Christopher Robin
I had no idea until I was preparing to go into Disney’s “Christopher Robin” that it was directed by Marc Forster, who has taken a diverse trip through genres since breaking out with “Monster’s Ball” and “Finding Neverland.” As soon as I noticed his name as director, I was intrigued with the choice, and made me curious to see what he would bring to Disney’s live-action rendering of A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard’s beloved creations. My favorite movies of Forster’s have involved individuals at crucial moments in their lives, and how they react to that. While “Monster’s Ball” is a tremendous character piece, and “Quantum of Solace” and “World War Z” are entertaining pieces of escapism, “Finding Neverland” and his 2006 comedy-drama, “Stranger Than Fiction” (with Will Farrell, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson), are the films that had real resonance with me at the time of their release. “Christopher Robin” is of a piece with those two films, although I’m not sure it’s quite as good as either of them. It does have a big heart and warm imagination, though, that is befitting the world it creates.
The film begins with a storybook Winnie the Pooh tale about Christopher Robin and his friends in the Hundred-Acre Wood, and the friendship they had. Reality follows thereafter, as Christopher grows up, and leaves his childhood behind when his parents send him to boarding school. Then, he goes to college, which is where he meets Evelyn (Haley Atwell). After that, he goes to battle, leaving a pregnant Evelyn to raise their daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), on her own, which will feel like it continues after Christopher (Ewan McGregor) returns home, and gets a job at a luggage company looking for cost-cutting measures while it is struggling after the war. Christopher is stressed out, and seems to be ignoring his family when he gets an unexpected visit from his old childhood friend Pooh (voiced beautifully by long-time Pooh actor Jim Cummings), who is having a hard time finding his friends, and needs Christopher’s help in doing so. Maybe he can help Christopher in return?
If you are a fan of these characters, there is a lot to love about this film, namely in the way Forster and the effects artists bring Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and the rest of the characters in Hundred-Acre Wood to life. I will actually be disappointed if this film does not get recognized at the end of the year for the remarkable character design and visual effects used to bring these characters to life alongside the engaging voice acting by Cummings, Brad Garrett and others. This is a flawless rendering of these characters in live-action that is a treat to watch for that reason alone, along with the lovely direction of Forster, who gets wonderful work out of cinematographer Matthias Koenigswieser and composers Jon Brion and Geoff Zanelli. The rest of the story, though? That’s where the film kind of loses me, and honestly, the trailers show it coming a mile away. The film is basically doing the “Hook” narrative of main character grows up, and adult responsibilities and the real world make him forget the person he was as a kid, and his friends from his childhood help him remember who he is. Now, I think overall this is a better version of that than “Hook,” and McGregor does fine work, but it takes what could have been a special treat of a film and turns it into an overly sappy Hollywood melodrama, regardless of how entertaining it is. It’s disappointing, in that regard, but for long-time fans of the world Milne and Shepard created, there’s still plenty to recommend it.
