I watched this movie three times in the theatre when it first came out. I loved the movie so much I watched it three times in two different cities. I was like if Christopher Robin is still at the theatre, I’m going. And so I went.
The first few times I went, I really just went because of Winnie the Pooh. I couldn’t get over how cute and realistic Pooh bear was. I also couldn’t get over how much the beginning scenes of when Christopher was a child and would go to the Hundred Acre Wood, it reminded me so much of when I was a little kid. Our house bordered a huge field that we used to play in all the time. I can remember my shins and knees being scratched and scraped up by the thorns of the bushes and tall grass that we would run through trying to catch butterflies. Yes, I actually had that kind of a childhood where I ran in a field chasing butterflies. My life as a kid was so much different from what I became to be as an adult. But that’s probably true for a lot of us.
Fast forward a few short years and I watch the movie and love it, but for a different reason. I can also see more clearly the themes of the movie that I and a lot of people during this Great Resignation can relate to.
The beginning of the movie is probably one of the strongest and compelling opening sequences I have seen in a long time. The movie is able to move us from Christopher Robin’s (Ewan McGregor) childhood and into this present day adulthood quickly but without making it feel rushed. The beginning starts off with a goodbye party from Pooh and friends for their dear friend Christopher who is going away to boarding school. Christopher promises he would never forget them, but we all know what’s going to happen.
Despite Christopher’s idyllic start to life, things start to get serious and hard as he makes his way into adulthood. We see Christopher’s father passing away and he becoming the “man of the house.” He goes to college and meets his future wife (Hayley Atwell) on a bus going home from work or school one day. The two get married, but their home life is interrupted when Christopher Robin goes off to fight in WWII. The death of Christopher’s father was the beginning of the end of his innocence, but the war was the beginning of the end of the human side of Christopher.
While he was away fighting in the war, Christopher’s wife, Evelyn, is forced to go it alone as it is pointed out literally during one of the movie’s montages. Evelyn also gives birth to their daughter Madeline, alone, and raises her for several years alone until Christopher returns home. Christopher then finds work as an “efficiency expert” at a big corporate office called Winslow Luggages. As Christopher becomes more of a workaholic, he begins to alienate and push away his wife and daughter. Push comes to shove when Evelyn plans a weekend getaway for the whole family, but Christopher has to stay behind to work.
It is during this point when we meet up with Pooh bear again who ends up in London and face-to-face with Christopher. Pooh bear helps Christopher find his way back to himself and to what life should really be about. This isn’t done in a very heavy handed way. Christopher doesn’t magically see the light right away. The movie is really effective at switching gears without forcing it. We go from sunshine and roses to doom and gloom in a very subtle and yet surprising pace.
As Christopher spends time with Pooh, he starts to become comfortable with his old friend again. There’s a point when the pair are back at Hundred Acre Wood and get lost in which Christopher explodes at Pooh and Pooh suddenly disappears. We can feel how lost and scared Christopher is at not being able to find Pooh. He realizes that he can’t make it back to London without Pooh’s help.
Watching this movie again, I find it very funny and sad to me that a movie that is set in the first half of the 1900’s is so realistic to what is happening in the 2020’s. Christopher is in dire of need of getting back to London as he has a very important work meeting to attend. He has been tasked at reducing costs (or head count) and he has to present his recommendation at this meeting. Unbeknownst to him, Tigger took it upon himself to pack his work briefcase with more important things rather than pesky old papers and such. Exactly, Tigger.
The gang doesn’t want Christopher to get in trouble, so they race to London to try to help their friend. They end up roping in Madeline on their adventure and they all eventually meet up with Christopher and Evelyn. At this point, Christopher realizes what is more important to him and he figures out what the plan should be to save the company money and the people who work there.
Rather than targeting wealthy people who vacation, Winslow Luggage should give their own employees paid vacations, so they can go on vacation and use Winslow luggages. Of course we know this kind of recommendation would never fly as it includes giving the hardworking employees a raise AND time off. But it makes sense and works in the movie.
What I and many others can identify with in this movie is that so many of us evolve and change in a really bad way when we grow up. The work that we do and what work does to us, can really change us in ways that we may not even recognize until it’s too late.
Pooh and friends live their lives and do their thing at Hundred Acre Wood and they’re all happy. I can understand now why religious groups or groups that want to cut off from society do what they do. Like the Amish or Mennonites who go and live in their own villages. They live and work and are self-sustaining. But they don’t need to impress anyone or worry about putting together a presentation. Not saying their lifestyles are perfect, but I have respect for people who go off the grid.
Christopher Robin is a dramedy that is worth watching beyond just seeing the live action animation of Pooh bear and the rest of the crew. This movie is really a metaphor for the Great Resignation and I’m here for it.
Comentarios