Review: Christopher Robin is a Sweet Smackeral of Honey

Remember a while back when I was vehemently against Christopher Robin being made? My, what a difference two years makes. This movie could never live up to the books and films that introduced us to the Hundred Acre Wood, but this latest live-action Disney film does a fine job at capturing the sweetness that made us fall in love with these characters in the first place. While the original books were about growing up and letting childhood go, Christopher Robin is about growing up while not losing sight of your inner child. Sometimes you can figure this out on your own, and sometimes you need a silly old bear to help you find your way.

The film starts with Christopher Robin leaving the Hundred Acre Wood as a child to attend boarding school, but not before Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends throw him a farewell party and wish him luck. After years of schooling, getting married, fighting in World War II, and starting a family, Christopher, played by Ewan McGregor, is a luggage company efficiency expert who works hard while inadvertently ignoring his wife and daughter. One day, Pooh arrives back in Christopher’s life and asks for his help in finding his friends, who have gone missing. What follows is an adventure through London, the countryside, The Hundred Acre Wood, and back again as Christopher Robin recaptures some of the wonder of his youth.

Before I go further, I feel the need to acknowledge a few issues that I had with this film; while Christopher Robin and Pooh get ample screen-time, as do a few other residents of the Hundred Acre Wood, I felt that some of Christopher’s childhood friends were sidelined too much. Moreover, while I enjoyed moments between Christopher and his wife Evelyn, played by Hayley Atwell, I felt like I didn’t get to know her as well as I would have liked to. Granted, it is a film with an ensemble cast, and they keep the focus on the part of the ensemble that matters most: Christopher, his stuffed animal friends, and, to a lesser degree, Christopher’s daughter Madeline, played by Bronte Carmichael. If certain characters have to be sidelined to keep focus on the storyline that matters, so be it. One thing that threw me for a loop at the beginning of this movie was seeing Christopher Robin go off to fight in World War II; it is a kid’s movie, after all, and a World War doesn’t seem to fit in well with a movie about a man reuniting with a stuffed bear. Then again, given the time period that this movie is set in, it would make sense to have Christopher go off to war; it’s better than trying to shoehorn Winnie-the-Pooh into modern times. By setting this movie in a post-World War II United Kingdom, the filmmakers have made a valiant effort to keep this movie from becoming dated. I also noticed that Mark Gatiss, in the role of Christopher Robin’s boss, was not that intimidating as an antagonist, which may bother some people, but I didn’t mind it that much; I just figured I’d point that out for people who were expecting a big bad in this movie. The real big bad of Christopher Robin is the risk of losing sight of the people and things that matter most in life.

The cast of Christopher Robin, both live-action and animated, made the film very enjoyable. Ewan McGregor captured the seriousness of a grown-up Christopher Robin while also being able to bring back the childlike wonder of his younger self. While not utilized as much as she could be in this film, Hayley Atwell’s portrayal of Evelyn Robin allowed for more tender moments that made us feel badly for both her and Christopher as they try to figure out how to balance working hard and spending time together as a family. Christopher’s daughter Madeline definitely felt like her parents’ child; she wants to work hard to please her parents, but she also just wants to be a kid and have fun, even if she’s not entirely sure how to do that. In addition, Madeline’s interactions with Pooh and company reminded me quite a bit of Christopher’s time with his furry friends, which added to the similarities between father and daughter. Eeyore, voiced by Brad Garrett, was unexpectedly one of the funniest characters in the movie, mostly for the deadpan way in which he observes and bemoans the world around him; I found myself laughing more at Eeyore’s lines than I ever would have expected to.  Of course, as with the books and animated films that came before, the true star of the show is Winnie-the-Pooh, voiced once again by the legendary voice actor Jim Cummings. In a world where things can seem so complicated, often needlessly so, a character like Pooh allows us to take a step back and look at things more simply. The majority of Pooh’s lines feel like they’re pulled right from the original books and films, and Cummings delivers each line with the sweetness that this beloved character is known for. Christopher Robin’s interactions with his old friends is made possible by excellent special effects and the cast’s ability to act opposite stuffed animals. They looked as though old toys would look after all these years, and no, I didn’t think Pooh looked creepy at all; I thought he looked like the silly old bear he’s always been.

I think my biggest concern going into this movie was that Pooh and his friends would continually be a nuisance to Christopher and that he wouldn’t warm to them until near the end of the film. Thankfully, Christopher very quickly gets behind the idea of helping Pooh find the rest of the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood. Of course, Christopher keeps his work in mind while trying to help Pooh, but as he spends more and more time with his silly old bear, he also starts to do something that he hasn’t done in awhile; he starts to have fun. I think that a lot of children, and even a few adults, have an idea in their minds that growing up means that you stop having fun and that life will eventually become all work and no play. This movie has the power to remind us all that nothing could be further from the truth; work is important, but so is play, and sometimes it takes a trip down memory lane to remind you of a simpler time. Another part of this film that I appreciated was that it felt, in a few ways, like a continuation of the classic 1977 film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (a personal favorite of mine, right up there with The Lion King); the opening scene even adapts dialogue from that film (which really originated in the books) to drive that point home. I also liked this movie for its simplicity: there’s no malarkey about fading magic threatening to put an end to the Hundred Acre Wood and no one tries to lock Christopher Robin up for talking to a stuffed bear. While the odd passerby will stare in astonishment that a toy is talking to them, it’s more or less accepted by the main characters as a part of the world they live in. The characters’ acceptance of Pooh and his friends allows everyone, including Christopher Robin, to enjoy the company of these stuffed animals as much as the audience does.

Christopher Robin has a sweetness that I didn’t expect it to have when I first heard about it a couple years ago; while I will always prefer the animated films that first introduced me to these characters, I find that I have a bit of a soft spot for this return to the Hundred Acre Wood. If you’re a fan of the Winnie-the-Pooh books and films, you may find quite a bit to enjoy in Christopher Robin. Enjoy this sweet smackeral of honey in theaters now.

The Sack Score: 8/10