Pooh's Heffalump Movie

It’s doubtful that AA Milne intended the imaginary ‘Heffalump’ conjured up by his Hundred Acre Woods characters to be rewritten as real, let alone given its own movie. While the original joke was that the trumpeting Heffalump turned out to be Pooh with his head in a honey pot, this tenth in the Disney series has Roo befriending baby ‘Lumpy’ (an elephant, it seems) on a lone Heffalump hunting trip. The fun ends when the two young ’uns can’t find their mummies and Lumpy is as scared of Pooh, Rabbit, Tigger and co as they are of him. Lessons are duly learnt about fear of the unknown, and it’s a sweet enough tale, if lacking in tension. But while the simple character animation has its endearing moments (Piglet’s shivering, Roo’s happy-sleepy face etc.) the sentimental soundtrack could prove too much for some. Roo’s words, ‘When I don’t feel good my mum sings to me’, are liable to strike fear into hearts that have been beating eight years or more.