About an hour in, this reporter's four-year-old companion enquired, "'Is it the end yet?'" Ah, what do kids know? This is a delight, with more old-school Pooh character kicks and easy, hand-drawn charm than the two recent, mostly saggy spin-offs (The Tigger Movie, Piglet's Big Movie).
This time, the focusis on excitable marsupial Roo, who's going through an early-life crisis. While his mum, Kanga, wants to cling to his kiddy quirks, Roo thinks he's "grown up" enough to abandon tuck-in time and strike out on his own. He gets his chance when Pooh and the rest of the gang plan an expedition to capture one of the notorious `Heffalump' creatures - - never seen, but much feared in Hundred Acre Wood.
Despite occasional dips, the story is bright and resonant, with even the Carly Simon songs hitting the mark. All we need now is an Eeyore story, voiced by Timothy Spall.
