Heffalumps and Woozles
Encyclopedia
"Heffalumps and Woozles" is a song from the 1968
Walt Disney
musical film
featurette
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
. It was written by the Sherman Brothers
.
The song is about phantasmagoric elephant
s and weasel
s becoming a threat to Pooh and his food
source (honey
). The song serves as a soundtrack to the iconic, psychedelic "Pooh Nightmare
" sequence where Pooh subconsciously deals with the theft of his all-too-precious honey
.
It was shown in A Disney Halloween
which aired every year from 1983 to the late 1990s.
Although the song is not used in the 2005 feature, Pooh's Heffalump Movie
; it is generally accepted that the song and accompanying visual montage is the inspiration of the Heffalump film. Such is more definitively the case with the relationship between the Sherman Brothers' song, "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" and the 2000 release of The Tigger Movie
.
The song was considered very "of its time," borrowing liberally from the psychedelic
experimentation which was prevalent in the late 1960s. It bears a strong resemblance to the Pink Elephants on Parade
animated sequence from the 1941 film Dumbo
.
The song is the main theme in dream scenes of the Winnie The Pooh series of rides at the Disney Parks. Part of the song is played as part of the soundtrack of HalloWishes
, a Halloween
-themed fireworks
display held during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
.
1968 in film
The year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
featurette
Featurette
Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is a 1968 animated featurette based on stories from the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The featurette was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution on December 20, 1968 before The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. This was...
. It was written by the Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
.
The song is about phantasmagoric elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s and weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
s becoming a threat to Pooh and his food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
source (honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
). The song serves as a soundtrack to the iconic, psychedelic "Pooh Nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
" sequence where Pooh subconsciously deals with the theft of his all-too-precious honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
.
It was shown in A Disney Halloween
A Disney Halloween
A Disney Halloween was a 90-minute Halloween-themed television special that included portions from both Disney's Halloween Treat and Disney's Greatest Villains featuring classic short cartoons and excerpts of various villains from Disney feature films...
which aired every year from 1983 to the late 1990s.
Although the song is not used in the 2005 feature, Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Pooh's Heffalump Movie is a 2005 Winnie-the-Pooh film, released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film runs at 68 mins., This was the shortest feature-length Pooh film to be released in theaters until The 2011 Film at 63 mins.- Plot :...
; it is generally accepted that the song and accompanying visual montage is the inspiration of the Heffalump film. Such is more definitively the case with the relationship between the Sherman Brothers' song, "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" and the 2000 release of The Tigger Movie
The Tigger Movie
The Tigger Movie is a 2000 animated comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Jun Falkenstein. Part of the Winnie-the-Pooh series, this film features Pooh's friend Tigger in his search for his family tree and other Tiggers like himself...
.
The song was considered very "of its time," borrowing liberally from the psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
experimentation which was prevalent in the late 1960s. It bears a strong resemblance to the Pink Elephants on Parade
Pink Elephants on Parade
Pink Elephants on Parade is the name of a segment, and the song played therein, from the Disney animated feature film Dumbo in which Dumbo and Timothy Q...
animated sequence from the 1941 film Dumbo
Dumbo
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
.
The song is the main theme in dream scenes of the Winnie The Pooh series of rides at the Disney Parks. Part of the song is played as part of the soundtrack of HalloWishes
HalloWishes
HalloWishes is a fireworks show that takes place during "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park...
, a Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
-themed fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
display held during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separate-admission Halloween-themed event held annually during the months of September and October at the Magic Kingdom theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, outside Orlando, and at Disneyland Paris Resort outside Paris,...
at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
.
Literary sources
- Sherman, Robert B. Walt's Time: from before to beyondWalt's Time: from before to beyondWalt's Time: from before to beyond is a 252-page autobiographic, full color book by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman. It was edited by Imagineers Bruce Gordon, David Mumford and Jeff Kurtti and was published in 1998 by Camphor Tree Publishers who are out of Santa Clarita, California...
. Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998. - Peterson, Monique. Disney's The Little Big Book of Pooh. New York: Disney Editions, 2002.
See also
- Pink Elephants on ParadePink Elephants on ParadePink Elephants on Parade is the name of a segment, and the song played therein, from the Disney animated feature film Dumbo in which Dumbo and Timothy Q...