Pure Enchantment! A Magical Delight! Sweeter than “Hunny”! This is the stuff of which memories and magic are made. This is the Force of Winnie the Pooh and CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.
Can anyone ever get enough of the Hundred Acre Wood? I think not, as one look at this live-action tale of CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, and you may find your heart overflowing with happiness. Director Marc Forster and company celebrate the magic of Pooh and the joys of childhood, taking us all “home again” to the days of our youth when life was as a simple as being a carefree “Bear of Very Little Brain” but with very big heart and fun.
From the opening titles with the well-worn pen and ink original Ernest Shepard illustrations coming to life with key phrases from the Pooh books unfolding on screen, we are swept back in time to the happiest of places in our hearts and minds. Joyful is that when Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit and Tigger appear onscreen as in their original beloved 1926 illustrated print form as opposed to the stuffed, softer and rounder Disneyfied animation and merchandising we have come to know over the years. Even more exciting is that when Pooh and friends reappear in Christopher Robin’s life years later. They are well worn, showing years of love and the passage of time, as we see most notably on Pooh’s muzzle and nose and on dear little Piglet.
Picking up after A.A. Milne’s “The House At Pooh Corner” which ends as Christopher Robin goes away to boarding school, we are reintroduced to the gang of Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl, and the special bond between a boy and his bear, complete with the unforgettable “Pooh Sticks” game. (Tissues, people. You will need tissues for all the happy tears.)
With a sweet montage that takes us through Christopher Robin’s years since leaving Pooh and pals in the Hundred Acre Wood, we finally catch up with him in London at his wits end with a dead end job at Winslow’s luggage, always working, looking to saving for the future and not living in the present, and forgetting the things that he once held dear – family and friends. We also catch up with Pooh who has lost his friends and can’t find them in the fog within the Hundred Acre Wood. Oh, what to do, what to do!
What to do indeed, as Pooh soon finds himself going through Christopher Robin’s door in the tree in Hundred Acre Wood, landing in London in the park outside Christopher Robin’s home and who does he meet? None other than Christopher Robin himself. And so our new journey begins as Christopher Robin returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh to help him find their friends, only to then to London alone, but with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore not far behind determined to help CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.
After last year’s “Goodbye, Christopher Robin”, I was curious and concerned how CHRISTOPHER ROBIN would fit in the Pooh universe, but I needn’t have worried. While the backstories of Christopher Robin deviate somewhat (here, his father dies when CR is very young), the gist of going to war, coming back a changed adult and leaving the frivolity of youth behind only to rediscover it is somewhat comparable, with CHRISTOPHER ROBIN really delving into the rediscovery and importance of friendship, family and fun.
Written by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy and Allison Schroeder from a story by Greg Brooker and Mark Steven Johnson, the script is well constructed, complete with the most famous of Pooh-isms that continually spark memories or touchstones of one’s youth. Celebratory is the simplicity of the story which mirrors the simplicity of Pooh, who reduces everything to a pure, uncomplicated essence. Sadly, we all seem to leave our childhoods behind, or in some cases lose them, but ultimately, we all experience that journey of finding that pure joy again.
Turning the story into a multi-generational one, we not only meet Christopher Robin’s wife Evelyn, but daughter Madeline, who now gets to experience the joys of Pooh and company once they arrive in London. Every adventure, or “expedition”, boils down to family and friends working together, helping each other, supporting each other, loving each other.
A first in the world of Winnie the Pooh, one of the most entertaining aspects of the film comes with the fact that Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore can now be seen as alive and walking, talking, bouncing “in the real world.” Gotta love Pooh in Christopher Robin’s house as he explores the kitchen and creates an amusing and entertaining disaster. (Come to think of it, who cleaned up that mess??) This expands the story and serves as a wonderful basis for the climactic third act, not to mention a delightful musical sequence during the end credits. (NOTE: STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS!) The adventures of Heffalumps and Woozles (with Christopher Robin’s boss Mr. Winslow being a Woozle) are beyond entertaining and fun; the fun which only gets moreso when Madeline and Pooh and friends set off on their own adventure to the Woozles (aka Winslows) to save Christopher Robin (very akin to Jane and Michael Banks in “Mary Poppins”, I might add).
But it’s CHRISTOPHER ROBIN himself that truly soars and I can think of no one but Ewan McGregor to play this role. The Force of Pooh is truly with him here as McGregor’s boyish charms make him beyond believable in the role. When he crawls back through the door into the Hundred Acre Wood and starts wandering with Pooh, we start to see a change in him that McGregor beautifully captures with a twinkle in his eye and unforgettable smile. But it’s with Eeyore’s floating down the river to a waterfall when the true magic begins as McGregor pinches his nose and jumps in the “river”, only to realize it’s only as deep as his ankles, and he erupts in laughter. Adorably precious. And in that moment, the film’s tone shifts and we know the Christopher Robin of olde is still with us.
As Evelyn, Hayley Atwell is a lovely counterpart to McGregor while Bronte Carmichael makes a real mark as Madeline.
Of course, what would Pooh be without his voice and as he has done for some 30+ years now, Jim Cummings enchants giving voice to the silly old Bear. And not to be overlooked, he also voices the bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy Tigger. New to the world of Pooh is Brad Garrett who is pure perfection as the ever-depressed, glass-half-empty Eeyore. Also joining the voice cast is Nick Mohammed as Piglet, Toby Jones as Owl, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, Sophie Okonedo as Kanga, and Sara Sheen as Roo.
Forster’s direction is first rate. Going back to the origins of Pooh, he maintains that simplicity and joy in the visual design and execution thanks to cinematographer Matthias Koenigswieser. With Mother Nature working to their advantage clouds and sun appear where needed (and according to Forster, all are natural and not digitally inserted). Distinguishing the Hundred Acre Wood and Christopher Robin’s country house from London, Koenigswieser and Forster embrace the fog and grey in the London air that is a by-product of the coal industry, while capturing the lush, rich greenery and open skies of the countryside, serving as a metaphoric means to show Christopher Robin’s inner demons of adulthood in London versus the rediscovery of the freedom and joy of a world with a more Pooh-like attitude.
Judiciously using extreme close-ups versus midshots, the results are emotionally affecting. Thanks to shooting the bulk of the film handheld, close-ups of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore, which are then turned over to VFX and the animators, we feel the life within each of them. They are “real” and we in turn emotionally connect with each on a palpable and resonant level.
Standout is the work of costume designer Jenny Beavan who not only found the perfect color red for Pooh’s patented red sweater, but hand-knitted it for the stuffed Pooh. Similarly, she designed a matching sweater for Ewan McGregor in the final scenes between CHRISTOPHER ROBIN and Pooh. Most notable is Beavan’s work in creating the individual stuffed characters with very specific fabrications and wear and tear to each animal which then has an enhanced aged patina.
The score by Jon Brion and Geoff Zanelli is marvelous. From the fuller time-sensitive adventure scoring to the tinkling of the ivories faintly playing the “Winnie the Pooh” theme song to the exuberance of “The Tigger Song” to Richard Sherman’s three new ditties, the musical component is perfectly attuned to the emotional bandwidth of the film. And oh my goodness! An end title song with the “home movie footage” of a day at the beach with Sherman singing in his Barbershop Quartet jacket and Boater is just pure fun!
But nothing tops the excitement of everyone being able to see Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet walking and talking and interacting. This is no longer just something within the imagination of a child. These characters are as real as real can be to everyone; which metaphorically speaks to the fact that buried somewhere deep inside each of us, we all still have our inner child just begging to get out. Sometimes all it takes to find it is the magic of a silly old bear, his balloon and CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.
Directed by Marc Forster
Written by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy and Allison Schroeder, with story by Greg Brooker and Mark Steven Johnson
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael
Voice Cast: Jim Cummings, Brad Garrett, Nick Mohammed, Toby Jones, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, Sara Sheen
by debbie elias, 07/26/2018
