Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie DVD: Review By Mushy

For some reason I was expecting something more from Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie. I don't know exactly what is was that I was expecting, but after the pleasant experience I had reviewing Pooh's Heffalump Movie, I thought mixing that genre with Halloween would be a can't lose proposition. Sadly, I was wrong.

Lumpy is very excited about his first Halloween, but Tigger has to be a wet blanket and remind him and Roo what will happen if the Gobloon catches them. So they decide to catch the Gobloon because as the story goes, they'll be able to make a wish if they do. Well, things become dire when Pooh eats all the Halloween candy, and now they have to catch the Gobloon so that they can wish for more. As usual, things are not as easy as they seem.

Game and Activities

The games on this DVD are "Trick or Treat" in which we have to help Roo and Lumpy find missing candy. "Pass the Pumpkin" a game you can play with your friends, where a Pumpkin is passed around and the last one holding it gets kicked out of the game. "Pooh's Boo! Bingo" is a game of bingo but it says you have to print out the bingo cards on your computer (which could be a problem for some kids). Some do come with this DVD though. "Heffelump Halloween Party Planner" is basically everything kids will need to have their own fun (and scare filled) party on Halloween.

DVD-Rom Features

Just insert this DVD into your computer (providing your CPU has a DVD-ROM drive) and you can access printable party invitations, recipes for cookies and other delicacies and you even get schematics on decorating your own jaggedy lantern. While getting to this stuff requires a bit of work, for an industrious young child this DVD-ROM could provide hours of fun.

Widescreen 1.78:1. Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. As someone who is studying animation, I loved the look of Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie. I think the colors are rich and the drawings very well done and alive. I guess I was just hoping for more of a serious take on Halloween and this movie just didn't give it to me. Still, young kids watching this movie will surely get something out of this as there is a lot of fun, good cheer and singing to be heard and had.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. French & Spanish Language tracks. This DVD sounded great. Although, I did find Lumpy's voice a bit annoying for some reason, I will just chalk this up to an overall dissatisfaction with the story of Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie. From an audio standpoint, I think that everything is in order and that, mixed with the bright colors that are present on this DVD are what will ultimately win kids and parents over.

Pooh, Roo, Lumpy and the rest of the gang are all present here. With a nicely rendered, candlelit Halloween motif surrounding them, it is easy to see why I thought this was going to be a great movie with a bunch of cute animated characters. The colors here are so rich that I was surprised at how detached from the movie I was. The back features two drawings, a description of Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie and an extras/technical specs list. This packaging alone would be worth owning the DVD.

I can't say what it was but this Halloween movie just fell flat with me. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe I watched it too late at night? Maybe I am too old to be watching it? I don't know what the reason is, I just know that when this movie was done, I didn't have nearly the same good, warm feeling that I had when I screened Pooh's Heffalump Movie. I know that to keep saying that that movie was bad but not really give any specifics is a bit much, but I am doing the best I can with the material given to me.

Maybe it is just a case of filmmaker letdown? I have just completed my own animated movie, 1985-1986 and my next animated film (to made at least 2 years from now) is most likely going to be a Halloween tale called, The Awesome Monster Bashers. I put on Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie hoping to be inspired and I just found that I wasn't.