The following is a movie review “Christopher Robin”
by Marc Primo.
Initial release: July 30, 2018 (Burbank)
Director: Marc Forster
Budget: $70–75 million
Box office: $133 million
Screenplay: Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, Allison Schroeder
Ewan McGregor stars as the grown-up version of Winnie the Pooh's best friend in Marc Forster's A.A. Milne-inspired film.
Our nostalgia driven love for Pooh wears off quickly. Too much time is spent listening to the frequently annoying ramblings of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. These conversations worked great for the unrelated short stories of the original format, but for the long-form of a film, it lacks energy.
The story begins with a goodbye, as Christopher Robin announces to his furry friends that, “I'm not going to do nothing anymore.” and off to boarding school he goes. Fast forward to the movie present, and an adult Christopher shows up having survived World War II, he joins a London luggage company as an efficiency manager. He married, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), and has a daughter, Madeline (9-year-old Bronte Carmichael), a beautiful family, but he is continually struggling over time spent at work vs with loved ones. Scene after scene we see him being reprimanded by his wife and Christopher apologizing due to the demands of work. To pour salt on an open wound, he'll have to miss out of weekend getaway at their country cottage in Sussex, which he promised to make time for.
Frustrated with his situation Christopher takes a break sitting down in a bench at the park across his London Flat. Suddenly Pooh happens to roll out of a tree on this particular park.
Despite having too much to do Christopher, decides to travel to Sussex after all in order to take his friend (Pooh) home.
As anyone would expect, upon arrival he meets with the rest of his childhood playmates — Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Owl and well ends up getting involved in their adventures. In a rather obvious manner, spending time with his childhood friends reminds Christopher of what's important and pushes him to make amends with his family. McGregor's acting is awkward by turns stressed and a bit frantic. The voice casting is spot-on, the gang of furry friends is by far the most enjoyable part of the film. Jim Cummings' work as Pooh conveys his awareness of his many shortcomings. The rest of the gang make the film a lively experience.
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