The cutest film of the year is finally here, one of the most cherished characters from everyone’s childhood finally has his cinematic adaptation. Winnie The Pooh and his pots of honey grace the big screen with the fantastic Ewan Mcgregor as Christopher Robin and Pooh’s other furry friends.
After Christopher Robin leaves the Hundred Acre Wood for the last time, he goes to boarding school and the film follows Christopher Robin fighting through Second World War and starting a family with a wife and child. Christopher Robin’s sense of adventure and magic has been lost and is more committed to his job then his family. After he has to cancel his plans of going away for the weekend with his family because he has to work, Pooh must find Christopher Robin and show him that there is more to life than sitting behind a desk.
This is a sweet film, never have I ever smiled continuously throughout a film. Any moment Winnie the Pooh is onscreen you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the warm feeling of cuteness. The portrayal of A A Milne’s characters are fantastic, Pooh is the standout character and one could easily just watch him pander through the Hundred Acre Wood for an hour and a half. There is a good mixture of nostalgic throwbacks to classic Winnie the Pooh stories and new material. Tigger and Eeyore are also standout characters, Tigger bounces throughout the film with an eclectic and erratic energy that rings true of the character and Eeyore goes overload with his pessimism but to great comedic effect. I have always found Eeyore the most relatable character and I don’t know if I should be worried for that reason. The rest of the crew have their moments but these three are central to this film’s enjoyment. The only issue I had with the animated characters was Rabbit. His visual design conflicted the others, the rest were styled on cute teddy bear-esque characters however, Rabbit was more realistic. I can see why they did that because a Rabbit is a rabbit but it is as if he came from a different film.
Praise must be given to Ewan Mcgregor who has the daunting task to interact with characters that are not even there and this proves the wonderful actor he is. How silly the reunion with Pooh and Christopher Robin where Robin shouts, Pooh! but Mcgregor is so immersed in this world of quirkiness and so committed that it works and you couldn’t say that about most actors. This film held most of its success on two characters, Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin and they were both portrayed brilliantly and holds this film together. Mcgregor is able to create authentic chemistry between him and a small yellow bear that when filming isn’t even there. For that alone Mcgregor deserves a large portion of credit for the success of this film.
(Christopher Robin, 2018, Disney)
This as a whole, is a great film for the family, adults and children will love this. However the biggest issue with this film is the tone of the growth of Christopher Robin. The film has to show Christopher Robin being boring and mean so he can grow and realise that he has forgotten how to have fun. This is okay but the film constantly showcases Robin being mean, it whacks you over the head with it. It almost gets to the point that Christopher Robin becomes irredeemable. For a sweet family film, the main character is just very mean and the film at times is too sombre. I was sitting throughout the film trying to guess when Robin redeems himself and I was wrong about 5 times. It does make the resolution that much sweeter but at times it was more depressing than Eeyore.
Christopher Robin is a great family film that is full of sweetness, laughter and some raw emotion. There are times when I teared up but mere moments later was filled with the cheesiest grin. It was heartwarming to return to a character I was fond of in my childhood. It was also a pleasure to see my girlfriend enjoy the film, who is a dedicated Winnie the Pooh fan and is the reason why my bed is littered with hundreds of different iterations of the small yellow bear. This film will surround you with a warmth and an overwhelming sense of happiness. The cuteness from the interaction between Pooh and his friends and the interaction between Mcgregor and Pooh are some of the film’s best scenes.
Christopher Robin is everything it needed to be and more. A simple story of redemption, Christopher Robin is a film full of heart and nostalgia. At times it was too bleak but this was contrasted by the amount of positivity and happiness that this film injects you with. This will be a perfect film for the family to watch and enjoy. This film is sweeter than one of Pooh’s jars of honey and for anyone who does not smile while watching this film will need to go to the doctor to see if they actually have a heart.
Rating – ★★★★
The Cinema Cabin 
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