Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Jim Cummings, David Ogden Stiers, Ken Sansom
Directed by: Frank Nissen
Screenplay by: Brian Hohlfeld, Evan Spiliotopoulos
MPAA Rating: G for general audiences.
Release Date: February 11, 2005.
Running Time: 68 minutes
Box Office: $18,081,626 (US total)
Drawing inspiration from the 1926 literary creations of author A. A. Milne, “Pooh's Heffalump Movie” is the third original Pooh feature ever created for the big screen, following in the successful footsteps of the 2001 release “The Tigger Movie” and 2003's “Piglet's Big Movie.
Milne's Pooh books continue to be favorites with readers all over the world and have sold more than 50 million copies with translations into at least 31 languages. Disney Pooh films, including “Pooh's Heffalump Movie” represent an effort to tell new and original stories based on characters from Milne's popular books “Winnie-The-Pooh” (published in 1926) and “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928).
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In this new adventure, something mysterious is haunting Hundred Acre Wood. Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet think that their beloved forest home is being invaded. “They think these terrifying creatures that they have never seen, called Heffalumps, are creeping in from this place called Heffalump Hollow that adjoins the Hundred Acre Wood. They think they're trying to take over,” says screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos.
“So led by Rabbit, our heroes invade Heffalump Hollow to scare away the evil Heffalumps,” he continues. “And little Roo yearns to go along, but the adults won't let him because he's too young. So to prove himself, Roo decides that he's going to go off on his own and capture a Heffalump.” On their mission, however, the gang discovers, thanks to Roo, that the intruder an quite amiable young Heffalump named Lumpy.
Frank Nissen, who has worked on such films as “Treasure Planet” and “Dinosaur,” came on board to direct. “With a project like Winnie the Pooh, you have to pay a lot of respect to what has gone before,” he explains. “The wonderful thing about the Pooh property is that it is full of rich characters and wonderful emotions.”
“The literature is lovely,” echoes producer Jessica Koplos-Miller, who brought the spirit of the Hundred Acre Wood to the production office by having crew tea parties. “It all goes back to beautiful storytelling.”
The filmmakers were delighted, however, to have the opportunity to bring a new character into the world of Pooh and friends. But it was a daunting task to add a new element to a blue-print that has been cherished-and essentially unchanged-for over 75 years.
“In order to bring a new character in we had to make sure that he was true to the A.A. Milne characters,” says screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos. “The character had to be at a level of quality that did the original work justice. I can absolutely say that with Lumpy, we achieved that.”
Indeed, “Pooh's Heffalump Movie” unveils a new star in the Pooh galaxy-Lumpy the Heffalump -- a sweet, innocent, roly-poly bundle of energy with a giggle as infectious as his playful spirit, Lumpy could have been brought to life by Milne himself.
