Pooh’s Heffalump Movie

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Pooh’s Heffalump Movie's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Pooh’s Heffalump Movie completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 1 July 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

Pooh’s Heffalump Movie is a movie for very young children. The issues and topics raised in the movie may be of more interest to children over the age of eight; however they may find the film somewhat babyish.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Pooh’s Heffalump Movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

A trumpeting blast echoes across the Hundred Acre Wood scaring Tigger, Pooh and Piglet who immediately set off for Rabbit’s house to find out what could make such a frightful noise. Roo has heard it too and has also discovered a set of enormous footprints leading to Heffalump Hollow. Rabbit explains that Heffalumps are horrible, dangerous, creatures and they decide to go on an expedition to capture one. Roo, being too young, is left behind, so he sets out on an expedition of his own and meets Lumpy, a cuddly, friendly, happy Heffalump.

While Tigger, Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore are still trying to capture a Heffalump, Roo and Lumpy are beginning to dispel the stereotypes and prejudices that each had had about the other. Their friendship and loyalty is tested and challenged in a number of ways but ultimately it is the two youngsters who teach the adults about the true meaning of friendship, understanding and respect.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

• Tigger bounces out of control, slams into a wall and gets hit on the head by a bowling ball
• Rabbit and Piglet are catapulted into the air and land at some far off destination.

In these scenes no characters are injured, and thus real life consequences are not shown.

There are two scenes where the violence is not accidental. Although no one is hurt, damage is done. The characters involved later show remorse for what has happened.

• Piglet and Lumpy have a ‘food fight’ in Rabbit’s vegetable garden. Lumpy uses his trunk to suck up watermelon seeds and carrots, then shoots them out of his trunk at Roo. While Roo remains unhurt, Rabbit’s garden is demolished.
  
• A terrified Lumpy is nearly hit by a flying battering ram that Rabbit and friends have constructed in order to stop the Heffalump.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

There are a number of scenes in this film that may frighten or disturb very young viewers, particularly under the age of five:

• Roo is intent on capturing a Heffalump and is imagining all the horrible things that Rabbit has told him regarding the creatures. He believes he has found one hiding inside an old cavern and is shaking and terrified as he enters the darkness. There are a few tense moments before Roo learns that he has nothing to be afraid of.
  
• Lumpy gets separated from his mother and even though Roo and Lumpy look everywhere they still can’t find her. Lumpy is getting more and more worried until he is too sad to go on. He flops onto a log and cries. He doesn’t find his Mum until the end of the film.
  
• While still worried and frightened about not finding his Mum, Lumpy is ambushed by Rabbit, Tigger, Pooh and Piglet, who rush at him with ropes and nets and try to capture him with traps. Lumpy scurries, terrified, from one potential trap to another until he is stuck in a make-shift cage. He is freed by Roo, only to be pursued again and ultimately captured while cowering in fear.

Over the age of eight

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

There is nothing in this film that would frighten children over the age of eight.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in this movie.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity.

Use of substances

There is no use of substances.

Coarse language

There is no coarse language.

The movie's message

The movie’s message is that people are not always as they appear, and that sometimes it is children who teach us the most important lessons about life. Parents may wish to discuss the topic of prejudice with their children and point out how misunderstandings can arise from passively believing in stereotypes.