Updating classics to meld with the
sensibilities of the current era is only
forgivable when the modernization truly
honors the source and adds to the enjoyment.
"Pooh's Heffalump Movie" does neither.
Purists have long be resigned to the
Americanization of a very British bear, but on
this outing, apart from the Sanders nameplate
of his door and the occasional sidekick
movement of his leg as he bumps along, the
tubby chap manifests barely a shred of his
original character as created by the cozy
words of A. A. Milne and the charming line
drawings of E. H. Shepard. Furthermore, he's
only a sidebar to a story in which the Hundred
Acre Wood's gang -- chiefly Roo, freed from
his mother's pouch, although it was chiefly
Piglet in the original story -- hunt down the
Hefflalump, a character that was in truth a
mere figment of their imaginations. But this is
a Disney movie, so it has to feature something
kids might want to buy, so two sort of
elephants show up, a calf and mum, looking
like a cross between a small eared Dumbo
and Babar, and pale mauve in color, with
touches of purple. Adding to this insult, the
trumpeting animals have Brit voices -- the little
one, nicknamed Lumpy, sounding as though
he might grow up to be a used car salesman.
This may designate them as foreign and
therefore potentially suspicious until the
let's-all-love-each-other ending, but why not
honor elephant heritage and make the
creatures sound African or Asian?
Overall, the traditional 2-D animation is sketchy and the color flat -- no deep woody British green here. Swept aside, along with the heart and soul of Pooh, are all the joy and wonder of beautifully drawn cartoons, replaced only by mundane commercialism, with no true Disney magic. Even the songs by Carly Simon are used perfunctorily, as though someone couldn't really remember why they had bothered to commission them. Voiced by Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Nikita Hopkins, Kath Soucie, Ken Sansom, Peter Cullen, Brenda Blethyn and Kyle Stanger. Directed by Frank Nissen. Written by Brian Hohlfeld and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Produced by Jessica Koplos-Miller. A Buena Vista release. Animated. Rated G. Running time: 63 min
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