Numbers obtained from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes on August 4, 2018.
My rating IMDb Rotten Tomatoes
Critics Audience Critics Audience
8/10 59/100 8.1/10 68% 92%
“Doing nothing often leads to the very best kind of something.” This is repeated a few times during Christopher Robin, the latest Disney live-action, as a way of life and as a motto to be adopted. After 100 minutes, it is clear that many “nothings” do lead to a great “something”.
Based on the characters created by A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin follows the story of the title character, played by Ewan McGregor, after he grows up and leaves his toys behind. After a quick summary of his early live, we finally see him in London after World War II, with his wife (Hayley Atwell) and daughter (Bronte Carmichael).
Much like Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins, Christopher Robin is a workaholic, with an awful boss (Mark Gatiss), and who doesn’t pay attention to his own family. Here, however, instead of a nanny who flies, he is saved by toys who talk. More precisely, Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings since 1988) shows up at his house and asks him to return to Hundred Acre Wood to help him find Tigger (also voiced by Jim Cummings), Piglet (Nick Mohammed), Eeyore (Brad Garrett), and the rest of his friends.
Filled with quotable moments from Pooh, such as “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been”, Christopher Robin is a heartwarming movie, despite being very predictable. It is, after all, a Disney movie with beloved characters from almost everyone’s childhood. Moreover, it is completely fictional, as if we were seeing the character “Christopher Robin” as an adult, and not his real life namesake. For those interested in the real Christopher Robin, last year’s Goodbye, Christopher Robin shows how A.A. Milne created the characters.
Director Marc Forster, who also directed the wonderful Finding Neverland, finds the right balance between drama and comedy, and gives life to the animals in a very intelligent way: instead of making them look like cartoons, they actually look like stuffed animals, with faded colors, as if they had really been forgotten for decades.
Another great feature of Christopher Robin is enlisting Disney Legend Richard M. Sherman to write original songs for the movie, including a cheerful one called “Busy Doing Nothing“. He was the one responsible for the famous tunes of “Winnie the Pooh” and “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers”, alongside his brother Robert Sherman. Having him back, especially in a delightful cameo during the credits, was a smart move and the songs are equally adorable.
Christopher Robin might not be completely suitable for all children, but it is definitely appropriate for anyone who has been a child one day and needs help remembering what matters in life.
