 "Cute" is the adjective that is sprinkled through most of the reviews for Disney's (hand-drawn) animated Pooh's Heffalump Movie. As in "too cute for words," the description Anita Gates gives to the "real" heffalump in the New York Times. She also reports on the reaction of two 4 1/2-year-olds sitting near her. "The loudest children's laughter in the theater followed Pooh's falling out of bed and into a honey pot," she reveals. Chicago Tribune critic Monica Eng brought her six-year-old to the press screening. "He almost didn't come to the film, pooh-poohing it as a 'baby movie.' But as soon as it started, my son became entranced, laughing and worrying along with the other kids, even applauding at the end. My 20-month-old showed her approval by not making a peep through the whole movie." Billy Heller in the New York Post warns that "kids older than 8 may be too jaded to sit through this cute flick" but for the younger ones, "Heffalump is better than none." Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Daily News, donning the mantel of ever-jaded critic, concludes that the "funny and adorable" "Lumpy" carries the film "especially in the eyes of little ones who will discover a new character to love (not fear) -- and to ask mommy and daddy to buy for them next time they're at Disneyland. Which, of course, may be the primary concern of the film." |
