Christopher Robin
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael
Christopher Robin -- now all grown up with a family of his own, receives a surprise visit from his dearest childhood friend, Winnie-the-Pooh. With Christopher's help, Pooh embarks on a journey back to the Hundred Acre Wood to find his friends -- Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. Once reunited, they embark on a heartwarming adventure and learn that “sometimes doing nothing leads to the very best something.”
Imagination plays a powerful role in Christopher Robin’s journey, and it is particularly illustrated in the connection he shares with his animal friends and their special home in the Hundred Acre Wood.
The woods are a direct metaphor for Christopher Robin and his imagination. When we see Christopher Robin visit the Hundred Acre Wood as a child, the woods are very bright and charming. All his friends are gathered, and everybody is happy and having fun. And as Pooh and Christopher sit together on the bridge, Christopher Robin promises Pooh that he will never forget about Pooh and his friends…not even if he lived to be 100. But then...he leaves. He says goodbye to his childhood friends, and as he grows up, the Woods become a very lonely place, cloaked in fog, and forgotten memories. It is like all the joy and imagination were leeched out because the child whose imagination brought it to life no longer believed in them. One by one his friends disappear until there's only Pooh left waiting by the door, hoping that his friend will return once more to play. Pooh leaves the Wood when he realizes all his friends are now gone...and he needs to find Christopher Robin to help him save his friends again. When Pooh returns to the Wood with adult Christopher Robin, its initially STILL very cold and foggy and there's even a moment when Pooh, himself, vanishes (when Christopher Robin says he DID forget Pooh). It is ONLY when Christopher Robin starts playing again and using his imagination to save Eeyore from the waterfall and the terrible Heffalumps that his friends recognize Christopher Robin once again and the Woods are bright and sunny once more, when he sees Pooh sitting on the old log.
I have always held a special place in my heart for Winnie the Pooh. I have not had such affection for the Disney remakes. When I first heard they were doing a “live-action” Winnie the Pooh movie, I was...concerned. This movie is so charming. The essence that made these characters so unique and special and timeless was very much there in this movie (especially with Jim Cummings reprising his voice as Pooh.) I also enjoyed Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin as an adult. My God, the tears came when I first heard Pooh speak again. The animation for the animal characters was PERFECT. It felt like seeing what the characters might look like after 30-something yrs of adventures and fun…a little careworn and shabby…like most well-loved toys are…but still very much the characters I grew up loving. I would HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who has grown up loving Winnie the Pooh and his dear friends.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael
Christopher Robin -- now all grown up with a family of his own, receives a surprise visit from his dearest childhood friend, Winnie-the-Pooh. With Christopher's help, Pooh embarks on a journey back to the Hundred Acre Wood to find his friends -- Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. Once reunited, they embark on a heartwarming adventure and learn that “sometimes doing nothing leads to the very best something.”
Imagination plays a powerful role in Christopher Robin’s journey, and it is particularly illustrated in the connection he shares with his animal friends and their special home in the Hundred Acre Wood.
The woods are a direct metaphor for Christopher Robin and his imagination. When we see Christopher Robin visit the Hundred Acre Wood as a child, the woods are very bright and charming. All his friends are gathered, and everybody is happy and having fun. And as Pooh and Christopher sit together on the bridge, Christopher Robin promises Pooh that he will never forget about Pooh and his friends…not even if he lived to be 100. But then...he leaves. He says goodbye to his childhood friends, and as he grows up, the Woods become a very lonely place, cloaked in fog, and forgotten memories. It is like all the joy and imagination were leeched out because the child whose imagination brought it to life no longer believed in them. One by one his friends disappear until there's only Pooh left waiting by the door, hoping that his friend will return once more to play. Pooh leaves the Wood when he realizes all his friends are now gone...and he needs to find Christopher Robin to help him save his friends again. When Pooh returns to the Wood with adult Christopher Robin, its initially STILL very cold and foggy and there's even a moment when Pooh, himself, vanishes (when Christopher Robin says he DID forget Pooh). It is ONLY when Christopher Robin starts playing again and using his imagination to save Eeyore from the waterfall and the terrible Heffalumps that his friends recognize Christopher Robin once again and the Woods are bright and sunny once more, when he sees Pooh sitting on the old log.
I have always held a special place in my heart for Winnie the Pooh. I have not had such affection for the Disney remakes. When I first heard they were doing a “live-action” Winnie the Pooh movie, I was...concerned. This movie is so charming. The essence that made these characters so unique and special and timeless was very much there in this movie (especially with Jim Cummings reprising his voice as Pooh.) I also enjoyed Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin as an adult. My God, the tears came when I first heard Pooh speak again. The animation for the animal characters was PERFECT. It felt like seeing what the characters might look like after 30-something yrs of adventures and fun…a little careworn and shabby…like most well-loved toys are…but still very much the characters I grew up loving. I would HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who has grown up loving Winnie the Pooh and his dear friends.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved