The Winnie the Pooh stories are among the great treasures of childhood but this seeming re-write of the sad life of the real Christopher Robin might unsettle adults who learned the true story of A. A. Milne’s son in last year’s GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN. Ordinarily, a chance to revisit A. A. Milne’s delightful world of the Hundred Acre Wood through film would be most welcome but in light of the sad story revealed in that film, there is something off about the way Disney’s new live-action CHRISTOPHER ROBIN goes about that, with a tale in which a grown Christopher Robin reconnects with happy childhood memories of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore and the rest. GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN revealed the much sadder true story of Milne’s son Christopher Robin, the real boy who was the inspiration for the stories’ fictional one, and the way the publication of the books had a devastating effect on his childhood. The Disney film seems to cut out the unpleasant parts of the real person’s story to create a happier one, which just feels wrong, or at least it will likely seem that way to anyone who saw last year’s powerful drama.
Still, kids certainly will be unaware of all that, as will adults who didn’t see the earlier film and, of course, parents can chose to ignore it too. Actually, in this story, it is the fictional Christopher Robin who has grown up, with a life parallel life to Milne’s real son but with the trauma just cut out. Purely as a family film, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is a crowd-pleaser, with period charm, lovely locations, nice performances, and a likable fantasy tale that will entertain both children and parents. The live-action combination of actors and CGI-animated stuffed animals is very well done, and the characters are a much better, more faithful depiction of A.A. Milne’s delightful creations than in the earlier Disney animated versions.
The film is directed by Marc Forster, who has successfully mixed children’s literature and the real people behind the stories before in FINDING NEVERLAND, about the creation of Peter Pan. But while children will delight in the Disney live-action/CGI animated stuffed animal characters in this appealing Winnie the Pooh fantasy, there remains something unsettling about the way the film simply erases out all the unpleasant parts. A.A. Milne’s Pooh stories are wonderful but the success of the books and readers’ interest in the real boy who shared the books’ fictional character’s name turned his parents into greedy stage parents exploiting their son, an experience that haunted him throughout life.
The story is set in a post-World War II London, and Ewan McGregor plays a grown-up Christopher Robin, with Robin being his last name. The film gives us a scene of young Christopher Robin saying farewell to his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, as in “The House At Pooh Corner,” and then a quick recap of growing up and into adulthood that roughly resembles part of young Milne’s life. After service in the war, the adult Christopher Robin has a wife, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and a nine-year-old daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), but all his time seems to be taken up by his job as an efficiency manager at a luggage manufacturer. He likes his job and his department of oddball co-workers (played by a wonderful assortment of British character actors) but works too-long hours and is a bit too serious and stern with his young daughter.
Unfortunately, the luggage company is not doing well, and Christopher’s boss Giles Winslow (a delightfully obnoxious Mark Gatiss) insists that he has to work the weekend so they can cut 20 percent from company costs, cuts that may involved layoffs among Christopher’s staff. Working the weekend will spoil his plans for a long-awaited family weekend at the Sussex cottage where the child Christopher Robin played with his toys in the Hundred Acre Wood. Fortunately, Christopher Robin’s childhood friend Pooh and the rest return to save the day and help the grown man reconnect with his childhood and his daughter in a magical adventure.
The real appeal of this film are A.A. Milne’s characters, brought to life in well-done CGI stuffed animal animation and fine voice acting performances. Visually, the film is wonderful. The mix of live actors and stuffed animal characters is seamless and wholly-convincing, as one expects from Disney, and scenes were shot on location in London and Sussex. There is plenty of action, silly humor and exciting chases to please young viewers. Early on, there are a few tense, dark moments which may upset some younger children (not as harsh as BAMBI) but the story quickly switches tone and eventually delivers the kid-pleasing happy ending and a message about family that will please parents.
On the plus side, the film offers an appealing versions of Milne’s characters, much more true to their charm and clever humor than the earlier simplified animated versions. Parents who have not read the originals to their kids should remedy that immediately, as adults will delight to find the stories entertaining and smarter than you expect based on the Disney versions.
While the plot is pretty familiar, mostly a standard tale of a man re-discovering what really is important in his life, director Marc Forester, who also directed FINDING NEVERLAND, has a few surprises in mind. Ewan McGregor turns in a nice performance as Christopher and gets strong backing from the rest of the cast. The voice acting hits all the right comic notes, particularly Brad Garrett as Eeyore and Jim Cummings as Pooh. Others lending their voices include Toby Jones as Owl, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit and Sophie Okonedo as Kanga.
However, the biggest appeal, not surprisingly, are Milne’s beloved characters. Of course, Winnie the Pooh is front and center in this fantasy of a man getting back in touch with his childhood but the surprise and delight is the prominent role given to Eeyore, a character much funnier in the books than in the cartoon version. We still get the hyperactive Tigger and all the other characters to varying degrees. As said earlier, these version are more true to the smarter, funnier books.
Kiddies won’t notice this but adults who saw GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN will notice the striking visual parallels between this film and the drama, which will keep that other darker tale of bad parenting in the front of mind, perhaps Foresters’ subtle unspoken cautionary commentary. Parents who have not seen GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN might want to consider seeing it before taking their kids to this happy fantasy, although that earlier drama is not suitable for some kids, as director Marc Forster may intend some of the subtext as a cautionary tale for parents. The underlying message, buried under all the kid-friendly entertainment, is to let kids be kids, whether one is aware of the true story behind this or not. Other grown-ups who fondly remember Winnie the Pooh should be aware of the sad true story depicted in the drama before embracing this white-washed version of the grown-up Christopher Robin.
For kids, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is an enjoyable family film, the kind that can entertain both them and their parents, and particularly delightful if they have read the real A.A. Milne stories. For parents who saw the earlier drama, it has a cautionary message. Other grown-up Pooh fans should check out the sad true story depicted in the drama before embracing this fictional tale of Christopher Robin.
RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
