Silly Old Bear comes to life in Walt Disney's Christopher Robin

A.A. Milne’s classic story about a young boy and his beloved bear come to life on screen in Walt Disney’s Christopher Robin. The film centers on Christopher Robin, portrayed by Ewan McGregor, as an adult and how he is managing life as a father, husband and budding businessman. Things start to take a turn for the worst when Christopher Robin’s boss threatens to downsize his company and force Robin to work instead of spend the weekend in his childhood cottage with his family. In the meantime, Winnie the Pooh lost all of his friends and is on a mission to find them, can Robin help Pooh without destroying his career and his strained relationship with his wife and daughter?

The acting in the film is great, McGregor is captivating as a man struggling to enjoy his time with his family, and bring out the inner child in him when work and real life gets in the way. Bronte Carmichael as Madelyn was impressive as the studious, shy daughter who is unfortunately ignored by her father and fights for his attention and admiration. The character voices were good, Jim Cummings who has been the voice of Pooh since 1988 was obviously spot on as he also did Tigger’s voice too. Nick Mohammed who voiced Piglet was the only voice that I felt didn’t fit. Being a fan of Winnie the Pooh from the cartoon films Piglet’s voice is pretty distinct, and I don’t think Mohammed captured the essence of the character.

The animation in the film was beautiful. Some of the cinematic shots were breathtaking. Pooh sitting on a log with the sun setting and Christopher sitting beside him was such a touching moment. The set really created a magical tone to the story, with a tree that contained a time portal, and a forest filled with beauty and adventure. The childhood cottage was pure and timeless in the beginning of the film when Christopher was just a young boy with his “friends” and then it seemed cold and empty when he returns.

Christopher Robin is a fun family film that will have the audience laughing and crying throughout. Winnie the Pooh is funny, sweet, and adorable as ever. This film is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys this ageless story with the belief that age is just a number; you can never be too old to go on an adventure and the simple thought that, “sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”