Movie Review-Disney

I brought my 12-year-old Little Sister (from the Big Brother/Big Sister mentoring program) to see a movie. It’s sad to realize that the only talking bear that today’s generation of kids are familiar with is the raunchy Ted or possible some naughty puppets from Avenue Q. Marc Forster’s Christopher Robin refreshes the A.A. Milne classic and brings us to the future of Christopher, which still leaves us in the late 1940s. This is a departure from the annoying habit of modernizing fairy tales by immersing them in current-day scenarios like Enchanted or Hook. Instead, we get a mesmerizing period piece of post-war London in stunning detail as the tale unwinds.

The opening scenes bring us back to the original storyline, revealed through the cartoon images of the book. It’s blended with live action to create the illusion that the story itself is coming back to life. Add to this a gorgeous score by Jon Brion and Geoff Zanelli that tightly follows the action sequences and you have a lively beginning that made me smile. Snippets of the song “Winnie the Pooh” are woven through the story, and they stick in your head long after the movie is over:

Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff

He's Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Willy nilly silly old bear.

Let’s get it out of the way – Disney beats us over the head with the theme that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and a bad parent. It starts when the young Christopher is sent off to boarding school, which is where the traditional book ends. He grows up, falls in love with and marries the beautiful Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), and then becomes a soldier during World War II. This hardens Christopher, and he comes back determined to provide for his wife and new daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael) by working at Winslow Luggage.

Ewan McGregor, however, gives us a Christopher that we like but at the same time feel sorry for. We feel his coldness when he approaches home: cold wet streets, people in coats, leaves falling. His polite rudeness to his neighbor makes him seem more distant. He believes and tries to convince his wife that if he works hard now, then the future will be rosier. Evelyn doesn’t believe him – his presence at home is diminished when he works long hours for his mean boss Miles Winslow (Mark Gatiss). At this point we’re given more maxims that repeat throughout the movie. “Nothing comes from nothing,” and “dreams don’t come for free” are there to reinforce in us the dangers of working too hard.

As the story bounces (like Tigger), the period details are wonderful and nuanced. The hairstyles of Christopher and Evelyn, the glass honeydipper, the wallpaper and shelves in the kitchen, the little cabbage roses on Madeline’s bedspread are spot on. When was the last time you saw a newspaper stand, or train conductor wearing a tophat? The 1940s cars with their white rimmed tires and rumble seats in the streets and the scenes in the train station have been carefully reproduced. I particularly fell in love with the Victrola and the record playing on it, even after Pooh ends up wearing the conical part of it on his head. The plaid dresses, the tailored suits, and jaunty hats complete the 40s feel by returning us to time when people dressed up and fashion mattered.

There’s a flashback to Pooh (impeccably voiced by Jim Cummings) who can’t seem to find his friends. He decides to go through the hole in the tree that his friend Christopher would come through, often speaking in the verse that Pooh is known for. Pooh is the epitome of innocence, and believes that “doing nothing often leads to the very best of something” which is his definition of luck. And by luck, he finds Christopher in his world, thinking he’ll be able to help find his friends now. Of course, Christopher has to remind Pooh that “you are different, and people don’t like different.”

Back in the 100-Acre Wood, Eeyore (voiced by Brad Garrett, the older brother in Everybody Loves Raymond) is the first to be found, with that deep sonorous voice of pessimism. “Headed for the waterfall, I’ll be gone soon,” he says as he floats down the stream. The animals themselves are not animatronic or cartoonish; they look like real stuffed animals that happen to move independently and talk. The rest of the gang, Owl, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo are found next, trying to get away from the Hefflumps and Woozles, creatures symbolic of fear even though we never see them. Christopher tells them he can’t protect them, and says sadly, “I’m no hero. I’m lost,” but Pooh responds, “But I found you.” If that doesn’t trigger a memory from childhood, then this song might:

The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things!

Their tops are made out of rubber, their bottoms are made out of springs!

They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun fun fun fun fun

But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I’m the only one!

The character of Madeline is similar to Matilda from the movie of the same name. Her innocence is as saccharine as the honey motif that flows throughout the movie. In the first half of the movie, she comes across as stiff and unnatural; it isn’t until she meets the stuffed animal crew at the family’s country cottage that she herself becomes more alive and likeable. An only child, she fulfills Pooh’s quest to find his friends and return important paperwork to her father, hoping he won’t send her back to the boarding school (or as Pooh calls it, “boring school”).

As the movie progresses, there are spots where the plot could have become predictable; however, there are enough twists to keep the viewer interested and amused. The cinematography contributes artfully to the storyline, weaving the story’s tapestry and enhancing character development. A “woozle” makes an appearance, and we get the feeling that we know many heffalumps and woozles in our own lives. For a moment, we want to run through the purple heather of the 100-Acre Wood to be young and carefree again as Christopher did when he was a boy.

A sense of home and the importance of family is a typical Disney theme, and it comes through loud and clear. While we might be reminded that “There’s more to life than balloons and honey,” Disney’s Christopher Robin returns us to our own childhood of wonder and innocence, and I feel like a better person for having seen this and sharing it with my Little. In response to Pooh’s question, “What day is it?” Christopher replies, “It’s today.” Pooh muses over this and says, “My favorite day.” May this concept resonate in all of us.