Christopher Robin (2018)

[Jake Lipson]

Title: Christopher Robin

Tagline: Sooner Or Later Your Past Catches Up To You

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Director: Marc Forster

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings, Hayley Atwell, Mark Gatiss, Chris O'Dowd, Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Brad Garrett, Bronte Carmichael, Sophie Okonedo, Toby Jones, Wyatt Hall, Oliver Ford Davies, Adrian Scarborough, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Paul Chahidi, Tim Ingall, Raj Ghatak, Orton O'Brien, Elsa Minell Solak

Release: 2018-08-02

Runtime: 120

Plot: Working-class family man Christopher Robin encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I have been far more optimistic about Disney's recently in development live-action remakes (or in the case of this project, sort-of-sequel/spinoff) than most people seem to be here. But, when this particular project was first announced, my initial reaction was one of immediate hatred.

Why would anyone want to watch a movie about an adult Christopher Robin having what amounts to a midlife crisis? It sounds on the face of it to be a horrible idea, and I much prefer that in our minds he just always stay the innocent, sweet boy that he always has been.

Also, the idea of Pooh and friends in CGI seemed wrong to me.

But...lately, the trailers have been working for me. Maybe it's because they seem to have nailed the personality of Pooh and friends, but I don't think I'll be able to resist seeing this now.

Your thoughts?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It's Winnie The Pooh. It's Ewan McGregor. It's Hayley Atwell. Of course I have to see it!

 

[Sam Posten]

Wasn't there another Christopher Robin movie like 2 years ago, Goodbye or something like that?

 

[Jake Lipson]

Wasn't there another Christopher Robin movie like 2 years ago, Goodbye or something like that?

Goodbye Christopher Robin -- last year -- was a biopic of A.A. Milne coming up with Winnie the Pooh, like Finding Neverland was about J.M. Barrie creating Peter Pan but wasn't actually a narrative involving the Peter Pan characters. That movie wasn't connected to the Disney Pooh series at all.

This one is actually about the character of Christopher Robin having a midlife crisis and is a Disney production. To continue the Peter Pan analogy, this actually seems really similar in premise to Hook.

 

[questrider]

Goodbye Christopher Robin -- last year -- was a biopic of A.A. Milne coming up with Winnie the Pooh, like Finding Neverland was about J.M. Barrie creating Peter Pan but wasn't actually a narrative involving the Peter Pan characters. That movie wasn't connected to the Disney Pooh series at all.

I was rather smitten with the sentimental Goodbye Christopher Robin.

It's Winnie The Pooh. It's Ewan McGregor. It's Hayley Atwell. Of course I have to see it!

Being a fan of Ewan McGregor along with A.A. Milne and Winnie-the-Pooh being a part of my childhood, this is a must-see for me. I'm fully aware that it is tickling my nostalgic nerve but I'm along for the ride regardless!

 

[Malcolm R]

I was rather smitten with the sentimental Goodbye Christopher Robin.

I also thought it was quite good. I watched it on a vacation flight a few months ago.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I do have to say that, even if this is good, it's unfortunate that it would seem to be the end of Disney producing Pooh in 2D. If this does well, they'll presumably find a way to do a sequel, and if it isn't, they'll think "People don't want Pooh" instead of "People don't want Pooh in CG." Similarly, the 2011 Pooh film was great and only bombed because they were foolish enough to open it up against Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and were surprised when they got crushed. But nothing happened after that until this, which is a reinvention of the property.

 

[Greg.K]

This one is actually about the character of Christopher Robin having a midlife crisis and is a Disney production. To continue the Peter Pan analogy, this actually seems really similar in premise to Hook.

I definitely got Hook vibes from the trailer.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Interestingly, Dan Murrell and Roth Cornet who work at Screen Junkies mentioned today that Disney is not holding critics screenings for Christopher Robin until the day before release.

Disney usually holds critics screenings a couple weeks before a movie opens, so this is highly unusual for them.

 

[Edwin-S]

I definitely got Hook vibes from the trailer.

Going by the trailer the film looks vastly better than HOOK which was terrible in every way possible.

 

[GlennF]

Yes, I thought this looked interesting because I like Ewan and grew up on the Disney films. Obviously they are going for that nostalgia factor as they have put voices that match those from the animated shorts as closely as possible. However, the fact there are no reviews for a movie that does not involve things "exploding or superheroes" does give me some cause for concern. If it was great they would want the help from reviews to get an adult audience. I live in hope but those hopes are sinking, especially after reading Jake's post above.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The Hollywood Reporter has an article about the premiere, including comments from the stars and director.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...making-christopher-robin-his-daughter-1131090

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Why would anyone want to watch a movie about an adult Christopher Robin having what amounts to a midlife crisis? It sounds on the face of it to be a horrible idea, and I much prefer that in our minds he just always stay the innocent, sweet boy that he always has been.

Also, the idea of Pooh and friends in CGI seemed wrong to me.

If you're going to do a live action adaptation of a beloved cartoon based on a beloved collection of stories, this seems like the gold standard of how to do it.

Rather than try to exactly replicate the Disney designs in live action, they went back to Christopher Robin Milne's original collection of toys that inspired A. A. Milne's stories. for inspiration. If I have any complaint, it's that they didn't make them look enough like the actual stuffed animals.

But I love that the animals in the real world, with all of the textures and detail of actual stuffed animals, sound exactly like we remember from the cartoons, and act exactly the way we remember.

 

[Malcolm R]

EW gives it a B-

http://ew.com/movies/2018/08/02/christopher-robin-review/

Variety seems to like it even less, and makes the Hook comparision:

https://variety.com/2018/film/revie...winnie-the-pooh-disney-1202893858-1202893858/

 

[Jake Lipson]

Well, Hook is a pretty obvious comparison to make.

The Rotten Tomatoes score is currently 66% as of when I'm typing this, which isn't awful. It's not great either, but considering the lengths to which Disney went to embargo the reviews, I think they were expecting it to be worse.

 

[Tommy R]

I actually can't wait to see this. I'm hoping to find time to go to the theater relatively soon to catch it. I loved that 2011 Pooh movie and will gladly eat up whatever Pooh Disney can fling at us.

 

[dpippel]

I loved that 2011 Pooh movie and will gladly eat up whatever Pooh Disney can fling at us.

 

[Chris Will]

I don't get the Hook hate. I have always really enjoyed Hook and the score is fantastic.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't get the Hook hate. I have always really enjoyed Hook and the score is fantastic.

Ditto. I wouldn't call it a favorite of mine, exactly, but I don't understand why it's actively disliked by many.