Who didn’t grow up with at least some awareness of anthropomorphic teddy bear Winnie the Pooh and his band of woodland cronies? For me, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,
Blustery Day, and A Day for Eeyore were on constant rotation in my family room’s VCR, and if everyone out there disagrees that the theme song to The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the catchiest tune ever recorded, then I suppose our friendship is over.
Though Pooh continues to remain a Disney presence throughout the theme parks and on
television, his silver screen appearances have been few and far between, with the last
official theatrical bout coming in the form of 2011’s Winnie the Pooh and, somewhat
unofficially, last year’s bewildering live action A.A. Milne biopic Goodbye Christopher
Robin. Now, however, with Mary Poppins returning to theaters later this year, Disney
felt it time to revisit Milne’s beloved creations in Christopher Robin, yet another motion picture jaunt through the Hundred Acre Wood, this time picking up years later as Pooh’s titular human companion has now aged into adulthood. It’s hard to ignore the shades of Hook, still an underrated Disney classic in my book, as we see Ewan McGregor in the title role struggle between a demanding job and the pull of family life-leave it to ol’ Pooh, who shows up briefly at the end, to help Robin rediscover the magic his life has clearly been lacking. Yes, the acting in this short clip may be a bit subpar, but it being a true teaser I’m still interested. Also, Hayley Atwell shows up for about a second. So, there’s that.
Christopher Robin will probably make you cry on August 3rd, 2018.
