Although “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” is being marketed to kids, it’s really a parents-of-kids movie, one as comforting and warm as a tummy-full of oatmeal.
There are a few mild nods to our ironic age (Rabbit wears his ears rolled up in curlers), but it’s not like Pooh is instant-messaging Christopher Robin or Tigger is getting a “Born to be Wild” tattoo.
With its gentle storytelling and pastel hues, “Heffalump” could easily have been made 50 years ago.
And its story – little Roo leaves home for a series of adventures with a baby elephant – is not a picture of the emotions kids actually experience when they stray from their parents (joy, freedom) but of the emotions parents hope kids experience when they stray (fear, loneliness).
Still, I know a 4-year-old who’s going to love it that Roo, the youngest resident of the Hundred Acre Wood, is both the star of the movie and the most sensible character.
“Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” achieves a soothing balance between messages aimed at kids (people who are different from you can be your friends) and parents (don’t be afraid to let your children try new things).
The result is that, for a little more than an hour, “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” lets moviegoers of any age escape from the real world into the Hundred Acre world, where even the frightening things are not all that frightening.
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