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Should You, a Grown Adult, Go See Christopher Robin?

The funniest British bear in the world (sorry, Paddington) has a new movie out. But is it good?

characters from winnie the pooh walking on the street
Laurie Sparham

2018 is, apparently, the year of beloved, polite, British bears. Paddington 2 is one of the best-reviewed movies of the year, and now Winnie the Pooh, unabashed never-nude, is getting the live-action movie treatment in Disney's Christopher Robin.

The movie follows Robin, now a serious and overworked grown man, struggling with balancing his company's books and being a good husband and father. Pooh is summoned to London to help his old friend, and make him remember what it's like to have fun again. It's sweet, weird, and at times utterly nonsensical, as any good Pooh story should be. Should you see it? Let's dive in.

Yo, why isn't this movie called Winnie the Pooh?

Fucking why indeed! Make no mistake, this is a Pooh movie, and every scene he's in is bolstered by his presence.

And he's a... magical teddy bear?

Pretty much. One glorious thing about Christopher Robin is the restraint it demonstrates in explaining literally anything. It's implied in the original books (and animated series) that Pooh, his friends, and the Hundred Acre Wood are fueled by Christopher Robin's imagination, but there's no such faffing about here. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo are all very much real. Then there's Rabbit and Owl, who are confusingly real animals who are friends with the toys? Like I said, don't overthink it.

What's good about this movie?

It's charming, nostalgic, and leans heavily on its main character, who is not Christopher Robin. Pooh is a creature of sincerity and kindness who dispenses philosophies and accidental wisdom in a manner befitting the world's most golden-hearted stoner. "This is impossible! You can't be here!" Robin tells Pooh during their reunion on a park bench in London. "Hmm," Pooh replies, dismissively.

The direction is also fucking wild. Finding Neverland and, uh, World War Z director Marc Forster infuses the movie with more artsiness than required, but it certainly doesn't hurt. The Hundred Acre Wood is less an eden and more a truly realized, wild place. In an early shot, Pooh grazes his hand across some flowers as he walks with Christopher in a shot that would look like it belong in a fucking Jane Austen adaptation, if the hand in question were not a fluffy stitched paw. Haley Atwell, of Captain America and Black Mirror fame, is also excellent as Robin's wife

What's bad?

McGregor is serviceable, but it feels like he learns the lesson "work isn't everything" no fewer than five times throughout the course of the movie. It's also slower and longer in stretches than needed, especially when the "silly old bear" is not onscreen doing something painfully cute. Jim Cummings, who has voiced Pooh and Tigger for decades, is great, but Nick Mohammed as the new Piglet feels off, and Peter Capaldi and Toby Jones as Rabbit and Owl respectively get very little to do. More animals needed, is what I'm saying.

Should I, a grown, childless adult (for the sake of this argument), go see it?

Hell yeah. This movie is bonkers and adorable. If Pooh meant anything to you growing up, it's a joy to see him faithfully realized in live action (though I know mileage varies on just how "cute" people find the CG-rendered animals of Christopher Robin). It's certainly not a Paddington-level masterpiece, but, whisper it, this bear's way better.

Christopher Robin won't blow your mind, but it heads in unexpected directions, and is far smarter and funnier than it needs to be. In fact, for a film about stuffed animals who love adventure, it barely feels like a children's movie at all. Bask in its weirdness.