Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Pooh's Heffalump Movie | |
---|---|
Directed by | Frank Nissen |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | Characters by A. A. Milne |
Produced by | Jessica Koplos-Miller |
Starring | |
Edited by | Robert Fisher Jr. Nancy Frazen Anthony F. Rocco |
Music by | Walt Disney Animation Japan |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution[2] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 68 minutes |
Country | United States[2] |
Language | English |
Budget | $20 million |
Box office | $52.9 million[3] |
Pooh's Heffalump Movie (also known as The Heffalump Movie in the working title) is a 2005 American
Plot
One morning in the Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie the Pooh and his friends Piglet, Tigger, Roo, and Eeyore wake up to hear a loud trumpeting noise and while visiting Rabbit, they find a set of large, circular footprints. Rabbit deduces that elephant-like creatures called "Heffalumps" have invaded and per Roo's suggestion, he organizes an expedition to travel to Heffalump Hollow and capture them. After Roo is forbidden from joining the expedition due to his young age, he sneaks out of his home to search for a heffalump on his own.
While exploring Heffalump Hollow, Roo meets a young heffalump named Heffridge Trumpler Brompet Heffalump IV - "Lumpy" for short and decides to show the heffalump to his friends, which Lumpy agrees to after being assured by Roo that the wood's populace is friendly. After discovering that Pooh and his friends are still on the heffalump expedition, Roo and Lumpy play games together during which they accidentally make a mess of Pooh's house and Rabbit's garden. Meanwhile, Rabbit and the gang return home from the unsuccessful expedition to find the mess that Roo and Lumpy made; concluding that a heffalump was the cause of this, they begin setting up traps to catch it.
After hearing Lumpy's mother calling him, Roo and Lumpy begin to search for her. While searching, Lumpy tries using his trunk to call her, but it does not work properly. Roo eventually decides to get his mother, Kanga, to help Lumpy. Roo and Lumpy soon find Kanga and the rest of the populace, who erroneously believe that Lumpy has kidnapped Roo and start attacking him. Thinking that Roo lied to him about the inhabitants' friendliness, Lumpy runs away only to get trapped in a cage. Roo apologizes to Lumpy and dissembles the cage, freeing Lumpy and regaining his trust.
Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger find Lumpy and attack him again until Roo calls them out for their prejudiced views of heffalumps and urges them to let Lumpy go. Then suddenly, a still-scared Lumpy stumbles off a ledge and accidentally knocks Roo into a large pile of logs. When Roo's friends are unable to move the logs, Lumpy decides to use his trunk to call his mother; after a few unsuccessful tries, he finally gets it right. Upon finally hearing his calls, Lumpy's mother arrives and successfully rescues Roo. This act of heroism causes Pooh and his friends to realize the heffalumps' benevolence and they apologize for their actions, making peace with the heffalumps.
Cast
- Nikita Hopkins as Roo (final film role)
- Lumpy the Heffalump
- Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
- John Fiedler as Piglet
- Peter Cullen as Eeyore
- Ken Sansom as Rabbit
- Kanga
- Brenda Blethyn as Mama Heffalump
Production
The film was originally intended as a direct-to-video release.[4]
Heffalumps were first mentioned in the original
This was the final theatrically released film to feature voice actor John Fiedler as Piglet. It also marked the final Pooh film to be released in Fiedler's lifetime, as he died four months later from cancer.
This was also the final production of
Home media
Pooh's Heffalump Movie was released on DVD and VHS on May 24, 2005 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the film was released on July 11, 2005, and later in a trilogy DVD on November 7, 2011, along with The Tigger Movie and Winnie the Pooh.[5]
Music
The Best of Pooh and Heffalumps, Too | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by | |
Released | February 8, 2005 |
Recorded | 2004 |
Length | 33:34 |
Label | Walt Disney Records |
Producer |
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
American singer-songwriter Carly Simon wrote five new songs exclusively for the film and performed four of them ("Winnie the Pooh", "Little Mr. Roo", "Shoulder to Shoulder", and "In the Name of the Hundred Acre Wood"),[7] while in "The Horribly Hazardous Heffalumps!" Simon is accompanied by Jim Cummings, Ken Sansom, John Fiedler, and Nikita Hopkins. "The Name Game" features Kyle Stanger and Nikita Hopkins as Lumpy and Roo.
Two songs from Simon's earlier soundtrack for Piglet's Big Movie are also included on the soundtrack, "Winnie the Pooh (Theme Song)" and "With A Few Good Friends", in which Simon is joined by her children Ben Taylor and Sally Taylor.[8]
The soundtrack also features one instrumental track entitled "The Promise" by Joel McNeely, as well as seven classic Winnie The Pooh songs written by the Sherman Brothers.
Songs
Original songs performed in the film include:
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Winnie the Pooh" | Carly Simon & Ben Taylor | 2:52 |
2. | "The Horribly Hazardous Heffalumps!" | Jim Cummings, Ken Sansom, John Fiedler & Nikita Hopkins | 1:53 |
3. | "Little Mr. Roo" | Carly Simon & Kath Soucie | 2:02 |
4. | "The Name Game" | Kyle Stanger & Nikita Hopkins | 0:46 |
5. | "Shoulder to Shoulder" | Carly Simon & the Heffalump Chorus | 3:22 |
6. | "In the Name of the Hundred Acre Wood" | Carly Simon & the Heffalump Chorus | 2:26 |
7. | "With a Few Good Friends" | Carly Simon, Ben Taylor & Sally Taylor | 2:38 |
Reception
Box office
The film made $5.8 million in its opening weekend, a per theater average of $2,296 from 2,529 theaters. The film ended up with a final gross of $18.1 million in North America and $34.8 million in other countries, bringing the total worldwide gross to $52.9 million.[3]
Critical response
Reviews were generally positive, resulting in a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 89 critics with a 6.54/10 rating. The site's consensus states, "A charming and delightful walk through the Hundred Acres Woods for young viewers."[9]
Sequel
A sequel, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, was released direct-to-video on September 13, 2005.
References
- ^ "Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)". BFI.org.uk. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Pooh's Heffalump Movie". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Pooh's Heffalump Movie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
- Amazon.co.uk. November 7, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ "AllMusic review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- ^ "Carly Simon Official Website – Soundtracks". Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- Allmusic. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Pooh's Heffalump Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 1, 2015.