Movie Review: 'Christopher Robin' - Pooh? Or Just A Very Weird Movie?
Review by Eric Lee
When
you close your eyes to imahgine Winnie The Pooh, what images
pop into your head? A colourful, whimsical, innocent cartoon bear
jumping and laughing? I bet it's something like that.
Well
imagine that imagery through a very dreary, dark filter, then
add some Silent Hill-esque settings and you
get Christopher Robin.
A Familiar Formula
If
one has seen the trailer, then one can surmise the plot of the movie.
Pooh's best friend, Christopher Robin grows up and loses his
child-like perspective of the magic and wonder of life. A reunion
with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo shows
the adult Robin the importance of being childhood.
The
plot is not new. It is not even new idea for a Disney property. 991's Hook had
the exact same premise with Robin Williams as a grown up Peter Pan.
Unfortunately, Christopher
Robin does
not have the same rousing adventurous tone or star power as it's
predessor.
Of
course, it is also missing Rufio. But then again, every movie not amed Hook is weaker for not having Rufio in it.
The
idea of Robin rediscovering his childhood is not a bad one. The
scenes with Pooh are genuinely touching. Played by an
exasperated-sounding Ewan McGregor, Robin is a business man who
prioritises his work over his family.
The
film takes the time to document what changed Robin. Whether it be
boarding school, the death of his father, or fighting in World War II
(!), Robin's innocence was stripped away bit by bit. In fact, the
film does almost too
good a
job at showing that. It almost makes one wonder how did he ever woo a
woman like Evelyn (Haley Atwell) at all.
Pooh is the Best Part
It
is not a huge spoiler to say that Winnie the Pooh's reunion with
Robin is the catalyst for his character change. What genuinely makes
Pooh great is that he retains that child-like innocence and sense of
wonder, despite experiencing many lonely years.
He
is charmingly simple-minded and effervescent. Pooh wanders around
London oblivious to its modern day contrivances and culture. The
'fish-out-of-water' scenario could easily set Pooh up as an idiot,
but every question, observation, and statement Pooh says has the
tinge of truth in it. This makes Pooh's naivete enduring. It also
helps that the film brought back Jim Cummings as the original voice
of Pooh and Tigger.
Unfortunately
the same can't be said for the rest of the 100-Acre Woods cast.
Almost everybody else who is not Pooh and Christopher Robin gets
sidelined or dropped without explanation. Because of that, top talent
like Brad Garrett (Eeyore), Peter Capladi (Rabbit), and Toby Jones
(Owl) do not have much to do. Even Robin's family is sort of
forgotten until the plot calls for them.
Things People Don't Expect from a 'Winnie the Pooh' Movie
What
makes Robin super
weird is its tonal shifts. It goes from bittersweet child's movie to
serious drama, to horror, before going back to child's movie.
Seriously, there are some scenes where the 100-Acre Woods is deserted
and Christopher Robin is lost in this eerie, fog-filled setting. It
also transitions into a sort of disturbing dream sequence. That is
definitely something I never thought I'd see in a Pooh film.
Structurally,
the movie is odd too. Robin's character arc is actually resolved
three quarters of the way into the film, leaving the movie struggling
to come up with another conflict to fill in the final stretch. While
not bad, it is certainly strange.
Conclusion
Christopher
Robin's overarching
theme of childhood wonder being important, even in adulthood, is a
noble topic. Sadly, in this film it is hampered down by unusual
creative choices, and story structure.
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