Capture a ‘Heffalump’ at your local theater

“Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” is all about being different. When the

Heffalumps come to the Hundred Acre Wood, everyone gets scared. They

start describing the Heffalumps as scary monsters, when it’s actually

the opposite!

Rabbit, Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore plan an expedition to

capture a Heffalump. The only one left out is Roo, who really wants

to go, but is told he’s too little. Needless-to-say, he goes out on

his own and finds a Heffalump! The two then become best friends.

I think the movie is very good. It is fun for kids but has adults

laughing alongside them. Since it is a G-rated movie, it is OK for

kids to watch and parents can have a good time, too.

The children in the audience will be attracted to the bright

colors each character was drawn in and the adults will be just as

pleased with the humor throughout the film.

For those kids and adults who remember Winnie the Pooh, the

animation and voices are happily the same. There were songs

throughout the film but, other than the friendship song, I did not

find them very memorable. Of all the characters, I liked the

Heffalump the best. He is such a likable character because his voice

and his actions just make you follow him around the screen.

The movie also brings out minor characters like Roo and gives them

more air time. Over all, the characters and story line are quite good

and I believe it will be fun for families and friends to spend 68

minutes together smiling and laughing as they watch Disney’s newest

Winnie The Pooh movie.

* KAITLYN IRELAND, 12, of La Crescenta is a sixth-grader at Valley

View Elementary School.

‘Winn-Dixie’ is like

getting dental work

While viewing “Because of Winn-Dixie,” I told myself, “give the

movie a break, the kids will eat this stuff up.” Well, it didn’t

impress the kids in my audience. Despite good intentions, this film

is a cloying affair -- so sweet it gives you a cavity. And cavities

hurt.

The story is about a plucky 10-year-old girl named Opal

(AnnaSophia Robb) whose wide smile and precocious nature can turn

just about anyone’s frown upside down.

Opal has just arrived in a small Florida town with her preacher

father (Jeff Daniels). She’s upset about being torn away from her

friends by her itinerant Dad. She calls him “Preacher” to alert us

there’s a distance between them.

Things look up when she befriends a scruffy, wayward dog she names

“Winn-Dixie.” Together, they encounter a slew of eccentric Southern

characters in need of human connection. There’s little doubt

Winn-Dixie and Opal will teach everyone not to judge a book by its

cover -- that everyone is really the same inside. Sound cliched?

Well, there’s a reason. Director Wayne Wang is a talent, but he can

-- and has -- done better. Still, his touch is obvious enough here. A

master of atmosphere, he does a nice job of giving Opal’s town

personality. He treats the cinematic frame as a canvas.

I believe the term family film should really be code for every age

film. It should appeal to adults and children alike. Pixar has made a

killing with audiences and critics by making films that provide eye

candy and fun for the kids while also offering a deeper,

sophisticated layer of storytelling to engage adults. They perfected

the form with “The Incredibles.” Now that’s a family film.

* ALLEN MACDONALD works in the television industry and resides in

Toluca Lake.