I’ve gone on record numerous times about how Winnie the Pooh played a major part in my childhood, and I know that I’m not the only one out there who will say that. Ever since Walt Disney acquired the film rights to author A.A. Milne’s classic book series about a lovable teddy bear named Pooh in 1961, Winnie the Pooh has been one of Disney’s longest-running franchises, delighting audiences young and old with its timeless morals and endearing characters. The three initial Winnie the Pooh featurettes that Disney and his team produced in the 60’s/70’s went on to become one of the studio’s official animated features, 1977’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. A spiritual sequel, simply titled Winnie the Pooh, was released in 2011 through there were also a few theatrical spin-offs from the early 2000’s like The Tigger Movie and Piglet’s Big Movie. On the small screen, Pooh has been a part of quite a few classic animated series like The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Welcome to Pooh Corner. And in Disney parks all over the world, Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood are the stars of their own attractions, primarily a dark ride inspired by their 1977 feature film debut. But now Pooh and company are back on the big screen in a new live-action adventure, Christopher Robin. While one could technically designate this film as the latest entry in Disney’s current line of live-action remakes of their classic animated films, it’s not really that kind of film. Instead, it’s a genuinely new spin on the franchise as it follows Pooh’s cherished human friend, the titular Christopher Robin, as he ends up reuniting with all his childhood friends who help him regain the imaginative spirit that he had lost after growing up. One thing that hasn’t been lost, though, is the iconic charm and sense of childhood innocence that has defined this franchise from the very beginning and is now represented beautifully in its first major foray into the realm of live-action films.
As a kid, Christopher Robin spent most of his days playing with his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, including his best friend, a stuffed teddy bear ‘of very little brain’ named Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings). Eventually, though, Christopher Robin ends up leaving for boarding school, and despite promising Pooh that he’ll never forget him and the rest of the Hundred Acre gang, life soon forces Christopher to grow up faster than anticipated. Years later, Christopher (Ewan McGregor) works as the efficiency manager at a luggage company and is so consumed with work that he’s unable to spend quality time with his wife Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and their daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael). This is further complicated when his boss, Giles Winslow Jr. (Mark Gatiss), forces him to come up with a method of cutting costs, which forces him to forego travel plans with his family to their summer cottage in Sussex. But then, out of the blue, Christopher soon finds himself reunited with his old pal Winnie the Pooh, who has somehow managed to appear in London. After learning that Pooh has come seeking his help in trying to find the rest of the Hundred Acre gang, who have all mysteriously vanished, Christopher tags along on the trip back to the Hundred Acre Wood. There, he soon manages to reunite with the rest of his old friends, including the hyperactive bouncer Tigger (also voiced by Jim Cummings), the timid but warm-hearted Piglet (voiced by Nick Mohammed), and the often-depressed donkey Eeyore (voiced by Brad Garrett) just to name a few. But when Christopher finds himself forced to return to London to meet his work deadline, Pooh and the gang embark on an adventure of their own to help their longtime friend and hopefully get him to once again find his sense of imagination that he had lost many years ago.
Some critics have been rather iffy on this film’s overall tone, specifically due to some of the more somber parts of the story. And while I will admit that some parts of this film do give off somewhat of a dreary vibe (e.g. when Pooh and Christopher Robin return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the place is completely engulfed in fog), that doesn’t mean that this carries over for the whole film. Simply put, when this film focuses on Pooh and his friends getting into all sorts of adventures both in the Hundred Acre Wood and out in the streets of London, it fully succeeds at being a delightfully whimsical time. The juxtaposition of these classic characters interacting with people and objects in the real world produces plenty of great comedic moments. Plus, the transition from animation to live-action did not result in these characters losing any of the lovable personality traits that have made them the childhood icons that they are. The CGI used to bring them to life is quite nice, especially when it comes to capturing their trademark ‘stuffed animal’ look. And, of course, being a Winnie the Pooh story, this film isn’t afraid to utilize some of the franchise’s most iconic bits of imagery or some of the classic tunes that came courtesy of the Sherman brothers (surviving brother Richard even returns to write some new songs). Ultimately, though, these primarily serve as complements to an emotionally poignant story that does a wonderful job when it comes to delving into the dangers of growing up too fast.
Headlining the film as the adult Christopher Robin, Ewan McGregor does a wonderful job working off his ‘animated’ co-stars while also working wonderfully with the character’s arc of regaining his childhood innocence even after going through all the perils of adulthood, allowing him to reclaim the special bonds that he has with both the Hundred Acre gang and his wife and daughter. On that note, admittedly Hayley Atwell doesn’t get as much to work with by comparison as his wife Evelyn (technically speaking, newcomer Bronte Carmichael gets more to do as their daughter Madeline), but she does have nice chemistry with McGregor. As for the voice cast bringing Pooh and friends to life, some may be a bit disappointed to learn that the film doesn’t necessarily focus on all of them. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore get the most screen-time while others like Owl (voiced by Toby Jones), Rabbit (voiced by Peter Capaldi), and Kanga (voiced by Sophie Okonedo) are somewhat relegated to ‘cameo’ appearances. Still, all these voice actors do a nice job in their respective roles, especially given that some of them are newcomers to the franchise. And it’s all headlined, of course, by the one and only Jim Cummings returning to reprise his iconic roles of both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger; roles that, for the record, he has been doing for three decades at this point. For a while, though, it seemed like he was only going to voice Pooh with Chris O’Dowd being cast as Tigger. But after some underwhelming reactions from test screenings, O’Dowd willingly stepped down to let Cummings voice Tigger as well. And simply put, Cummings is still just as utterly delightful as ever when it comes to making these two some of the most beloved characters in all of pop culture.
Well, it should probably come as no surprise that I adored this film. I recognize that there’s probably quite a bit of bias in that statement given my deeply personal connection to this franchise, but Christopher Robin is genuinely quite the heartwarming affair. All in all, it more than fulfills its purpose of being a touching story that tugs at the heartstrings by being a parable about one man’s struggle to regain some of the humanity that he had lost in the transition from childhood to adulthood. It just so happens that this film is also a part of one of Disney’s most beloved franchises, Winnie the Pooh. Thus, for fans of the Winnie the Pooh franchise, this film gives them plenty of great new material with all the characters that they know and love. Yes, there are a few ‘dark’ moments in this film, but nothing worse than any of the ‘dark’ moments that we’ve seen from other facets of this franchise. And just like another recent film that saw classic characters undergo a change in design, 2015’s The Peanuts Movie, Pooh and his friends did not lose any of their charm and heart when they made the transition from animation to live-action CGI characters. In short, Christopher Robin is the very definition of a ‘feel-good’ film, and I think that many will agree that we certainly need more films like this in this current day and age. This one accomplishes that by celebrating some of the most beloved characters of all-time (and yes, I know that I’m directly quoting this film’s marketing campaign), effectively delighting both longtime fans and those who are being introduced to them for the very first time.
Rating: 5/5!
Loved it! Totally agree!
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