Review by John M. Delia, Jr.
The hundred-acre woods is real! It wasn’t a fairy tale or an imaginary story as we all thought. The legend of Pooh and is pals turns out to be real and their lives becomes a true adventure for us all.
Young Christopher Robin (Orton O’Brien) begins to grow up. His parents decide to send him away to boarding school. So he takes one last trip to see his friends. There he spends one last time with all his friends. Later at their thinking spot he tells Pooh that he is not going far and that he will always be in his heart. Time has passed and now Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) is all grown up and has a family of his own.
After the war Christopher lands a job at Winslow Luggage Company and has the responsibility of evaluating the companies spending habits. The country is going through a tough time since the end of the war and many companies are feeling the pressure.
With long awaiting plans to go to the family cottage in Sussex, Christopher is ready to spend this time with his wife, Evelyn Robin (Haley Atwell) and daughter, Madeline Robin (Bronte Carmichael) before she goes off to boarding school. Since Christopher works many long hours his relationship with his daughter is not what they both thought it would be like.
Unfortunately the owner’s son Giles Winslow (Mark Gatiss) approaches Robin and gives him the task of finding a way to reduce the budget by end of the weekend. He now must tell his wife and daughter that he cannot go on the weekend trip to the country with them and the relationship between his wife and his daughter are now forever strained.
Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings) wakes up from a very long nap. He notices that the hundred-acre wood is getting very foggy and everyone seems to be missing. He searches for his friends, Eeyore (Brad Garrett), Tigger (Jim Cumming), Piglet (Jim Cumming), Rabbit (Peter Capaldi), Owl (Toby Jones), Kanga (Sophie Okonedo), and Roo (Sara Sheen), with no luck. Pooh senses something very suspicious and decides that he must go out the door that is in the tree. This door is not any ordinary door, this door goes out to the world of Christopher Robin.
When he enters this strange new world of Christopher, he finds himself in London at a park right where Christopher happens to be sitting on a bench. They instantly find themselves but Christopher is very puzzled on why Pooh came to London and not Sussex, where the tree entrance exists.
Now in a rush to get pooh back home, they must save the rest of the gang from their arch enemies the Heffalump’s and Woozle’s. Together their search will bring them on an adventure that will win your heart and bring back your own memories from your childhood.
Directory Marc Forster does a fantastic job presenting this beautiful and loving storyline to the audience. By using the classic style characters (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore) he is able to add more emotions to this wonderful tale. The way he blends the real world with the imaginary hundred-acre wood (or is it imaginary?), makes the story become so alive. This spectacular story tells you a lot about how important your childhood is and that everyone should enjoy those memories from your youth.
Final Comment: I based my grade on the excellent storyline along with the magnificent special effects. (5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Jim Cummings, Eeyore, Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, Sara Sheen, and Toby Jones.
Directed by: Marc Forster
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, and Musical.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some action, mild violence, some mild profanity, and mild frightening and Intense Scenes.
Running Time: 1 hour and 44 minutes
Release Date:Â August 3, 2018
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Released In: Dolby Digital, and Standard.