Christopher Robin
By James Davidson
“Christopher Robin” revisits the beloved children’s series, Winnie the Pooh. Ewan McGregor plays an adult Christopher Robin, who has grown up but forgotten his stuffed friends from his childhood; Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo. He is working at a luggage company and is asked to work over the weekend instead of spending the time at his childhood vacation home with his wife and daughter. Winnie the Pooh finds his old friend and sets out to teach Christopher what is really important again.
Winnie the Pooh was a huge part of my childhood, so I was both excited and worried going into this movie. I was excited to see my childhood friends represented on the big screen, but worried that it would not live up to my expectations or that it would not be as entertaining to me as an adult as it was when I was a little kid.
This movie definitely lived up to my expectations and I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire movie. The loveable, honey-smacking bear was just as endearing as he was when I was a small child. Jim Cummings returns to voice Winnie, which only added to the nostalgia.
The visual effects in the film are very well done. The stuffed characters look real and move naturally. I could almost believe Winnie and his friends were really walking around London getting into mischief.
The one issue with this movie is it can’t seem to decide if it is a children’s movie or a movie for adults like myself who grew up with these characters. If I had never seen Winnie-the-Pooh as a child, I don’t think I would have gotten a lot of the jokes and subtle nods to the original material. I imagine children who have never seen or read any Winnie-the-Pooh material before might not appreciate some of the subtle nuances that make this movie great.
I still think anyone will definitely be able to enjoy this movie without seeing the originals or reading the stories. The plot will keep both adults and children entertained and laughing throughout as the jokes are funny and clean for all ages. Christopher Robin is rated PG for some action and is great for the entire family.
The filmmakers did an amazing job capturing the feel of the original Winnie-the-Pooh stories. There were a lot of nods to the original stories that I recognized and loved seeing on the big screen. They even added the Tigger song, which I was very excited to see. Winnie and all of his friends acted exactly like they did when I was a child. It was a lot of fun to watch them run around London confusing the people they encounter.
“Christopher Robin” is fun for the entire family and, in my opinion, the best family movie of the year so far. I will definitely be buying this when it comes out on DVD and watching it again and again. People of all ages will enjoy this movie and i will readily recommend it to anyone looking for a great movie. It earns 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Film Fodder 