Psycho's Movie Reviews #391: Christopher Robin (2018)

Christopher Robin is a 2018 American live-action/animated fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster and written by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, and Allison Schroeder, from a story by Greg Brooker and Mark Steven Johnson. The film is inspired by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh children's books and is a live-action/CGI follow-up of the Disney franchise of the same name. The film stars Ewan McGregor as the title character, alongside Hayley Atwell as his wife Evelyn, Bronte Carmichael as their daughter Madeline Robin, and Mark Gatiss as his boss with the voices of Jim Cummings (reprising his roles as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger), Brad Garrett (reprising his role as Eeyore), Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, Sara Sheen, and Toby Jones. The story follows an adult Christopher Robin as he loses his sense of imagination, only to be reunited with his old stuffed friends, including Winnie the Pooh.

Plans of a live-action Winnie the Pooh adaptation were announced back in April 2015, and Forster was confirmed as the director in November 2016. McGregor signed on as Christopher Robin in April 2017 and principal photography began in August of that year in the United Kingdom, lasting until November.

Christopher Robin premiered in Burbank, California on July 30, 2018. Released in the United States on August 3, 2018, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the film grossed over $197 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise surpassing The Tigger Movie released in 2000. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances, musical score, and visual effects. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 91st Academy Awards.

Plot

Christopher Robin is leaving for boarding school, so his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood – Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl, and Rabbit – throw him a goodbye party. Christopher comforts Pooh and tells him that he will never forget him.

Christopher's rough experiences in boarding school and the sudden death of his father force him to mature quickly and he soon puts behind the Hundred Acre Wood and his friends there. He grows up, marries architect Evelyn, has a daughter named Madeline and serves in the British Army during World War II. After the war, he works as Director of Efficiency at Winslow Luggages. He neglects his family due to his demanding job and plans on sending Madeline to boarding school, just as he was sent to boarding school. With the company hitting hard times, Christopher's superior, Giles Winslow Jr., tells him to decrease expenditures by 20%, largely by choosing which employees to lay off, and to present his plan on Monday. This causes Christopher to miss joining his family at their countryside cottage in Sussex for a summer-ending weekend.

When Pooh awakens the next morning and is unable to find his friends, he decides to travel through the door through which Christopher Robin is known to emerge and finds himself in London. He reunites with Christopher, who is shocked to see Pooh, but takes him back to his London home. After a night and morning of chaos, Christopher escorts Pooh back to Sussex on the next train.

After sneaking past Christopher's cottage, the two enter the Hundred Acre Wood. Christopher becomes exasperated by Pooh's absent-mindedness and fear of Heffalumps and Woozles. Pooh, in an attempt to return Christopher's compass to him, trips into Christopher's briefcase and his papers spill onto the ground. Christopher, enraged, yells at Pooh, declaring he is not a child any more, before they are separated in the fog. He falls into a Heffalump trap, which is flooded by rainfall, soaking him and his belongings.

Christopher discovers Eeyore and Piglet, who lead him to the others, hiding in a log out of fear of a Heffalump (revealed to be the squeaking of a rusty weathercock from Owl's house after the wind made it fall from its tree while they were having tea). Unable to persuade his friends that he is truly Christopher Robin, he pretends to defeat the Heffalump to convince them. Having vanquished the Heffalump, Christopher finally convinces his friends that he is Christopher Robin, and they joyfully greet him. When they reunite with Pooh, Christopher apologizes for getting upset earlier and tells him how lost he feels. Pooh forgives him, reminding Christopher that they have found each other and comforts him with a hug. The next morning, Christopher rushes from the Hundred Acre Wood to make his presentation, after Tigger gives him his briefcase. On the way, he encounters his family, but much to Madeline's disappointment, he leaves for London.

Pooh realizes that Tigger removed Christopher's paperwork when drying his briefcase, so Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore decide to return it. They meet Madeline, who recognizes them from her father's drawings. Madeline joins them, wanting to dissuade her father about boarding school, and they board a train to London. Evelyn follows after discovering a note Madeline left. At his presentation, Christopher discovers that his briefcase contains items from the Wood that Tigger had given him, including Eeyore's tail. Evelyn arrives and Christopher joins her to search for Madeline. Madeline's group stow away in crates, but Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet are accidentally thrown out, and they encounter Christopher and Evelyn in the process. Pooh and Madeline arrive near the Winslow building and reunite with Christopher and the others, but Madeline accidentally trips on the stairs and loses all but one of the papers, upsetting her and Pooh. Christopher assures Madeline of her importance to him and tells her that he will not send her to boarding school.

Using the one paper Madeline saved, Christopher improvises a new plan involving reducing the prices of luggage, selling their luggage to ordinary people to increase demand and giving employees paid leave. Winslow Jr. dismisses the idea, but Winslow Sr. warms to it and agrees to the plan. Winslow Jr. is humiliated as Christopher points out that he contributed nothing to the plan, having been out golfing all weekend.

Christopher, along with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet, finally take his family into the Hundred Acre Wood to meet the rest of his friends. As everyone relaxes at a picnic, Pooh and Christopher Robin both share a tender moment together.

In a mid-credits scene, the employees of Winslow's are seen having fun at the beach while Richard M. Sherman performs "Busy Doing Nothing" on a piano. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore are relaxing on beach chairs with Eeyore saying "Thank you for noticing me".

Production

Development

Initially in 2003, Brigham Taylor, inspired by the last chapter of The House at Pooh Corner, pitched to Disney an idea about a Winnie the Pooh film focusing on an adult Christopher Robin. However, due to other Pooh projects being in development at the time, the project was not pitched for a film. In 2015, Kristin Burr later convinced Taylor to resurrect the project, which the two then started working on that year.

On April 2, 2015, Walt Disney Pictures announced that a live-action adaptation based on the characters from the Winnie the Pooh franchise was in development, which would take a similar pattern to Alice in Wonderland (2010), Maleficent (2014), and Cinderella (2015). Alex Ross Perry was hired to write the script and Brigham Taylor hired to produce the film, about an adult Christopher Robin returning to the Hundred Acre Wood to spend time with Pooh and the gang. On November 18, 2016, it was reported that the studio had hired Marc Forster to direct the film, titled Christopher Robin, and the project would have "strong elements of magical realism as it seeks to tell an emotional journey with heartwarming adventure." On March 1, 2017, Tom McCarthy was hired to rewrite the existing screenplay.

Casting

On April 26, 2017, Ewan McGregor was announced to play the title character while Allison Schroeder was recruited to do additional work on the script. On June 22, 2017, it was revealed that Gemma Arterton had been in negotiations to portray the wife of the title character, but ultimately, she passed on the role. In August 2017, Hayley Atwell and Mark Gatiss were respectively cast as the title character's wife Evelyn and boss Giles Winslow. Nick Mohammed was cast as Piglet, while Jim Cummings was confirmed to be reprising his role as Winnie the Pooh, and Brad Garrett was revealed to be voicing Eeyore (he previously voiced the character in the Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree CD-ROM game). In January 2018, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, and Toby Jones were cast as Rabbit, Kanga, and Owl, respectively. Chris O'Dowd was originally set to voice Tigger, with Roger L. Jackson voice-doubling for him, but he was replaced by Cummings, who has played the character partially from 1989 until fully since 2000, after audiences in test screenings reacted negatively towards how O'Dowd voiced the character.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began in early August 2017, in the United Kingdom, and concluded on November 4, 2017. Much of the filming of the Hundred Acre Wood scenes took place at Ashdown Forest, which was the original inspiration for the setting, as well as Windsor Great Park, at Shepperton Studios and at Dover seafront and the former Dover Marine Station, now the town's cruise terminal which doubled as a London railway station.

Music

Jóhann Jóhannsson was hired to score the film, shortly before his death on February 9, 2018. The film is dedicated to his memory. Klaus Badelt was announced as taking over composing duties for Jóhannsson, but the score was ultimately written by Jon Brion and Geoff Zanelli, with additional music contributions by Zak McNeil, Bryce Jacobs, Paul Mounsey, and Philip Klein.

At an Academy event, songwriter and Disney Legend Richard M. Sherman revealed that the film would feature the iconic "Winnie the Pooh" theme, and that he was working on three new songs for the film, titled "Goodbye Farewell," "Busy Doing Nothing," and "Christopher Robin," with the first one being performed by the voice cast, and the last two by Sherman. Sherman said that he found "very special to be back at the Hundred Acre Wood" as "Winnie the Pooh became a dear friend of his when Walt gave [to the Sherman Brothers] the assignment to write songs for the first Winnie the Pooh short film," and felt the film has "a wonderful story." Sherman said that he wrote "Busy Doing Nothing" based on the fact that "Pooh is always busy. Doing nothing. And he's very proud of the fact he does nothing," and said "it was fun to write." He called the song "Christopher Robin" "a sweet, nostalgic, memory of a love song between Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin," and said the lyrics "are part of the storyline of the film."

"Up, Down and Touch the Ground" and "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers," both written by Richard and his brother Robert B. Sherman and performed by Cummings as Pooh and Tigger, respectively, are also included in the film. The film's soundtrack, featuring Zanelli and Brion's score, and Sherman's new songs, was released on August 3, 2018.

Release/Reception/Box Office

Christopher Robin opened Burbank on July 30, 2018, and was released on August 3, 2018 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was denied a release in China, as some have speculated it was due to Chinese netizens drawing comparisons between Winnie the Pooh and Chinese leader Xi Jinping since mid-2017. Other industry insiders speculated it was likely due to reasons such as the film's size and the presence of other Hollywood films in the market.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 72% based on 275 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Christopher Robin may not equal A. A. Milne's stories – or their animated Disney adaptations – but it should prove sweet enough for audiences seeking a little childhood magic." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times reviewed the film and said: "Once Christopher Robin softens its insufferable, needlessly cynical conception of the title character, it offers more or less what a Pooh reboot should: a lot of nostalgia, a bit of humour and tactile computer animation." And David Sims of The Atlantic wrote, "It's an odd, melancholic experience that at times recalls Terrence Malick as it does A. A. Milne, but there will certainly be some viewers in its exact wheelhouse." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film a 3 out of 4 stars and said, "Pooh's wisdom and kindness cannot be denied. The same impulses worked for the two Paddington movies, God knows. Christopher Robin isn't quite in their league, but it's affecting nonetheless." Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair gave the film a positive review and heavily praised the voice performance from Cummings, calling it "Oscar-worthy". Overall, he said, "As Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too), the veteran voice actor gives such sweet, rumpled, affable life to the wistful bear of literary renown that it routinely breaks the heart. Cummings's performance understands something more keenly than the movie around it; he taps into a vein of humour and melancholy that is pitched at an exact frequency, one that will speak to child and adult alike. His Pooh is an agreeable nuisance and an accidental philosopher, delivering nonsensical (and yet entirely sensible) adages in a friendly, deliberate murmur ringed faintly with sadness. I wanted to (gently) yank him from the screen and take him home with me, his fuzzy little paw in mine as we ambled to the subway, the summer sun fading behind us. He's a good bear, this Pooh."

Conversely, Alonso Duralde of TheWrap called the film "slow and charmless" and wrote, "What we're left with is a Hook-style mid-life crisis movie aimed at kids, designed to shame parents who spend too much time at the office and not enough with their families." Helen O'Hara of Empire magazine gave the film a 2 out of 5 stars and said, "Everyone's trying hard, but they can't quite live up to the particularly gentle, warm tone of Pooh himself. Unlike the bear of very little brain, this is a film pulled in different directions with entirely too many thoughts in its head".

The performance of Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin was particularly well received. David Fear of Rolling Stone said, "He's an actor who can roll with this movie's punches, whether it requires him to be light on his feet or dragged down by existential despair, exhilarated by childlike play or exasperated by a house-wrecking creature who says things like, 'People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day'." Adam Forsgren for East Idaho News wrote, "First and foremost is McGregor's performance in the title role. The guy sells being the put-upon, overburdened office drone so well that it's a treat to see him begin to rediscover his younger self and let himself play...McGregor is the glue that holds this whole movie together." Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine stated, "But it's doubtful the movie would work at all if not for McGregor: He turns Christopher's anxiety into a haunting presence, the kind of storm cloud that we can all, now and then, feel hovering above us. Yet McGregor is also an actor capable of expressing unalloyed delight. And when, as Christopher Robin, he finally does, some of that delight rubs off on us too." Brian Lowry also noted in his review for CNN, "Give much of the credit to McGregor in the thankless task of playing opposite his adorably furry co-stars, ably handling the comedy derived from the fact that he doesn't dare let others see them." Odie Henderson of Rogerebert.com gave the film a 2 out of 4 stars and said: "Christopher Robin can't reconcile its darkness and its light. But if these folks want to write an Eeyore movie that stays firmly planted in the Wood, I'll be first in line to see it." Simran Hans of The Guardian gave the film a 2 out of 5 stars, and noted, "Christopher's furry friends don't appear to be figments of his imagination. If they're not a metaphor for a misplaced sense of fun (or a midlife crisis), the film's tone ends up being weirdly adult for a kids' film."

Christopher Robin grossed $99.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $98.4 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $197.6 million.

In the United States and Canada, Christopher Robin was released alongside The Spy Who Dumped Me, The Darkest Minds, and Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?. The film made $9.5 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $24.6 million, finishing second at the box office behind holdover Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The film fell 47% to $13 million in its second weekend, finishing third behind The Meg and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The film finished sixth in its third through fifth weekends, grossing $8.9 million, $6.3 million, and $5.3 million, respectively.

Budget $75 million

Box office $197.7 million

My Review

A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh stories captivated me as a child and they are still wonderful stories through young adult eyes. The stories epitomise childhood innocence, the atmosphere is enough to enchant everybody regardless of gender and age and the characters are some of the most charming in children's literature (Disney's treatment of them as some of their most famous ever creations is every bit as special).

Wanted to see 'Christopher Robin' from the very start, being as big a fan as all things Winnie the Pooh. Despite giving away too much of the film for my liking, the trailer did look good and the charm and childhood innocence did shine through even with the obvious melancholic tone that comes with growing up and forgetting. Ewan McGregor has big talent as an actor, the idea was such a great one and Winnie the Pooh is just such a great character that is impossible to dislike. Also wanted to see where abouts in the mixed to positive critical reception it would land in, though a few negative reviews, from reviewers usually trusted by me, put me off a little.

Am so glad about following my gut instinct and watching the film. 'Christopher Robin' has its faults, and is not as good as the 60s-70s short films, 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh', the series 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' and a few of the films that came after, but is really lovely in its own way with plenty for children and adults like.

'Christopher Robin' is not perfect as has been said. It does drag and loses its warmth and charm with the family and workplace scenes of the first half, which came over as over-sentimental and dreary, with few surprises having been done numerous times in the same way. A shame when the opening scene was so charming and sweet, and relatable for any child growing up. Anybody expecting a lot of depth shouldn't really, only Pooh and Christopher Robin, done beautifully on both counts, grow here really.

Mark Gatiss does overdo his weasel-like (or should we say woozle-like) character for my liking, an unsubtle stereotype and played with even less subtlety that it gets annoying. Would have liked more of some of the Hundred Acre Wood characters, half underused especially Owl and Kanga.

Had no problem with most of the voice work, but always did find Peter Capaldi to be an odd choice for Rabbit (under-characterised here) and still do, basically it's Doctor Who with a London-ish accent and it doesn't fit Rabbit.

However, the opening scene is full of the childhood innocence, warmth and charm one expects from Winnie the Pooh and those qualities do pick up once Pooh re-appears and even more so when the other Hundred Acre Wood characters are re-introduced. Much of 'Christopher Robin' is full of nostalgia and there are some lovely gently humorous touches, especially with Tigger and even more so Eeyore who has some of the best lines. There is a melancholy and wistfulness that is both appealing and moving, Pooh does bring tears to the eyes and his interplay, one of the film's biggest strengths, with Christopher is sweet and humorous.

Present also are nice glimpses of the original drawings and the nostalgia is created mainly by the numerous references to the stories and the previous Winnie the Pooh incarnations (the exchange between Christopher and Pooh concluding the opening scene, getting lost, Heffalumps and Woozles, the balloon, a couple of the songs from the 1960s-1970s short films to name a few). The Hundred Acre Wood characters are not far off from their original personalities, particularly Eeyore and Tigger, the only reservation being Rabbit and perhaps Piglet could have been a little more timid.

Throughout 'Christopher Robin' looks lovely, with handsome period detail, photography that is a mix of purposefully grim to idyllic and a beautifully rendered and quite faithful Hundred Acre Wood. The effects for Pooh and co. are delightful and looks great, maybe not quite how Disney portrayed them visually but not far off from the original drawings of the stories, of which the spirit is captured beautifully once in the Hundred Acre Wood, and their conditions of being forgotten for so long obvious in a realistic fashion. The eyes are not quite expressive, though not creepy, but the characterisations and how they interact and move are certainly expressive. The music is whimsical and melancholic, while the story falters with the family and workplace scenes early on but is charming, warm-hearted and poignant everywhere else. The script is thoughtful and affectionate and Marc Forster, perfect for the job and bringing the same qualities he did for 'Finding Neverland', directs sympathetically.

Ewan McGregor does a great job here, a hard role to balance quite a number of emotions and reacting against nothing for much of the film but it is a nuanced performance, stern and uptight at first but mellows into childlike wonder. Basically it is a great portrayal of forgetting fond memories and finding them again, learning things along the way, with a few nice life lessons, that allows the character to grow, apparent in the heart-warming ending. Hayley Atwell is a routable presence and Bronte Carmichael is a star in the making. Making more of an impression is the voice acting. Brad Garrett is a standout as Eeyore, sadness at its funniest. Nick Mohammed doesn't quite match the giant shoes left by John Fiedler, having voiced Piglet from the very beginning until his death in 2005, but the sweetness and timidity is captured nicely. Best of all is Jim Cummings, he's been voicing Pooh and Tigger since the late 80s and the experience shows. He has not lost Tigger's humour and liveliness but it's as Pooh where he is particularly wonderful, having not moved me to tears this much until now.

Overall, very nicely done and definitely well worth watching once it gets going. 8/10