Before the movie, I told myself that "Christopher Robin" was probably just going to be a 'feel good' movie and be on my merry way. I thought that for a whole minute as the movie started, and begin the waterworks. I didn't flat out cry, cause I still wanna watch the movie! But I watched my childhood bust the pipes in my head and tears streamed down my cheeks for the opening five minutes. That would be the first breaking of the dam for the following two hours. While this movie doesn't bring anything new to the table, this is for everyone who grew up watching Pooh bear and his friends in the wood. No spoilers in this review.
The story starts with Christopher Robin going to boarding school, leaving his childhood friends behind but not before promising that he will never forget them. When you have a promise like that at the beginning of a film, you know it's not going to last very long. He grows up, becomes a family man while working at a factory letting the work slowly consume him. His family clearly want him back and so do his long-forgotten friends.
The film centers around Christopher realizing, with the help of his friends, that he has to enjoy his life or he will work it away.
This might be my second favorite movie out of the summer, coming right behind "Infinity War". I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was younger, so this movie hit me right in the feels. When you get older, you leave your childhood behind. Sure you may remember what you did and enjoyed doing, but do you remember how it affected you? For me, yes I grew up, contrary to popular belief, but I forgot all about the Hundred Acre Wood and what it stood for. The wood stands for a simpler time, a time when I could go on adventures with characters who were very different from one another, but nevertheless they cared about each other.
I remembered the times when I would read the books, listen to the songs, watch the VHS tapes at my grandmother's house, and just get lost in it. I didn't have to worry about school, but I did learn something on every escapade. In the beginning, to see Christopher leave his friends was almost like the closing of the stories that never ended. It was hard to watch because no matter how old people got after watching the movies or episodes, Pooh bear was still trying to get that last slurp of honey or Tigger was still bouncy up a storm. The stories never ended...but in the movie, they do.
The audience goes on a journey with Christopher. We witness ourselves in him, growing up and thinking these things as childish and not worth our time anymore. But we, including Christopher, see that these things are in fact timeless and will be around for many years to come because they are just that important. Teaching kids, and adults, that life is simple. Yes there are things that are complicated and we can't help that, but there are parts that are just simple and enjoyable. The only thing is, sometimes we might have to look for it. For doing nothing, always leads to the very best of something.
