Christopher Robin: a Dull Affair With Giggles Sprinkled Throughout

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Image result for christopher robin
Director: Mark Froster
Screenplay: Alex Ross Perry, Allison Schroeder, Tom McCarthy (based on the works of A. A. Milne)
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings, Hayley Atwell, Brad Garret, Toby Jones, Peter Capaldi, Mark Gatis, Bronte Carmichael
Genre: Drama/ Fantasy
Rating: 2.5/5

Disney’s latest live action offering Christopher Robin is a dull affair albeit with giggles sprinkled throughout its runtime of 120 minutes. It takes far too long to take off and when it finally does, it is too little too late.
Christopher Robin, the movie, tells the tale of the titular character who is so hung up on the future of his family and by extension his job, he has no time at all for the very family and leads a monotonous life. But then due to certain turn of events, he has to abandon his routine life an help his friends from the Hundred Acre Woods. However, the saviour that is Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) soon needs the help of his friends— Winnie-the-Pooh (Jim Cummings), Tigger (Jim Cummings), Eeyore (Brad Garrett), Piglet (Toby Jones) to sort out his professional and family life.
Based on the trailer, you would think that the saving Christopher Robin bit would come sooner and would be central to the overall development .But that is far from it and the saving is saved for the final third. The movie feels thin and stretched and lacks substance with some scenes extending well beyond their welcome. In addition, there is too much telling and very little of actually showing. This telling begins from the very beginning which, to be fair, has worked brilliantly for other movies in the past. Disney’s own Star Wars series is one of the best examples of it. Here, however, the exposition coupled with the motion picture switcheroo is long and distracting.
The movies avoidance of the flashback technique and use of linear storytelling to show us the supposed fun and childhood friendship is a no go. One boring farewell scene is supposed to makes us buy the fun and friendship. Furthermore, the movie is marred with unnecessary repetitions, particularly of the following three catchphrases: “Nothing comes from nothing.”, “Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing” and “Doing nothing often leads to something special”. This repetition done with the hopes of establishing the validity of these phrases, ironically, takes away from their initial effect. Although these repetition does highlight the influence of dominant figures have on their subordinates, it feels nothing more than cheap mimicry.
As for the characterisation, none of the characters is utilized to their full potential. They are awfully one-dimensional and are given very little to do. The characters would have fared a lot better with a bit more time and dialogues. The titular character is not that great either. Only Winnie-the-Pooh with his clumsy absentmindedness is its saving grace. Nevertheless, even the silly old bear can only do so much. And although these characters are, probably, true to their character, it makes for one lousy movie.
All in all, Christopher Robin is as boring as the titular character’s life with Winnie-the-Pooh doing his best to save Christopher Robin’s life and the movie with his clumsy absentminded acts. I would not recommend this one.

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Location: Nepal

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