Pooh's Heffalump Movie was originally conceived for Disney's straight-to-video division, in which case it would look like a pretty good toddler anaesthetic, at least compared to the motley likes of Atlantis: Milo's Return and Stitch! The Movie. It's indifferently produced, but the fundamental sweetness of A.A. Milne's characters -- and some relevant subtext about eradicating prejudice -- keeps it just this side of brain-melting boredom.

At just over an hour, there's not much time for plot. The idea is that the denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood have become spooked by rumours of a wandering Heffalump. Said critter is basically a cuddly plush elephant, but with their imaginations fuelled by naive xenophobia, Pooh and Co. imagine a hostile monster. (The resonance with fellow Disney product The Village is probably unintentional, but kinda interesting nonetheless.)

A Heffalump hunt is organized, but little Roo, son of cheery single-mom kangaroo Kanga (in case you've forgotten or didn't have a childhood), is told he's too young to participate. This is unfortunate, not only because Roo is so eager to help, but also because it occasions the first of several mushy Carly Simon songs on the soundtrack.

Roo heads off to Heffalump hollow anyway, where he befriends the titular pachyderm -- who goes by "Lumpy" and whose British accent is really pretty cute -- and ends up teaching his defensive friends a lesson about tolerance. With its emphasis on the purity of maternal love (Roo and Lumpy are both mama's boys), Pooh's Heffalump movie might just mist the glasses of parents who get dragged to see it.

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