Most kids grow up fairly familiar with Winnie the Pooh and friends, either by reading the books or watching the Disney cartoons. That silly old bear was always a favorite of Julie's and here's a fun fact for you: Andrew's brother is actually named Christopher Robin (awww). When we were invited to an early screening of Disney's new Christopher Robin movie of course we had to go. We couldn't wait to see how these characters would translate to the live screen and were also curious to see what happens in the next chapter when Christopher Robin grows up. So come take a visit with us to the Hundred Acre Woods and see what we thought of Christopher Robin...
Christopher Robin (McGregor) is living the grown up life with wife Evelyn (Atwell) and daughter Madeline (Carmichael).
Official film synopsis:
In Disney’s heartwarming live action adventure, the young boy who shared countless adventures with his stuffed animal friends in the Hundred Acre Wood has grown up and lost sight of what’s important in life. Now it is up to his childhood friends to venture into our world and help Christopher Robin rediscover the joys of family life, the value of friendship and to appreciate the simple pleasure in life once again.
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by Alex Ross Perry and Allison Schroeder and a story by Perry based on characters created by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard. The producers are Brigham Taylor and Kristin Burr, with Renée Wolfe and Jeremy Johns serving as executive producers. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin; Hayley Atwell as his wife Evelyn; Bronte Carmichael as his daughter Madeline; and Mark Gatiss as Keith Winslow, Robin’s boss. The film also features the voices of: Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger; Brad Garrett as Eeyore; Toby Jones as Owl; Nick Mohammed as Piglet; Peter Capaldi as Rabbit; and Sophie Okonedo as Kanga. Arrives in theatres everywhere Friday, August 3rd!
"I Always Get to Where I’m Going By Walking Away From Where I’ve Been." -Winnie the Pooh
Julie's Thoughts
The film opens while Christopher Robin is still the child we know, surrounded by all of his well-loved friends. The characters are all super cute and heart warming, with the voice actors and animation truly bringing them to life. However we find out quickly that Christopher is about to leave his playful days in the woods behind and head off to a prestigious boarding school. This marks the start of his goodbye to childhood and some milestone chapters of his life go by quickly until we are brought up to speed current days as a hard working adult struggling between providing for his family and being able to actually spend any time with them.
Christopher and his family are ready to spend a weekend in the country together but a huge work issue arrises that forces him to send the girls on their own without him. At this moment of frustration and sadness, Winnie the Pooh ends up colliding into this new adult world and makes Christopher Robin wonder if he has finally cracked! Pooh is the sweet, simple bear that is lovable but not exactly helpful when on a deadline so Christopher Robin decides to deliver him back to the woods, starting a magical whirlwind of an adventure that ultimately has Christopher Robin stopping to rethink some things in life.
Christopher Robin absolutely warmed my heart and was a perfect break from the day to day hustle. Pooh and friends were just as you imagine with each of their personalities allowing for many laughs as well as teary eyed emotional moments. There were some references to the books and well known lines within the movie, but I loved that this was mainly a new story to enjoy. I enjoyed the old fashioned English setting and thought the characters were all great additions to this world. While the storyline was somewhat cliche I feel like it worked well for this film. Movie goers can enjoy the nostalgia and memories of youth and also relate to the pressures of adulting and appreciate the main message. Even though a simple bear, Winnie the Pooh can say some of the more profound things. We should all remember in this hectic world that sometimes "Doing Nothing Often Leads to the Very Best Kind of Something" (Winnie the Pooh).
Her rating: 5 out of 5 "balloons"
"There’s Always Time for a Smackeral of Wonder." -Winnie the Pooh
Andrew's Thoughts
There are so many positive words to describe this movie; brilliant, imaginative, heartwarming, etc. I absolutely adored this movie for so many reasons and Christopher Robin exceeded my expectations. This movie begins just as Christopher Robin is saying goodbye to Pooh, Tigger, Eeyor, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Roo. If the viewer knows nothing about this story, it may seem a little odd but in no way takes away from the film.
Using state of the art CGI, the Hundred Acre Wood characters came to life perfectly and managed to avoid the creepy lifelike factor that plagues other similar movies. They pack so much charm, humor, and sometimes sadness into Winnie the Pooh and his friends that they just about steal the movie from the title character Christopher Robin.
I will say the first half of the movie is a tad slow and depressing, seeming to take too much screen time to show how much Christopher Robin has become a workaholic and rarely sees his family. However, the film really picks up steam from that point on. The entire tone of the movie seems to change to a much more positive outlook at about the halfway mark. The dialogue becomes much wittier with the increase in interaction with the characters from the Hundred Acre Wood and their interaction with Christopher Robin and his family.
I can't say enough about the lines provided by Winne the Pooh and his friends. It seemed like just about everything they said had an impact, whether it be sad, funny, or heartwarming. The story was somewhat predictable but for some reason, that didn't bother me at all. That's probably because every other aspect of this film was so great that it more than made up for it.
His rating: 4.5 out of 5 "balloons"
"We'll be friends forever, won't we Pooh?" - Piglet
This movie is best for: anyone looking to have a little break and a trip down memory lane. You would assume a "Winnie the Pooh" movie would be mainly geared for children but we actually think that super young children may not get enough "character time" to keep them entertained. Overall Christopher Robin is a family friendly film that fans of all ages would enjoy with the classic characters and relatable storyline.
View the official movie website.
