Christopher Robin (Film)

***Christopher Robin*** is an American fantasy comedy-drama film inspired by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh children's books. Directed by Marc Forster, it was released in the United States on August 3, 2018 and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. As a live-action continuation of the *Winnie the Pooh* animated features, the film stars Ewan McGregor as the title character, alongside Hayley Atwell as his wife, Evelyn, Bronte Carmichael as their daughter, Madeline, and Mark Gatiss as his boss. It also features the voices of Jim Cummings, Brad Garrett, Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, Sara Sheen, and Toby Jones. The story follows an adult Christopher Robin as he loses his sense of imagination, only to be reunited with his old stuffed friends, including Winnie the Pooh.

## Christopher Robin

### Written by

Alex Ross Perry
Tom McCarthy
Allison Schroeder

### Produced by

Brigham Taylor
Kristin Burr

## Synopsis

In the heartwarming live-action adventure Disney's *Christopher Robin*, the young boy who shared countless adventures with his band of lovable stuffed animals in the Hundred Acre Wood is now grown up and living in London, but he has lost his way. Now it's up to his childhood friends to venture into our world and help Christopher Robin rediscover the joys of family life, the value of friendship and to appreciate the simple pleasures in life once again.

## Plot

Christopher Robin is a young boy who has stuffed friends in a place called the Hundred Acre Wood – Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl, and Rabbit – all of whom he had great adventures with. However, he is later sent to boarding school, so his friends throw him a goodbye party. While everybody sleeps after eating cake, Christopher has a conversation with Pooh, in which they both conclude that "doing nothing often leads to the very best kind of something". At their meeting spot, Christopher tells Pooh that he will never forget him even when he grows up.

Christopher goes to boarding school, where he gets reprimanded by the teacher for drawing pictures of Pooh during class. Some time later, Christopher is told that his father died and, thus, he's the man in charge. After entering adulthood years later, Christopher moves to London. While on a bus, Christopher meets and eventually marries an architect named Evelyn, with whom he has a daughter named Madeline. After serving in World War II as a soldier, he works as an efficiency expert at Winslow Luggages. He neglects his family due to his demanding job and plans on sending Madeline to boarding school as well, both under the assumption that will get them a better life. With the company hitting hard times due to the war Christopher’s boss, Giles Winslow, tells Christopher to decrease expenditures by 20%, largely by choosing which employees to lay off and to present his plan on Monday. This causes Christopher to reluctantly miss joining his family at their countryside cottage in Sussex for a summer-ending weekend, upon informing his family of this, Christopher and Evelyn had a discussion in which she tries to explain him that he can't focus on his job, but fails. The next morning after saying goodbye to them, Christopher notices the drawing of him and Pooh as Madeline left a note to him. But before he puts it up, he goes to work and accidentally knocks over a honey jar.

Meanwhile, Pooh awakens and does his stoutness exercises. After he realizes that his honey is gone, he goes to Piglet's house, then Rabbit's house, then Eeyore's, but his friends aren't there. Pooh comes across the door and he decides to travel through and finds himself in London. He reunites with Christopher, who is shocked to see Pooh, but takes him back to his home after a neighbor bothers Christopher about a card game. After a night and morning of chaos (including Pooh knocking down all of his kitchen shelves in search of honey), Christopher escorts Pooh back to Sussex on the next train, bringing his work papers along with him.

After sneaking past Christopher's cottage, the two enter the Hundred Acre Wood. Christopher becomes exasperated by Pooh's absent-mindedness and fear of Heffalumps and Woozles and angrily tells Pooh that he isn't a child anymore, before the two get separated in the fog. After falling into a "Heffalump Trap", which is then flooded by rainfall, soaking him and his belongings, Christopher discovers Eeyore and Piglet, who lead him to the others, hiding in a log out of fear of a Heffalump. Unable to persuade his friends that he is truly Christopher Robin, he pretends to defeat the Heffalump to convince them. Finally realizing that he is Christopher Robin, they joyfully greet him. When they reunite with Pooh at their meeting spot, Christopher apologizes for getting upset earlier. Christopher tells Pooh how lost he feels, but Pooh reminds him that they have found each other and comforts him with a hug.

The next morning, Christopher, realizing how late he is, rushes from the Hundred Acre Wood to make his presentation in London. He encounters his family and, unwilling to tell them about his old friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, leaves abruptly, upsetting Madeline. Pooh discovers that Tigger removed Christopher's work papers when drying his briefcase, so Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore decide to travel to London to give it back. They meet Madeline, who recognizes them from her father's drawings. She joins them, wanting to dissuade her father about boarding school; Evelyn follows after discovering a note Madeline left.

At the meeting, Christopher discovers that his papers aren't in his briefcase, which instead contains objects from the woods that Tigger left for him, including Eeyore’s detachable tail. Evelyn arrives and Christopher joins her to search for Madeline. Madeline, Pooh, and the others stow away in a truck carrying Winslow company crates, but Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet are accidentally thrown out when Tigger's tail snaps shut and they encounter Christopher and Evelyn in the process. Pooh and Madeline arrive near the Winslow building and reunite with Christopher, Evelyn, and the others, but Madeline accidentally trips on the stairs and loses all but one of the papers, upsetting her and Pooh. Christopher assures Madeline of her importance to him and that he won't send her to boarding school.

Christopher improvises a new business plan involving reducing the prices of luggage, giving employees paid leave and selling their luggage to everyday people instead of just the wealthy to increase demand. Winslow Jr. dismisses the idea, but his father, Old Man Winslow warms to it and agrees to the plan. Christopher then tells Giles that he is in fact, a Woozle. Winslow is humiliated when it's discovered that he contributed nothing to the plan, having been golfing all weekend. Christopher later takes his family into the Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger to meet the rest of his friends. He and Pooh then share a tender moment at their special spot together.

In a mid-credits scene, the employees of Winslow's are seen having fun at the beach while Richard M. Sherman performs "Busy Doing Nothing" on a piano. Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger are relaxing on beach chairs with Eeyore saying "Thank you for noticing' me".

## Cast

* Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin
* Hayley Atwell as Evelyn Robin
* Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
* Bronte Carmichael as Madeline Robin
* Mark Gatiss as Giles Winslow Jr.
* Oliver Ford Davies as Giles Winslow Sr.
* Brad Garrett as Eeyore
* Katy Carmichael as Mrs. Robin
* Tristan Sturrock as Mr. Robin
* Nick Mohammed as Piglet
* Adrian Scarborough as Hal Gallsworthy
* Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Ralph Butterworth
* Peter Capaldi as Rabbit
* Sophie Okonedo as Kanga
* Sara Sheen as Roo
* Toby Jones as Owl
* Paul Chahidi as Cecil Hungerford

## Development

The film was announced on April 2, 2015 under the name *Winnie the Pooh*, which was to be written by Alex Ross Perry. More than a year later, in November 2016, Marc Forster was announced to direct the film and that the film will be titled *Christopher Robin*. On March 1, 2017, it was announced that Tom McCarthy had been hired to rewrite the script due to Alex Ross Perry's version not working out very well.

In April 2017, Ewan McGregor was announced to play the title character. It was also reported that Allison Schroeder was also hired to work on the script as well. On August 2, Hayley Atwell was announced to play Christopher Robin's wife, Evelyn. Bronte Carmichael played Madeline, his young daughter and Mark Gatiss played Giles, his boss.

On August 14, 2017, Jim Cummings was announced to reprise his thirty year role of Winnie the Pooh. In addition, Brad Garrett was announced to play Eeyore for the film. Garrett previously voiced the character in the computer game version of *Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree*.

On August 30, 2017, it was announced that another newcomer, Nick Mohammed, was cast to play Piglet for the film. The official synopsis and cast list was revealed on January 16, 2018 and confirmed that the additional animated cast of Rabbit, Kanga, and Owl would also appear, though with new voice actors, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, and Toby Jones.

Chris O'Dowd was originally going to provide the voice of Tigger in the film, but when an audience at a screen test reacted negatively towards his portrayal of the character, he stepped down and Jim Cummings- who, like with Pooh, voiced the character since the late 80s- took over.

Filming began in early August 2017 in the United Kingdom and ended on November 4, 2017.

## Reception

The film received an approval rating of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 274 reviews, with an average rating of 6.17/10. It's consensus reads, "*Christopher Robin* may not equal A. A. Milne's stories – or their animated Disney adaptations – but it should prove sweet enough for audiences seeking a little childhood magic."

### Accolades

*Christopher Robin* received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects nomination at the 91st Academy Awards, losing its win to Damien Chazelle's biographical drama *First Man*.

## Trivia

* Young Christopher Robin's clothes resemble his outfit in the original E.H. Shepard illustrations.
* At the start of the movie, the books' original E.H. Shepard illustrations.
* This is the first *Winnie The Pooh* movie to feature Christopher Robin as the protagonist.
* Jim Cummings has been the voice of Winnie the Pooh since 1988 and Tigger full time since 1999 (though partially since 1989) while Brad Garrett previously voiced Eeyore in *Animated StoryBook: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree*. They are the first two actors to reprise their roles in a Disney live-action adaptation of a previous Disney animated production, followed by Nancy Cartwright, Patton Oswalt (both of who reprise Rufus and Professor Dementor in 2019's live-action *Kim Possible* film), Frank Welker (who reprises Abu, Rajah, and the Cave of Wonders in *Aladdin* later that year), James Earl Jones (who reprises Mufasa in the live-action remake of *The Lion King* further that year), and Chris Sanders (who will reprise his role as the voice of Stitch in the upcoming live-action remake of *Lilo & Stitch*).
	+ Thus, this is the first film where Brad Garrett voices Eeyore, followed by another sequel film *Ralph Breaks the Internet* which was released the same year.
* This is the fifth of many live-action adaptations of classic Disney animated films released in the 21st century, following *Maleficent*, *Cinderella*, *The Jungle Book*, and *Beauty and the Beast* (*Pete's Dragon* doesn't count as it is considered an adaptation of a live-action movie).
	+ However, unlike previous adaptations (which are remade versions of earlier works), this film acts as a continuation of the franchise it belongs to, instead of another version like a remake of an earlier work of its franchise.
* This is the first *Winnie the Pooh* film to be rated PG by the MPAA, unlike the fully-animated *Winnie the Pooh* films, nearly all of which had received a G rating from the MPAA. This was because of some mild action (a brief scene of Christopher as a soldier in World War II) and some brief language (such as God's name being used in vain twice and Lord's name being used in vain once), making it the only *Winnie the Pooh* production so far to use profanity (only on mild context).
* This is Jim Cummings' first live-action film in 20 years.
* This is the longest *Winnie the Pooh* film in history, with the running time of 104 minutes, unlike the previous animated ones which were around 63–77 minutes long.
* Despite voicing both characters, Cummings' credits as the voices of Pooh and Tigger in the end credits were separated.
	+ However, this could be due to the fact that Cummings' casting as Tigger was a last-minute change, as he was originally voicing Pooh only, while Chris O'Dowd was voicing Tigger.
* This is the first *Winnie the Pooh* film to have its music score composed by two composers instead of just one; all of the previous *Winnie the Pooh* films had their music scores composed by only one composer plus the songwriters when they were musicals.
* Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was initially set to score this film before his death in 2018. The film is dedicated to his memory.
* This is Richard Sherman's first new *Winnie the Pooh* project since collaborating with his late brother, Robert B. Sherman on the song score for *The Tigger Movie*.
	+ It's also the second Disney live-action production to feature Sherman Brothers' songs following the 2016 version of *The Jungle Book*.
	+ It's also the first live-action film to feature original music written by Sherman, as *The Jungle Book* featured covers of pre-existing songs made by the Sherman Brothers.
* This film marks Marc Forster's second collaboration with Toby Jones and Ewan McGregor after *Finding Neverland* and *Stay*.
* Jim Cummings and Brad Garrett are the only American actors in the film while the rest of the cast members are from the UK, although Hayley Atwell has a dual American-British citizenship.
* This is Peter Capaldi's third comedy film that features a bear character following *Paddington* and its sequel, *Paddington 2*.
	+ The *Paddington* film series is also based on the books of the same name.
* Peter Capaldi, Mark Gatiss, Sophie Okonedo, and Toby Jones have all previously appeared in the 2013-2017 incarnation of *Doctor Who*.
* The film references numerous scenes from the *Winnie the Pooh* shorts and films (many of which were based on the original books):
	+ Christopher gets stuck in a tree as Pooh did in *Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,* to which he asks him if he has just been eating honey.
	+ The table party in *Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day* and *Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore*.
	+ Piglet landing on the car windshield just like he did on Owl's house window on the door in *Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day*.
	+ Owl's house was destroyed as the wind caused it just like in *Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day*. Christopher even aludes to it when he says that it falled *again*.
	+ Madeline asks what a tigger is, to which Tigger responds with "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers".
	+ Tigger mistakes his reflection for someone else as he did in *Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day*.
	+ Christopher (while knocked unconscious) has a dream about Heffalumps almost as Pooh did in *Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day*.
	+ Christopher Robin and Pooh get lost in the mist just like in *Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too*.
	+ Christopher and Pooh's heart-to-heart at the end of *The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh*.
	+ Eeyore floating down the river in *Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore*.
	+ Christopher Robin falls into a pit which is used as a Heffalump trap, similar to how the animal characters fall into trap set up for Pooh and The Backson in *Winnie the Pooh*.
	+ Pooh mistaking his and Christopher Robin's footprints for someone else's footprints like in *Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too*.
	+ Pooh introduces himself to Madeline as "Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short", which is how the Narrator introduces Pooh at the openings of most films and shorts.
* Although Travis Oates currently provides the voice of Piglet in various *Pooh* media (having kept the role ever since John Fiedler's death of cancer in 2005), Nick Mohammed was chosen for the role of Piglet in this film instead for unknown reasons, probably due to having every character being played by UK born actors (though that didn't stop them from casting Jim Cummings or Brad Garrett, who are both American).
* This marks the second time since *Tigger Too* that Roo is voiced by a female voice actor.
* Due to this film being live action, it's not a canonical sequel to the *Winnie the Pooh* franchise.
* This is the third Winnie the Pooh film to have a secondary character's name in the title instead of the titular character's name after *The Tigger Movie* and *Piglet's Big Movie*.
* This is the second movie collaboration between Ewan McGregor and Hayley Atwell following Woody Allen's *Cassandra's Dream*.
	+ In addition, this also the second time for McGregor and Atwell to do a role for a Disney film, after McGregor portrayed Lumière in *Beauty and the Beast*, and for Atwell as Cinderella's Mother in *Cinderella*.
* Toby Jones, who voiced Owl and Hayley Atwell, who played Evelyn Robin, previously worked together in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Arnim Zola and Peggy Carter, respectively.
* As far as we know, this is the last live-Action Disney film to have the "Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures" credit go all the way up to the top of the screen at the end of the crawl.
* This is the first *Winnie The Pooh* film to be produced in a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, unlike the previous *Winnie The Pooh* films that were produced in 1.85:1.

## References

1. ↑ Disney Sets Live-Action 'Winnie The Pooh' Film; Alex Ross Perry To Write
2. ↑ ‘Spotlight’s’ Tom McCarthy to Re-Write Disney’s Live-Action ‘Christopher Robin’
3. ↑ Ewan McGregor Will Headline Disney’s Christopher Robin Movie
4. ↑ Ewan McGregor to Star in Disney's 'Christopher Robin' (Exclusive)
5. ↑ ‘Agent Carter’ Star Hayley Atwell Joins Ewan McGregor in Disney’s ‘Christopher Robin’ (EXCLUSIVE)
6. ↑ "Christopher Robin (2018)". *Rotten Tomatoes*. Fandango Media. Retrieved on August 6, 2018.

## External links

* Christopher Robin (film) on Wikipedia