Review of Christopher Robin (2018) by Kyle M — 07 Aug 2018

For almost fifty years, Winnie the Pooh has been welcomed into enchanting many childhoods under a relatable phenomenon considering how it all started that takes place further back (as noted in 2017's biopic "Goodbye Christopher Robin") and Disney enhanced (though possibly exploited) the character by sharing the contained rich charm. "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" officially started the visual journey for one kid after being read to, then most likely became the first childhood portal. Since then the characters and stories have grown into further exploration and probable enhancement while being passed down and shared in between generations. But while the old saying of "never too old for..." also applies to the silly old bear with very little brain, what exactly the bear of stuff and fluff can do for those who have become grown-ups? Well, the latest continuation in an uncharted territory examines that as we reflect ourselves on the titular character's position in "Christopher Robin", with expectations met and minimally exceeded.

Sets place in 1940s London, now grown into a working-class family man and facing a difficult deadline, Christopher Robin gets weighed down by the pressure of an unbalanced lifestyle with work over family and has forgotten what's truly important. Stranded in the middle, he soon unexpectedly encounters his old childhood friend Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh for short, who has a problem of his own looking for his friends who are strangely missing. Reluctantly while stuffed with complications, Christopher Robin goes on a needed little adventure that would help him rediscover what he's been lacking for so long.

Unlike the past animated films or any in general genre-wise on continuing one's story, "Christopher Robin" offers childhood magic to those who have grown up connected to the Hundred Acre Wood as well to share such portal to the younger generation(s). Such expectation really hyped up the potential the film could bring, finding out that it has swelled the film's heart in pure satisfaction and joyful delight. It may not be as emotional as few selective films in the franchise from the DisneyToons department in only their climaxes and little afterwards, but the meaningfulness and nostalgia triggered mostly by the emotional attachment ranks this second behind the original starter as a follow-up complementary.

While the inner childhood has been expressed in both ways - one through Christopher Robin's position, and the other through us spectators - the film's original storyline that at least connects to the original stories is very well written with the collision of clear tonal shifts that really expresses differential growth for the titular character's fresh depth under the gentle, passionate treatment. The wisdom that actually come from the bear continues and acts as a push for the former boy's sudden search and true motivation for happiness, which surprisingly applies to the real world's growth such as Tigger in one scene made a fun contextual remark. The plot may be predictable with a familiar route, but this film proves that it's all about the journey rather than figuring out with predictability, hence the inner childhood being nicely expressed with some wisdom of Pooh. This is backed up by a perfect score composed by Geoff Zanelli and Jon Brion, with the former seemingly matching the determined taste as Michael Giacchino in composing music faithfully close to the subject as heard in the instrumental cues of the everlasting "Winnie the Pooh" theme.

As Disney's latest re-imaginative storytelling, it's still a nicely detailed transformation from animation to live action when the critters have been visualized as actual life-size "plushes" - with the apparent exception for Rabbit and Owl. The visual effects seems to have been done in a similar fashion as seen in "Charlotte's Web" and "Babe" with the focus being towards the facial muscles and excessive body movements rather than being pure CGI creation. This smart method adds an extra touch of faithfulness in the adaptation process.

Speaking of the characters, excellence goes to the casting with Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin and Hayley Atwell as his wife, performing a lovely tonal fit and chemistry along with newcomer Bronte Carmichael as their daughter. Same goes to the voice casting for the critters with long-time voice actor Jim Cummings continuing his voice work as both Pooh and Tigger with the rumbling and bouncing still the same with a bit of aging being heard from just the characters. Brad Garret done a perfect Eeyore; Piglet's voice minimizes a little bit further with Nick Mohammed replicating the insecurity of a very small animal; and Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, Toby Jones as Owl, and Sophie Okonedo and Sara Sheen as Kanga and Roo respectively also captured their characters well in their performances.

This review of "Christopher Robin" may sound biased due to emotional attachment that created a childhood portal through the film but the viewpoint is between being enveloped in childhood magic and looking at it critically (took a viewing for each to solidify a rating). It's another magical treat for the family with a generationally-sharing potential and relevant wisdom to teach from a swelled-up heart to indicate pure satisfaction of its faithfulness. To compare this to Disney's previous re-imagined stories, it's gentler with a new story while ranks next to "The Jungle Book" in spirit - and reflects like "Alice in Wonderland", but it couldn't personally be helped that this is the best, most heartwarming yet for now. (A+).

T.T.F.N. Ta-ta for now.