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Film Review By Calum

WRITERS – Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari, DIRECTOR – Peyton Reed

SYNOPSIS

Christopher Robin is beginning to grow up, he is now ready to leave his friends and family for boarding school. Christopher’s friends from the Hundred Acre Wood – Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Rabbit – all decide to throw him a goodbye party. Sad to see their friend go, Christopher promises that he will never forget them.

Years later, Christopher has grown up, he is now married to architect Evelyn, with whom he has a daughter Madeline. He’s just served in the British Army in World War 2, and now works as an efficiency expert at Winslow Luggage’s.

But Christopher’s demanding job starts to take over his life, and the relationships within his family start to fracture.

Then one day, Christopher receives a surprise visit from his old friend, Winnie-the-Pooh! Together the two embark on a journey through the big city of London to find Pooh’s friends, and to help Christopher rediscover the joy of life.

FIRST THOUGHTS

I’m just gonna cut straight to the point and say it. ‘Christopher Robin’ is a beautifully made film. And… it is my FAVOURITE film of 2018 so far.

I’m struggling to put this review into words because of how overwhelmed I was by how wonderfully the film was created. First thing I will say is that ‘Christopher Robin’ is definitely a treat for those who remember watching and reading Winnie-the-Pooh in their childhood. But for those who might not know Winnie-the-Pooh or the other characters that well, the film still works.

I feel pretty certain that someone with no prior knowledge of the history of Pooh can watch the film and still enjoy the hell out of it, and that’s because of the how well the story is written, directed and performed.

WRITING

The script is gorgeously written. It nails everything: the comedy, the drama, the emotions, the characters, it just gets everything right!

The characters are very well rounded, and the script gives each and every one of them a time to shine with beautiful moments of drama. And there are some fantastic moments of comedy which had me in stitches.

Every character has their comedy moments, but I think a lot of it falls down to the character of Eeyore who had me laughing from the moment he first appeared.

The script had me in tears in various moments. Some sad, but also some happy. The writing is just a rollercoaster of emotions.

CHARACTERS & ACTING

The characters, as I’ve said, are very well rounded by the script, but it’s the performances of all the actors that REALLY makes the characters come to life.

Ewan McGregor plays Christopher Robin and he does an amazing job with emotional storyline his character. His character is hard-working and has been changed by the adult world, and Ewan brings such power to the role and performs wonderful moments where we can see that his character, even though he says life is all about hard work, actually wants his childhood back. It’s a fantastic performance and one I will remember for years.

Hayley Atwell and Bronte Carmichael do very well as Christopher’s family – Evelyn Robin and Madeline Robin. They give some really nice moments of heart within the film and they’re clearly having a lot of fun with their roles.

We also have Mark Gatiss as Giles Winslow Jr. who’s always brilliant with his acting. He plays the villain of the piece and Mark just suits the role perfectly. And how Winnie-the-Pooh describes his character is just hilarious.

Jim Cummings does really well to bring two of my childhood favourites to life, Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger, and Nick Mohammed performs Piglet brilliantly, in the way I remember the character from my childhood. Brad Garret voices Eeyore, and he runs with the depressing donkey and makes him the funniest character of the film. We also have Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, Sophie Okonedo as Kanga, Sara Sheen as Roo and Toby Jones as Owl. These characters don’t have an awful lot of screen time compared to the others, but the actors do well to make them enjoyable and memorable.

Direction:

The direction is stellar. Every scene in the film is shot beautifully and the mix of practical and CGI effects are fantastic!

The post World War 2 London setting is great. The directing, the costumes, they’re crafted in a way that made me feel that I had been transported back in time.

But I love the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, they looked amazing. And Winnie-the-Pooh is SO sweet, I really wanted to hug him! I really liked the subtle touches to the animated characters of Pooh and all his friends, like the worn out look suggesting that they’re just as old as Christopher Robin, it’s a nice touch to the characters. And the Hundred Acre Wood is well shot and beautiful, though there are moments where it became a little spooky.

FINAL THOUGHTS

‘Christopher Robin’ is a wonderful story which explores the themes of family, friends and the importance of joy in life.

It was a lot of fun, I felt it bringing out my inner child which was a beautiful feeling to have whilst watching my childhood memory being brought back.

The characters are amazing, the acting is fantastic, the writing is great, so the film overall is brilliant, and this is definitely one I will be buying on DVD and revisiting many times in the future.

‘‘CHRISTOPHER ROBIN’ result = 10/10

© Calum Brown Visable Inc

Do you have a film review to share with us? Do you have a film you would like Calum to review? Email write@visableinc.co.uk with REVIEW in the subject line.

Credits:

Created with images by Erik Witsoe - "Night at the Movies"

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