DVD Review: Goodbye Christopher Robin

Goodbye Christopher Robin
[DVD Goodbye]

This film tells the biographical story of the relationship between author A.A. Milne and his son, and the circumstances that led Milne to create the world of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin (who was based on Milne’s son).

The performances are magnificent, particularly newcomer Will Tilston as the 8-year-old version of “Billy Moon” — which was the nickname that everyone used for the boy who’s official name was Christopher Robin Milne. Also outstanding was Kelly Macdonald as Billy’s nanny, whom he called “Nou”. Domhnall Gleeson as Milne and Margot Robbie as his wife, Daphne are also excellent. The visuals of the story, both in terms of set design and cinematography in the English countryside that inspired the “100 Acre Wood”, are gorgeous.

This is a fairly low-key, low-energy film, with bursts of intense emotion. As “Billy Moon” grows and becomes an adult (portrayed at 18 by Alex Lawther), joining the armed forces in WWII, watching the fracturing relationship between father and son is somewhat painful. Yet in the end, this is an uplifting and hopeful film. And if you’ve ever wondered about the origins of the iconic Winnie-the-Pooh characters and settings, you’ll leave this film fully educated.

Highly recommended!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Christopher Robin (2018), a more light-hearted look at an adult Christopher Robin (portrayed by Ewan McGregor), reconnecting with his childhood stuffed animal friends still fully alive.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Goodbye Christopher Robin web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

 

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Review: Winnie's Great War by Lindsay Mattick

Winnie’s Great War
by Lindsay Mattick [j Mattick]

This is a charming little novel that fictionalizes the real-life events that inspired the literary legend that is Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne. Most readers are probably not aware that the honey-loving bear of Milne’s story was inspired by an actual Canadian bear, who had quite a few adventures of his own!

Winnie was an orphaned female black bear cub who was purchased by Canadian cavalry veterinarian Harry Colebourn at a railway station as he was being sent for troop training in Eastern Canada in preparation for being sent to Europe to fight in World War I (i.e. “The Great War”). Colebourn named her Winnipeg, in honor of his hometown, but that was quickly shortened to Winnie. Winnie was a mascot for Colebourns unit of front-line veterinary doctors, and they couldn’t bear to leave her behind when they took the ocean voyage to Europe. After many exciting adventures with Colebourn and his fellow soldiers, ultimately Winnie was turned over to the London Zoo when Harry and his comrades headed into combat. Colebourn planned to reclaim her after the war…but no-one had any idea how long this World War would ultimately go on.

During those war years, Winnie became a huge attraction at the London Zoo, where she was beloved by both the zoo visitors and staff. She had a playful personality, but could also sense anxiety and fear in other animals and her mere presence could often calm creatures of many species. It was while Winnie was at the zoo that author Milne brought his son, Christopher Robin Milne to the zoo, and the boy fell in love with the bear…renaming his own stuffed bear “Winnie-the-Pooh” (a combination of Winnie the real-life bear, and a nick-name in the Milne household). It was this that inspired Milne to write his beloved childrens’ books.

I enjoyed this short novel very much, and feel like I know a lot more about the true history of Winnie now, although the author (a descendant of Colebourn) takes some creative liberties in sections of the novel — especially in attributing human-like personalities and speech (although only among the animals themselves) to most of the various animals in the story. But, but a story that aims to entertaining a youthful audience, this is fully understandable. A fun, enlightening read!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Finding Winnie, by Lindsay Mattick, Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired WInnie the Pooh, by Sally Walker or Goodbye Christopher Robin, in both book and DVD formats.]

[ publisher’s official Winnie’s Great War web page ] | [ official Lindsay Mattick web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Review: Christopher Robin (on DVD)

Christopher Robin
[DVD j Christopher]

Although this movie was marketed for “families” or “kids”, I think it was really intended for all us adults who grew up with the classic Winnie-the-Pooh and miss that sense of innocence and pure love in our lives..

Ewan McGregor plays the grown-up Christopher Robin — the young lad who spent his childhood roaming the Hundred Acre Wood with his stuffed animal friends, Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga and Roo, Owl, Rabbit and more. Based on the classic children’s fiction of A.A. Milne, this film’s story places the adult Christopher in London, with his wife and young daughter. Following his service in The Great War, he’s taken a job with a luggage company, where he’s a workaholic, trying to save the struggling company from the bumbling leadership of the owner’s ineffectual son. His overworked nature leads Christopher to skip a planned family getaway to the country.

However, in the Hundred Acre Woods, Pooh bear misses his old friend Christopher Robin, and decides to seek him out, against the advice of his fellow stuffed animals. Slipping through a magical passageway in an old tree, Pooh appears in a park in London, drawn like a magnet to Christopher. The adult Christopher cannot believe his walking, talking, “imaginary” friend from his childhood has suddenly appeared in his adult life, leaving honey stains everywhere and eliciting concerned stares from the other adults around him. Christopher’s efforts to return Pooh to the Hundred Acre Wood result in comical misadventures, both in the Wood, where he must convince all the other stuffed animals that he’s not a hephalump, and in the real world, when Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger go on an adventure in London to assist Christopher and his young daughter.

While a bit uneven in places, and darker in tone than I would have preferred, Christopher Robin still manages to tell a marvelous adventure story, filling with moments of sincere emotion and humor. Anyone who grew up either reading the originals Milne stories, or watching the “American-ized” Disney cartoon versions of those stories, should truly love this sentimental journey back to reclaim some of their childhood. The special effects are phenomenal, bringing the stuffed critter to life, and the voices are absolutely perfect — Jim Cummings as the voices of both Pooh and Tigger, and Brad Garrett as Eeyore are particular standouts!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Hook, the Robin Williams film, which features a similar plot of a middle-aged man rediscovering his enthusiasm for life while revisiting a part of his childhood.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Christopher Robin web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!