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Walt Disney Home Video presents

Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)

"Actually, it had a little less Pooh in it."- Tigger

Stars: Jim Cummings, John Fiedler
Other Stars: Nikita Hopkins, Brenda Blethyn, Kyle Stanger
Director: Frank Nissen

MPAA Rating: G for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 01h:07m:59s
Release Date: 2005-05-24
Genre: animation

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
B- B-B+B C-

 

DVD Review

What the heck is a Heffalump? That was the question that many people might have been asking, but, apparently, weren't too eager to know the answer to. Opening a mere three months ago, Pooh's Heffalump Movie took in a rather paltry $18 million at the box office on well over 2,000 screens.

Those of you who have been dying to know what a Heffalump is will be happy to know that the mystery is solved relatively early on in the film. Our tale begins when the denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood hear a loud sound that they mistake for a huge trumpet. Everyone is petrified, except Roo, who is literally jumping for joy with excitement.

Everyone takes their concerns to the resident calming influence, Rabbit, but they soon discover that a potentially dangerous creature called a Heffalump is on the prowl in their territory. Roo, still not bothered by the situation, wants to lead a group into Heffalump Hollow to catch one of them. The group decides that Roo is too young to venture into the Hollow, even though he is clearly the only one who should be going. Shunned by his peers, Roo takes matters into his own hands and finds a Heffalump, who he calls Lumpy for short.

While the plot might sound at least a little more complex than your average Winnie the Pooh tale, it pretty much sticks to the same family-friendly formula that we've known and loved for decades. So basically we have just over an hour of slightly below-average animation bringing to life a story that at first seems somewhat dour, but winds up with everyone loving life and enjoying their newfound friend, Lumpy.

Kids are going to lap this material up, instantly falling in love with Lumpy, who is undeniably adorable. Voiced by Australian child actor Kyle Stanger, Lumpy is beyond cute, as he becomes the perfect friend for Roo (Nikita Hopkins). Even though this new character is the focus of the project, Pooh fans will still be thrilled by their favorites' appearances, from Pooh, himself, to Tigger and Piglet as well. This isn't a "good" movie by today's standards, but it's perfect for its target audience, and isn't a bad way to spend some quality time with the kids.

Rating for Style: B-
Rating for Substance: B-

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.78:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicyes


Image Transfer Review: This 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is quite nice, with generally sharp images throughout. The only real problem is the presence of edge enhancement, which softened things up a bit. There aren't any flaws as far as grain and dirt go, the colors are bright and vivid, and aided by solid shadow levels and deep blacks.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
Dolby Digital
5.1
English, Frenchyes


Audio Transfer Review: The pleasing Dolby Digital 5.1 track works splendidly for this material, rarely using the surrounds, but engaging them for some of the music. The only use of directionality came in the form of the dialogue, which traveled to the right speakers at the right times, always remaining crisp and clear.

Audio Transfer Grade:

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 20 cues and remote access
Music/Song Access with 5 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
9 Other Trailer(s) featuring Chicken Little, Little Einstein, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, Disney Princess, Winnie the Pooh: Shapes and Sizes, Winnie the Pooh: The Wonderful World of Words, Tarzan II, Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, JoJo's Circus
1 Featurette(s)
Weblink/DVD-ROM Material
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:
  1. Game Time: Hide 'N Seek with Roo and Lumpy - Interactive guessing game.
Extras Review: A few extras are along for the ride, including another example of Disney DVD's relatively new "Fast Play" option. This is great for kids, as it is an easy start-up.

Music Time: Disney's Song Selection allows you to jump to specific parts of the film by choosing the song that is featured in that scene.

Game Time: Hide 'N Seek with Roo and Lumpy is an interactive set-top game that has kids decide to find either Lumpy or Roo. This is a pretty easy guessing game, but smaller children are sure to love it.

Aside from a collection of Disney Sneak Peeks, there is also a nearly eight-minute featurette called Backstage Disney: Welcome to the Family, Lumpy. This piece collects clips from the film, along with interviews from those directly involved with it's production, as well as some kids who give us their thoughts.

There's also a few nice DVD-Rom features, including some printable coloring pages and a recipe for Rumpledoodle.

Extras Grade: C-
 

Final Comments

A quick three-month turnaround sees Pooh's Heffalump Movie making its DVD debut from Disney. The audio and video are topnotch, but there aren't as many extras as we've come to expect from a Disney DVD.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-05-23