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, and was released in the United States on August 3, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances, musical score, and visual effects.[7] It grossed $197.7 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, surpassing The Tigger Movie (2000). The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 91st Academy Awards.
Plot
After his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, and Owl) throw him a farewell party before he departs for boarding school, Christopher Robin reassures Pooh that he will never forget him. Nevertheless, his rough experiences at school and his father's sudden death force his sudden maturation, and he soon forgets the Hundred Acre Wood and his friends there. He later marries architect Evelyn, has a daughter named Madeline, and after serving in the British Army during World War II, works as Director of Efficiency at Winslow Luggages in London, but his demanding job causes him to neglect his family. With the company struggling, 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. Consequently, Christopher misses joining his family at their countryside cottage in Sussex for a summer-ending weekend.
Upon awakening the next morning, unable to find his friends, Pooh decides to travel through the door through which Christopher Robin normally emerged, which he discovers to be a portal to London, where he reunites with Christopher, who is shocked to see Pooh, but takes him back to his home. After a chaotic night and morning, Christopher escorts Pooh back to Sussex on the next train. After passing his cottage, the two enter the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh's absent-mindedness and fear of Heffalumps and Woozles exasperate Christopher. Pooh, attempting to return Christopher's compass to him, trips into Christopher's briefcase and his papers spill onto the ground. Christopher angrily reminds Pooh that he is not a child any more, before they are separated in the fog. Christopher 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 from what they believe to be a Heffalump (revealed to be the squeaking of a rusty weather vane from Owl's house after the wind knocked it off its tree during their tea time). Unable to convince his friends of his identity, he pretends to defeat the Heffalump and finally wins them over, and they joyfully greet him. When they reunite with Pooh, Christopher apologizes for getting upset earlier and explains his dilemma. Pooh forgives him, reminding Christopher that they have found each other, and comforts him with a hug. The next day, Christopher rushes from the Hundred Acre Wood to make his presentation, after Tigger gives him his briefcase. En route, he encounters his family, but then leaves for London, greatly disappointing Madeline.
Pooh discovers 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 sending her to boarding school, and they board a train to London. Evelyn follows after discovering a note Madeline wrote. At his presentation, Christopher discovers that his briefcase contains items from the Wood given to him by Tigger. Evelyn arrives and Christopher joins her to search for their daughter. Madeline's group stow away in crates, but Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet are accidentally ejected, subsequently encountering her parents. Pooh and Madeline arrive near the Winslow building, and reunite with Christopher and the others, but Madeline accidentally trips on some steps and loses all but one of the papers, upsetting her and Pooh. Christopher assures Madeline that she is too important to him to send her to boarding school.
Using the one paper Madeline saved, Christopher improvises a new plan involving selling luggage at reduced prices to ordinary people to increase demand and giving employees paid leave. Winslow Jr. dismisses the idea, but his father Giles Winslow Sr. warmly agrees to it. Christopher further humiliates Winslow Jr. by revealing that he was out golfing all weekend and contributed nothing to the plan. Christopher finally takes his family and the quartet into the Hundred Acre Wood to meet his other friends. As everyone relaxes at a picnic, Pooh and Christopher Robin share a tender moment together.
Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin, a businessman working as an efficiency expert at Winslow Luggages who was once an imaginative boy. McGregor said that "[he] was very charmed by the script and the fact that they take Christopher Robin as a man [of his] age and that Winnie the Pooh comes back to him in a difficult time in his life. [McGregor found] it really moving",[8] and said that "[Christopher] recognizes that he would like to be closer to [his daughter]", and said that "there was something of coming together as a father and a daughter" that appealed to him as a father of 4 daughters.[8] McGregor said that "[the actors' performances] wouldn't be nearly as effective, wouldn't feel as real and good, if it wasn't for [the voice cast]", as he has someone he can play opposite to.[8] McGregor stated that "[he] really [likes] playing [Christopher Robin], and [he] really [felt] like [he] wanted to play" the character.[8] Atwell said that McGregor's performance can let people see "the Man, but underneath [the audience] see the boy that he was".[9] Director Marc Foster said that McGregor was "the perfect Christopher Robin", as he felt he "was able to capture [the] spirit that was needed to portray Christopher Robin as an adult person".
Orton O'Brien as Young Christopher Robin.
Hayley Atwell as Evelyn Robin, Christopher's wife who works as an architect. Foster said that "it was important for [him] to find" in Atwell "a very strong woman" that also is relatable and "can stand up for herself and doesn't play a victim or play into that because ultimately when [Christopher Robin denies his love to Evelyn], she's still a woman who believes in him, but also strong enough to stand up for herself".[10] McGregor was happy when he was told that Hayley Atwell was also cast for the film, having previously worked together on Cassandra's Dream. Atwell said that the film's story is "a charming one, and a funny one, and ultimately a story about a man coming back to his family" which she felt will appeal audiences.[9]
Bronte Carmichael as Madeline Robin, Christopher and Evelyn's daughter
Elsa Minell Solak as a 3-year-old Madeline Robin.
Mark Gatiss as Giles Winslow Jr., Christopher's boss at Winslow Luggages
Winnie the Pooh, a honey-loving teddy bear who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood. Cummings has been the voice of Pooh since 1988. Atwell said that many of Pooh's lines were taken from A. A. Milne's original books, which she felt managed to capture "the wisdom of Pooh" who she said is "a bear of very little brain, but also a bear of very big heart".[9] Kristen Burr felt that "They were so lucky to get Jim, as soon as the audience hear[s] him read his lines, a feeling of nostalgia washes over the audience and makes them smile".
Tigger, a free-spirited and energetic toy tiger who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood who loves to bounce around on his tail like a spring. Cummings has been the regular voice of Tigger since 1999, and voiced the character many times as an understudy for Paul Winchell.[9]
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.[1] In 2015, Kristin Burr later convinced Taylor to resurrect the project, which the two then started working on that year.[1]
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.[13] 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."[14] On March 1, 2017, Tom McCarthy was hired to rewrite the existing screenplay.[15]
The film is dedicated to Jรณhann Jรณhannsson, who was initially hired to score the film, shortly before his death on February 9, 2018.[34][1]
Visual effects
Visual effects studios Framestore and Method Studios, are leading the animation for the Hundred Acre Wood characters, with Overall VFX Supervisor Chris Lawrence and Animation Supervisor Michael Eames leading the teams.[35]
A tie-in novelization of the film written by Elizabeth Rudnick was published by Disney Publishing Worldwide on July 3, 2018.[40]
Home media
Christopher Robin was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 6, 2018.[41] The film debuted in second place behind Incredibles 2 on the NPD VideoScan First Alert chart for the week ending on November 11, 2018.[42] The film became available to stream on Netflix USA and Canada on March 5, 2019, before being moved to Disney+ on September 5, 2020.[43]
Reception
Box office
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 $197.7 million.[5]
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?.[44] 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 โ Fallout.[45][46] The film fell 47% to $13 million in its second weekend, finishing third behind The Meg and Mission: Impossible โ Fallout.[47][48] The film finished sixth in its third through fifth weekends, grossing $8.9 million, $6.3 million, and $5.3 million, respectively.[49][50][51]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 72% based on 277 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 โ or their animated Disney adaptations โ but it should prove sweet enough for audiences seeking a little childhood magic."[52] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[53] 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.[45]
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 humor and tactile computer animation."[54] 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."[55]
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three out of four 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."[56]
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 humor 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."[57]
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."[58]
Helen O'Hara of Empire magazine gave the film two out of five 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".[59]
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'."[60] 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."[61]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."[62]
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."[63] Odie Henderson of Rogerebert.com gave the film two out of four 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."[64]
Simran Hans of The Guardian gave the film a two out of five 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."[65]
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