play best with toddlers and pre-schoolers easily amused by bright colors, merry songs and lovable, huggable toon animals.

Funny, charming, and heartwarming. Pooh's Heffalump Movie is short and sweet and lovely. I give this nice and very lovely film a good 70%. I recommend this film to all.

A thinly-written Pooh movie with only a couple of laughs. For very young children only.

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.

Every Pooh movie is just the same thing; the same morale is thrown in, but always with different characters. I'm startin to get boring here....