Fish and Cherries Productions

Summary: Everyone must grow up, so it came to pass that Christopher Robin went from a boy (Orton O’Brian) to a man (Ewan McGregor). A man who went to school, went to war, got married to a lovely woman named Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), had a daughter named Madeline, and got a job. But his boss Mr. Winslow (Mark Gatiss) forces him to work a weekend and figure out who to fire in their company. Forced to miss a holiday with his family, he finds himself at his lowest point. Suddenly he receives a visit from a very old and unexpected friend — Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings). Christopher’s whimsical childhood begins clashing with his bitter adulthood as old friends find themselves in his new problems. Perhaps what Christopher needs is a silly old bear to show him the way.

Review: Christopher Robin is a very sweet movie, tugging on the old, tired heartstrings all the way through. While McGregor, Atwell, and Gatiss do amazing jobs, what really holds this movie together is Pooh Bear himself. Every single bit of his screen time is full of charm and a sort of bumbling innocence that you just can’t help but smile at. The word of the day is “charm” and in this movie, its cup runeth over.

Another thing I appreciated was that Pooh and most of his friends look like worn stuffed animals with patches missing or faded colors. It gives the impression that a lot of time has gone past, adding to the weight of Christopher Robin’s age. Oddly enough, they decided to make Owl (Toby Jones) and Rabbit (Peter Capaldi) look like real animals, which I don’t quite understand because it breaks the pattern (you can even see the veins in Rabbit’s ears). I also thought Tigger (Jim Cummings) looked a little too worse for wear with his fur hue faded to almost nothing. Not a pleasant look at all. On a final note, Capaldi was the most underutilized actor in this movie and that’s a pretty huge disappointment.

Some things do bother me about the movie, like how I feel the day was saved by some questionable economics, though I can’t say for sure if they work because I’m not a businessman. I also thought that the movie might have been stronger if it was ambiguous whether Pooh and friends were really there, almost like Christopher’s mind was trying to help him. But it’s been a long-standing philosophy to judge a movie on what it did rather than what I wished it had done and for what it did, I think Christopher Robin is a fine movie. If you’re a fan of this bumbling bear or like any of the actors here, give this a view. I think you’ll appreciate letting your heart melt.

Fun Tidbit: At the end of the movie, the audience is treated to an old man playing a piano and singing a tune. Disney enthusiasts will recognize him as Richard M. Sherman of the Sherman Brothers, the composer duo who did the songs and score for many of Winnie the Pooh’s animated adventures, as well as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Charlotte’s Web, among many, many others.