Heffalump facts for kids
A Heffalump is a special character that looks like an elephant in the Winnie the Pooh stories. These stories were written by A. A. Milne. In the first books, Heffalumps are only seen in the dreams of Pooh and Piglet. This happens in Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928).
The pictures by E. H. Shepard show them looking like Indian elephants. Later, Heffalumps became real characters in the animated TV show The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988–1991). They also starred in two animated movies in 2005: Pooh's Heffalump Movie and Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie.
Contents
Where Heffalumps Came From
In the book Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet only meets a Heffalump in his imagination. Pooh and Piglet bravely try to catch a Heffalump using a clever trap. But they never actually catch one in the books.
Heffalumps only appear when Pooh tries to fall asleep. He tries counting them, but each Heffalump heads straight for his honey pot! Pooh says:
[H]e tried counting Heffalumps [but] every Heffalump that he counted was making straight for a pot of Pooh's honey ... [and] when the five hundred and eighty-seventh Heffalump was licking its jaws, and saying to itself, "Very good honey this, I don't know when I've tasted better", Pooh could bear it no longer.
In The House at Pooh Corner, Pooh and Piglet fall into a similar trap. They think a Heffalump made it to catch them. They practice what they will say when the Heffalump arrives. But Pooh falls asleep. When Piglet hears a voice, he gets scared and says the wrong thing. He feels silly when the voice turns out to be Christopher Robin.
What Heffalumps Are Like
Most people think that "Heffalump" is how a child might say "elephant". E. H. Shepard's drawings in the original books show Heffalumps looking very much like elephants. This is especially true in Piglet's dreams.
Heffalumps in Disney Stories
In Disney's cartoon versions of the stories, Heffalumps are first talked about in the 1968 film Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. Here, they seem to be part of Tigger's imagination. They appear with their friends, the woozles, in a song called "Heffalumps and Woozles". Tigger describes them as elephants that love honey.
In Disney's animated movies and TV shows, Heffalumps still look like elephants. But they are often shown as cuter and less scary than Pooh imagined them. They have rabbit-like tails and look like stuffed animals.
In the TV show The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, most Heffalumps are enemies of Pooh and his friends. They are known for stealing honey. They often work with woozles. One Heffalump named Heff was a bit silly. He was the helper of Stan the Woozle. Heff was afraid of Roo because he thought Roo was a giant mouse.
Piglet became friends with a young Heffalump named Junior in two episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Junior lived with his parents. His father, Papa Heffalump, was voiced by Jim Cummings. Mama Heffalump often reminded Papa Heffalump about his many allergies.
Heffalumps and the "Heffalumps and Woozles" song are also part of the ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This ride is at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland. Riders travel through the Heffalumps and Woozles in Pooh's dream.
In the 2018 movie Christopher Robin, the main character almost drowns in a Heffalump trap. He then imagines seeing a real elephant as a Heffalump.
Heffalumps in Culture
Since the 1950s, Heffalumps have become well-known outside of the Pooh stories.
- Sometimes, adults use the word "heffalump" in a fun way to describe an elephant. Or they use it to talk about how a child might see an elephant.
- The phrase "heffalump trap" is sometimes used in politics. It means a trap set for an opponent that ends up catching the person who set it. This is like what happens to Winnie the Pooh in The House at Pooh Corner.
- The Swedish newspaper Expressen gives out the Heffalump Award each year. This is a prize for the best Swedish author of books for children and young adults.
- Pooh's Heffalump Movie came out in 2005. It showed how different the Hundred Acre Wood friends and the Heffalumps were. But things got better after Roo became friends with a Heffalump named Lumpy. A follow-up movie, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, was released later. Lumpy the Heffalump later appears in the TV show My Friends Tigger & Pooh. He continues to be Roo's friend and joins the group on many adventures.
Images for kids
-
Lumpy the Heffalump playing with Roo in a book based on Pooh's Heffalump Movie.
