Christopher Robin, a working-class man with a wife and daughter, reconnects with his childhood friend Winnie the Pooh, in an attempt to rediscover himself, and immerse himself again in the joys of life.

This film epitomizes themes of family, love, friendship, and gentleness. The three ‘F’ words can be employed to this film – fun, funny, and feel. It was such a refreshing sight to see the CGI transformation of our beloved Hundred Acre Wood crew, spewing their original A.A. Milne book look, and not the Disney animation look.

The movie dives right into the introduction of its main cast, immediately being exposed to the entire gang – Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, and Owl. That being said, if the viewer was not exposed to a lot of Disney in their childhood (if one could call it that after the fact), then it may be a little difficult to comprehend the idea of a young boy named Christopher Robin arriving through the stump of a tree to indulge in a picnic with animals.

Where Goodbye Christopher Robin felt to me as much of a more adult-themed film, Disney’s Christopher Robin took a different step and felt much more family-orientated. In that sense, from a personal standpoint, I preferred Goodbye Christopher Robin. Where there were darker themes in the predecessor, the successor took the tone of the movie back into the light a bit. *The Heffalump in the room has been addressed*.

Again, with that all being said, Disney’s Christopher Robin addressed such familial themes such as kinship (duh), love, gentleness, parenthood, and friendship. The vintage-esque reel and live action feel to the film really helped to accentuate these themes. By doing so, it helped to accelerate the story and make us all wonder what the Hundred Acre Wood gang would do next. Sometime within the film, we see a brave Winnie the Pooh adventuring solo through the hustle and bustle of downtown London in search of Christopher Robin – now completely grown up, unbeknownst to Pooh of course.

Ewan McGregor plays a very enthusiastic Christopher Robin, and meshes with his character rather well. Set in the premise of post-World War Two, and just having returned from the war himself, Christopher Robin marries Evelyn (played by Hayley Atwell), and has a daughter named Madeleine (played by Bronte Carmichael). He works as an efficiency manager for a luggage company, comically mimicked by Pooh as “a fish in the sea”. His work-life starts to consume his family life, to the point at which it puts his relationship with his wife and daughter on the fringes.

Originally annoyed by the presence of Pooh in London amidst his now busy life, he slowly begins to remember and recapture his favourite things, like “doing nothing”; eventually coming to the epiphany again that family and friends, whether flesh or plush, was what was most important to him. Madeleine aids Pooh and friends in this endeavour in order to witness for the first time the fun in her father that was widely spoken of throughout the movie by the animals.

For a Disney staple that has widely been regarded as a target for young children, this movie does well to introduce melancholic themes. Artistically and visually, it is a beautiful movie in its own right. The musical score is done very well and changes with the different tones of the film. Life lessons are an abundance in this film for both the young and the old, and is a must watch.

Rating – 8/10