Making a film based off a popular source material can be both a daunting and risky task in itself. Not only does the film have to live up to the legacy and standard that fans of the source material its adapting have placed upon it, it also has to take the characters and plot and move it forward in a different direction while introducing both to a new generation of audiences. For the filmmakers behind
Christopher Robin, their task is to bring the classic story of Winnie The Pooh to life while creating a live-action experience that can be lively, nostalgic, and charming for audiences. For the most part they succeed as
Christopher Robin manages to be a faithful, heartwarming, and magical experience for audiences with both it's sweet storytelling and visual appeal of its main characters brought to life on the big screen. While it's not all the way perfect, it works most effectively at rejuvinating the childhood memories of its desired target audience.
Based upon the children's books by A.A Milne:
Christopher Robin centers around Winnie-the-Pooh (Voiced by Jim Cummings) and his friends reuniting with now adult and hard-nosed efficiency expert Robin (Played by Ewan McGregor). Upon reuniting they discover that Christopher has lost his capacity for imagination with his stuffed animals wanting to help him find it again. When thinking about the story of
Christopher Robin, one notices that its plot bears strong similarities to Steven Spielbergs 1991 Peter Pan cult classic titled
Hook. Both movies revolve around the themes of their main characters being adults, who've forgotten about their magical childhood upbringings and prioritize work over their families. The plot for
Christopher Robin serves as being a perfect setup for both the main characters, as well as the audience in being introduced to this magical world while watching the main character reconnect with his childhood roots with his perspective being the audiences first introduction to the live-action version of Winnie-The-Pooh. One can tell watching the film that a great deal of love and passion for the story went into transforming it onto the big screen.
Christopher Robin succeeds for the most part at being an enchanting experience, that's both heartfelt and sincere with a strong acting performance from Ewan Mcgregor to add with the realism and believability of the story. The film is absolutely charming when allowed to be and practices impressive restraint when balancing out the light-hearted humor and sentimentality of the story. What could've easily ended up being a generic cash cow for Disney, proves to be an overall worthy live-action adaptation of its classic source material along with a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.
What helps
Christopher Robin to be as effective as the film ultimately turns out is the charismatic performance of it's main star. Ewan McGregor does a brilliant job of playing Christopher Robin with Mcgregor's performance effectively conveying the adulthood that Robin's character experiences in the story, while slowly being drawn back to his childhood along with the resurgence of his stuffed animal friends. His performance also carries with it an appropriate level of emotion as the story also focuses on his struggle to remain close to his family despite being constantly busy with his job due to being overworked by his shady boss. Mcgregor's performance is the heart and soul of the film with him providing the story with not only the audience perspective of seeing the iconic characters, but also serving as the films moral compass. Hayley Atwell shines as Christopher's wife Evelyn Robin with Atwell playing a strong and loyal wife, who never gives up on her husband but is visibly hurt when Robin shows little interest in his family due to his demanding work schedule. Atwell is both likable and sympathetic to audiences as she believes in Christopher, but isn't afraid to stand on her own feet along with her daughter if needed. Her moments with her character wishing that Christopher would be less involved with his work and more with his family are powerful ones, with them adding to the emotional weight of the film. Bronte Carmichael impresses as Christopher and Elevyn's daughter Madeline Robin with Carmichael's performance coming across as being natural and sweet, adding to the heart of the film. Her scenes with McGregor are moving as well as her characters frustration and confusion as to why her father isn't there for her as much as he should. Other notable human performances are Mark Gatiss as Christopher's slimy boss Giles Winslow. Gatiss character can best be summed up as being the typical Disney film antagonist, who forces Christopher to work to extreme lengths in order to do his bosses work while pushing him further away from his family. The audience finds themselves loving to hate the character of Winslow as Gatii's effectively conveys his characters coldness. As for the voice acting of Christopher's animal friends, Jim Cummings steals the show as Winnie-the-Pooh and proves to be a fantastic live-action voice interpretation of the honey-loving teddy bear. Cummings performance stays true to the essence of Winnie's character with him being a Pooh of a minimal brain, but carrying with him an enormous heart. Cummings performance is one that not only puts a smile on the faces of those who grew up reading Pooh's classic stories, but makes them feel nostalgic upon hearing Cummings voice, as he makes their childhood's become a reality. The rest of the voice acting cast delivers both charismatic and notable performances Cummings also delivering a fine performance as the free-spirited and goofy Tigger, Brad Garret as the pessimistic toy donkey Eeyore with Garret reprising his role after previously voicing the character in the 1995 video game
Disney's Animated Storybook: Winnie thle Pooh and the Honey Tree, Nick Mohammed as the toy pig Piglet, Peter Capaldi as the obsessive-compulsive Rabbit, Sophie Okonedo as the toy kangaroo Kanga, Sara Sheen as toy Joey Roo, and Toby Jones as the wise Owl. The voice casting of the animals all share natural and appealing chemistry, that goes a long way in regards to making the experience of watching the film a magical one for kids as well as nostalgic for adults. Every voice acting performances is terrific with all the actors nailing their characters perfectly, along with capturing the essence of their characters. The human actors all deliver terrific performances with Mcgregor's being the key to the films success at telling its story, with Atwell and Carmichael giving him the supporting cushion his character demands in the story. The casting of
Christopher Robin was always going to be key in regards to making the story work as effectively as it ultimately does with both the human and non-human actors bringing their A game to their roles, while creating an experience that's both magical and enchanting.
In terms of the films directing, Marc Forster does a solid job of creating an atmosphere for the main characters as well as his iconic friends, that feels both enchanting and real. Forster directs the film in a way which the audience feels as if they're actually in the moment with McGregor's character as he slowly relives his childhood. He gives the film the appropriate level of maturity while honing in on the audiences nostalgia of the main characters. The directing he brings to the story gives it both a warm and welcomed feel, that makes the world of Winnie-the-Pooh an inviting one. Outside of the films impressive visual effects, the cinematography stands out as being breathtaking as well as adding to the visual style of the film, which can best be summed up as stunning. The films visual work is both sensational and goes hand-in-hand with the brilliant camera work with the characters of Winnie, Tigger, and Piglet all looking realistic despite the audience realizing the obvious that its McGregor acting by himseif in reality during the scenes where he interacts with the live stuffed animals. The films editing keeps the story moving at a relatively slow pace despite its 103 minute running time with Forster properly utilizing the films first half to set up the character of Christopher Robin, along with showing the distance he has between himself and his family due to his work. When his character reconnects with Pooh and the others, the film doesn't rush it but allows enough time for the audience to witness the re-establishing of that relationship, as well as seeing Robin's transformation back into childhood despite being an adult. Other notable aspects of the films production are the art-set decoration and costume design both being top notch along with adding to the visual flare of the story. The success of Christopher Robin was always going to hinge on the passionate storytelling that its filmmaker would bring to the table. With Marc Forster, he brings passion, dedication, and love to the story as well as an understanding that this is an iconic childrens piece that needs to be cherished, preserved, well-told, and updated to not only appeal to the older fans of the classic stories of Winnie-the-Pooh, but also introduce it to a whole new audience with themes that are essential and poignant.
As for the films writing, the screenplay by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, and Allison Schroeder with a story by Greg Brooker, and Mark Steven Johnson is well-written and thoughtful with the film tackling themes pertaining to growing up, childhood, the importance of play, relationships, love, adventure, family, fun, and overworking. Much like Steven Spielberg's
Hook, Christopher Robin explores the concept of one growing up and forgetting their magical childhood roots while finding themselves on a bizarre path to remembering their roots. Like the character of Peter Pan in Spielberg's film, Robin starts the story off as being a workaholic along with being distant from his family emotionally due to being overworked by his boss with his wife becoming more frustrated with his lack of attention directed towards his family, and his daughter being constantly disappointed by the lack of her fathers presence in her life much like Pan's family dynamic in
Hook. Both films mirror each other in certain aspects while carrying well-meaning messages, which say that family and friends are more important than work. As an adventure story,
Hook wins in that regard as
Christopher Robin is more laid back and character-driven with the relationship between Robin and Pooh being both the heart and soul of the film.
Christopher Robin is written in a way that makes it function as being a strong and appealing family film, that knows first and foremost what it wants to be while never losing sight of its ambition to be a charming and heartfelt experience. The writers make a strong effort to prioritize character development with the arc of Robin and his childhood stuffed animal friends with the core of the story being about a man trying to find his way back to his family. Despite the writing doing such a solid job of rounding out the story of Christopher Robin regaining both his childhood as well as his family, the story has moments where it often feels like it falls into the generic trap of classic Disney film cliches such as the subplot involving Robin's boss overworking him to the point where he forgets what matters most in his life. Other examples of the story being a tad familiar to audiences include the father of Robin's boss rightfully putting his son in his place after his mistreatment of Robin and Robin's daughter having a cliched yet effective moment with her mom in which she asks why her father doesn't spend more time with them with the mothers reassurance that her father loves her and will find his way home. Although these are faults that mainly are a result of the films writing, they're minor ones that don't ruin the movies well-structured plot nor the heavy amounts of emotion and heart that the script possesses.
As a live-action adaptation of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh story,
Christopher Robin proves to be a faithful film that rightfully respects as well as honors its characters while maintaining both the spirit and heart of its source material. The film provides enough light-hearted fun for audiences to be charmed by, while being touched by its ultimate message which says one is never too busy for family.
Christopher Robin is a film with its heart in the right place along with its desire to charm the pants off its audience, while creating a different kind of experience for viewing these iconic characters. Although the story may come across as being too slow and boring for young children, those who grew up reading the classic stories will greatly enjoy being washed over by the films homage to the past, as well as its nostalgia-driven script. The film is a striking combination of both solid and pure storytelling going hand to hand with terrific acting performances, steady directing, and a fantastic visual atmosphere that helps audiences become captivated with the films plot. The greatest aspect of the film lies in how much the audience finds themselves caring about the character of Christopher Robin, as well as being moved by his character arc while getting a kick out of him rediscovering his childhood past. If you enjoyed Steven Spielberg's
Hook, you will like
Christopher Robin and greatly appreciate its desire to entertain and enchant its audience. One of 2018's most surprising and understated films,
Christopher Robin provides its characters with the upgrade needed while staying true to the legacy of both its story and characters.
Final Verdict: For fans of Ewan McGregor and classic Winnie-the-Pooh books,
Christopher Robin is the fun, light-hearted, and faithful live action adaptation they've been waiting for.
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