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Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie: Limited Edition
R1 - America - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan C. Stevenson (12th October 2009). |
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The Film
 2005 was a dark time for the Walt Disney Company. Still about a year (or so) away from fully acquiring PIXAR Animation Studios, and subsequently the insertion of John Lasseter as Chief Creative Officer at both companies, Disney was content with producing a series of low quality direct-to-video sequels, which did little to enhance (in fact sometimes devalued) the Walt Disney name. When he came aboard, Lasseter put a stop to this practice rather quickly, and aside from a series of “Tinkerbell” animations (which aren’t half bad for films aimed squarely at little ones), very little has come directly-to-video since the PIXAR-Disney union. Unfortunately, “Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie” is one of the pre-Lasseter projects and it’s largely the type of film that spent its time devaluing the company name. A sequel to the 2005 theatrical Winnie the Pooh adventure, “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” (which itself was barely above direct-to-video quality) “Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie” is a cheap cash-in of a once beloved franchise. It existed purely to make money and, even centering myself in the mindset of a young kid, the movie isn’t great. Most of it isn’t anyway. Roo (voiced by Jimmy Bennett) and Lumpy the Heffalump (Kyle Stanger) are getting ready to celebrate Halloween in the 100-acre Woods. To do so they unite with the cast of franchise regulars, including Pooh and Tigger (both voiced by Jim Cummings), Eeyore (Peter Cullen), Piglet (John Fiedler, in his last role on film as the lovable character, having died shortly hereafter) and the rest. Following a failed attempt at scaring the young Roo and his friend when they answer the door, Tigger tries another scare tactic by telling the tale of the terrible Gobloon, a creature who turns his captured victims into “jaggedy lanterns.” When Rabbit (Ken Sansom) reveals that Halloween is going to be dull this year because Pooh-bear has eaten all the candy, Roo and a seriously shaken Lumpy, frightened by the Gobloon tale and the creepiness of Halloween in general, set off to find the Gobloon, who lives at the end of Slimy Slide and Creepy Lane, inside the Tree of Terror, because, as the story goes, those who catch the Gobloon get one wish, and Roo wishes that there were candy for he and Lumpy to share. Along the way, Roo tells the tale of how Piglet overcame his Halloween fears and how Lumpy can too. The highlight to the story is not the newer adventure, but repurposed elements of a 1996 television special from the “New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” titled “Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh.” In it, Piglet battles his own Halloween fears and, aside from being a better story, the short TV special is just much stronger in spirit. The entirety of that 21-minute Halloween story is included here, likely in hopes to pad the scant runtime of the main film, which they largely fail to do as, even with “Boo to You Too!” the film still only runs 67 minutes, with credits. The animation is nice to look at, with intricate detailing in backgrounds and has a clean, modern air about it and appearing strong for traditionally drawn animation; this is true of the new stuff anyway. The inserted material from the “Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh” TV special looks, quite frankly, terrible. The shifts in quality between the newly drawn scenes and the older repurposed footage is jarring and discomforting. The fact that little has been done to seamlessly combine the two styles speaks to the genuine lackluster approach taken toward the whole project, evidence of which is seen throughout. Will your little one notice the change in image quality? Well, that depends on how astute they are, but I tell you that I certainly found it distracting. Kids will likely be more put off by the fact that the TV special is much better than, and far different from, the film proper and the two don’t mesh all that well (stylistically or in a narrative sense). If they’ve already seen the “Boo to You Too!” special or possibly even own it on VHS (it’s not available on DVD outside of this “movie”), they will rightly remember seeing this story before and might (just might) be bored with it. I say might because anyone with kids knows that they can watch the same film over and over… and over, so it may not be a problem that one-third of this film is stuff they’ve already seen. Had it existed on it’s own, “Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie” would simply be a less than stellar direct-to-video title from Disney. But, the awkwardly inserted TV special distracts astronomically from the overall experience. Shoddy visuals, an uneven narrative structure and some questionable motives behind the true purpose of this films existence leave a bad taste in my mouth. Parents, the recommendation of this DVD largely depends on whether or not you already own a standalone VHS copy of the far superior “Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh” TV special. If you do, this may not be the best purchase, as outside of ‘96 material, there isn’t a whole lot to like. Likewise if you already own the original 2005 release of “Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie,” this Limited Edition re-issue has little value unless you really, really, really want the included plush doll.
Video
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is about as unbalanced and disappointing as the film itself. The brand new material is visually strong, with well-delineated outlines, sharp detail, suitable, well-maintained colors and nearly no print damage. The true 16x9 footage looks, mostly, excellent. However, things take a drastic downturn when discussing the older footage from the 1996 TV special that occupies the middle-portion of the film. Originally animated in 1.33:1 full frame and then cropped to widescreen for this release, framing looks too tight and all wrong. Lines are uneven; colors are subdued, washed out and bleed occasionally. The print is littered with specks and debris, and the image has a surprisingly amount of dirty looking grain. Frankly, the bipolar nature of this transfer is disconcerting and bothersome. Why more care wasn’t taken to make the “Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh” footage better mesh with the new scenes is anybody’s guess, but it looks mediocre, that’s for sure.
Audio
Surprisingly taught, controlled and full-bodied for a direct-to-video title, the English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack included here is well above average. Dialogue is clear and precise, nicely balanced, and cleanly separated. Surround activity is frequent and appropriate, as is usually the case with animated fare. French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 dubs are your secondary (and tertiary?) audio options. Optional English subtitles are also included.
Extras
Disney offers a collectable doll, 3 interactive games, DVD-ROM printables and a bonus trailer gallery on this DVD. The physical disc, a DVD-9, is the exact same platter and case as the original release from 2006. The big draw to this new re-issue of “Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie” is the included plush doll of Pooh dressed as Tigger. The doll is admittedly cute, well made and perfectly acceptable for the young ones. It’s about 7 inches tall and makes for a good “huggable.” Aside from the doll, all’s the same in the supplements department as the original DVD, including: A large portion of the extras on this disc are a series of interactive games geared towards kids. The first game is a maze that one navigates using the arrows on their remote control, called “Trick or Re-treat.” The second, called “Pass the Pumpkin” is not a game directly on the DVD. Instead it’s a game accented by audio/video cues provided by the DVD. It calls for a group of three or more to sit in a circle, and pass a “pumpkin” to the left with one tone, to the right with another, and so on. It’s basically “hot potato” with a Halloween spin. “Pooh’s Boo Bingo” is a bingo game on the DVD, which is controlled by your remote. Bingo cards are part of the printables (discussed below). The “Heffalump Halloween Party Planner” is a DVD-ROM feature that gives printable instructions and other materials once inserted into a ROM enabled and printer connected computer with suggested activities to plan your young ones Heffalump themed party around. Sneak peek bonus trailers are for: - “Disney Learning Adventures.” 1 minute. 1.33:1 full frame. - “Princess Fantasy DVD Game” 56 seconds. 1.33:1 full frame. - “Bears Big Blue House” 1 minute 1 seconds. 1.33:1 full frame. - “Kronk’s New Groove” 40 seconds. Window-boxed 1.78:1 widescreen. - "Disney Playhouse" promo featuring “JoJo’s Circus.” 32 seconds. 1.33:1 full frame. - “Cinderella” 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. Runs 1 minute 25 seconds. 1.33:1 full frame. - “Pooh’s Grand Adventure: the Search for Christopher Robin” on DVD. 1 minute 25 seconds. 1.33:1 full frame. - “Disney Princess: A Christmas of Enchantment” 1 minute 23 seconds. 1.33:1 full frame.
Packaging
This disc is packaged in a clear plastic case that houses the DVD and the plush doll.
Overall
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