(3 / 4)
Winnie the Pooh proves to be the life coach you forgot that you needed.
Winnie the Pooh has touched the hearts of children for over 90 years and has maintained a connection with readers that is unlike any other children’s story. It is undeniable that a part of this bond can be attributed to the wisdom to be gleaned from Pooh’s adventures, which have resonance well into adulthood. From comparisons to the great Greek philosophers to being used as a model for simplifying the Chinese philosophy of Taoism it has become clear that despite being “a bear of very little brain” Pooh has some deep insights into the meaning of life. Christopher Robin sets out to more directly explore how Pooh’s approach to life connects to the struggles of adulthood by depicting what would happen if a fully-grown Christopher Robin were to reunite with Pooh and his friends. Unlike many of Disney’s past live-action films, Christopher Robin is a tale that feels like it fully warrants being told and justifies the live-action treatment, as it is more than a mere re-telling of an animated classic as films such as Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella have been guilty of.
Our story picks up during the final chapter of the 1928 book The House at Pooh Corner as Christopher Robin is leaving the Hundred Acre Wood for he must travel to boarding school. The film then literally turns the page on this final chapter and conceptualizes what the next chapters of Christopher’s life are as we witness the hardships he faced as well as the natural progression of his life. In the present, a now fully-grown Christopher (Ewan McGregor) and his wife Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) are in the midst of preparing a family vacation with their daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), when Christopher chooses to opt out of the trip to focus on his work.
After his wife and daughter are disheartened and leave for the trip, Christopher suddenly and quite inexplicably bumps into his old friend, Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings). Pooh reveals to Christopher that he doesn’t know where any of his friends are and requests Christopher’s assistance in locating them. A reluctant Christopher agrees to help Pooh and the film then tracks the relationship between the two old friends as Christopher slowly begins to reconsider whether placing his career as his top priority is the right decision.
I confess that I am somewhat of a sucker for films about childhood that take a more serious and honest approach, so I was especially fond of the film’s concept of returning to childhood to move forward with your present life. This plot seems like such a natural next step for the Winnie the Pooh franchise, so it didn’t come as a surprise to learn that the idea for this story was conceived 15 years ago. The theme of utility versus frivolity has always been a cornerstone of Pooh’s adventures, so I was pleased to see how effectively it worked during the philosophical conversations between the stuffed bear and Christopher Robin.
The overall aesthetic of the film I found beautiful to behold as well. The Hundred Acre Woods (which was filmed in Ashdown Forest, the original inspiration for the author) had a serene and understated beauty throughout. The lack of vibrancy may have not caught the eye of children as readily as in animated form, so I commend the film for taking this risk. While many have been poking fun at their appearances as coming off as creepy, I personally found the realistic design for Pooh and his woodland friends to be endearing and believe this was the right choice. Aside from harkening back to their origins as A. A. Milne’s son’s playthings, it helped to ground the film in reality making the message more meaningful.
Despite shining during the heart to heart scenes between Christopher Robin and Pooh, the story became a bit tonally muddied as the film reached its final act. The final conflict in the story isn’t bad per se, it just paled significantly to the earlier more compelling material in which Christopher Robin dealt more directly with the reevaluation of his life. This focus on a zany and less introspective finale came off as though the film merely dipped its toes in the more complicated examination, but tacked on the more conventional family fare in order to safely appeal to adults and children alike. The ending does admittedly center back to the earlier examination though, so overall despite being a bit disappointing, the finale doesn’t hinder the emotional message too much.
My love of the concept of the film far outweighs the issues I had with the execution at times, as Christopher Robin is largely successful in achieving its goal of adapting Pooh’s carefree wisdom to the difficulties in life that come with increased responsibilities. Perfect casting and a strong integration of what the classic Pooh stories are about enables Christopher Robin to paint an engaging portrait of a man disconnected from his values who is able to get back on track by becoming reacquainted with his childhood friends.
