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KPCW sends its most discerning moviegoers to the movies each week to let you know which films are worth going to and which are a pass. The Friday Film Review airs at 7:20 a.m., during the Noon News and in The Local View. KPCW Friday Film Reviewers are: Barb Bretz, Rick Brough, Mark Harrington and Linda Jager.

Friday Film Review - "Christopher Robin"

Libby Wadman, with this week's Friday Film Review, says th enew film "Christopher Robin" is a cautionary bedtime story for adults.

Some of my favorite memories from my childhood circle around bedtimes spent with my brothers as my father read the three of us into the world of Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh and all the other denizens of the 100 Acre Wood. My love for these stories and characters, created by A.A. Milne, has never dimmed, so I have always jumped at the chance, albeit with a bit of trepidation as to the quality of the production, to reenter that marvelous world. So it was when the latest rendition of these characters, Christopher Robin, opened in local theaters last week.

Disney Studio has long made a practice of bringing childhood classics to the screen whether as an animated or live action feature, and how it is reworking many of its former classics. "Christopher Robin" is the latest in this endeavor and the project fortunately was turned over to very capable and experience hands of director Marc Foster whose previous credits include "Quantum of Solace", 'Monster's Ball" and "Finding Neverland". The fine quality he instilled in those films is just as evident in this film.

This story, which is TOTALLY fictional, has an adult Christopher Robin, married with a little girl, working hard in a luggage company that is facing huge economic problems in post WWI days. Robin's immediate boss, a slimy slacker, has placed the entire responsibility of figuring out how to either save money or decide which workers to lay off, on Christopher Robin. This is the final blow to any part of childhood and its imagination that remained in his heart. This is something of which his young daughter is all too well aware. Enter Winnie the Pooh, just in the nick of time, to return his old friend to the 100 Acre Wood to hopefully find some of those very important somethings that have been lost.

Part of what makes this movie so delightful to watch is the cast. Everyone does a splendid job, but a few are standouts. Jim Cummings doing double the job as the voice of both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger manages to bring out, with his voice, the most wonderful aspects of each personality. Pooh is stalwart and in his own way has wonderful insight and understanding of his friend Christopher Robin. Brad Garrett as Eeyore's voice gives a warmth and totally endearing quality to Eeyore's moroseness, not exactly qualities one usually associates with that personality type, but what the viewer would expect from Eeyore. Bronte Carmichael as Christopher's daughter, Madeline, is perfect as the child repeatedly hurt by her father, but endlessly eager to please him and hopeful that next time she will. Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin is the clueless adult forgetting to acknowledge his inner child, or that his daughter is a child and not just a mini adult.

Another plus is the cinematography. The 100 Acre Wood scenes in "Christopher Robin" were filmed in Ashdown Forest, the actual location that inspired A.A. Milne 90 years ago. The cinematography is beautifully executed as it captures and incorporates breathtaking views that will have you planning a trip to see it for yourself.

The art, primarily at the beginning of the film is also quite clever. The transitions between the quick scene changes that bring the viewer from Christopher Robin as a child to adult are done using some of the original E.H. Shepard illustrations from Milne's books. These then morph into drawings, in the same style, that represent the next scene.

And of course, the film would be nothing without just the right stuff animals. Each and every one will have the viewer believing they are real and wanting to take them home. The CGI integration with the live action is absolutely flawless.

The message in "Chrstopher Robin" is nothing new, but id does bear repeating . While many screenplays turn this message into a sicky sweet blob of pabulum, "Christopher Robin" screenwriters have resisted this urge with the exception of one scene. That though, is the only real negative in what is otherwise a well done feel good movie.

"Christopher Robin" is a truly delightful cautionary bedtime story aimed at adults, although kids will probably enjoy Pooh and his friends. It is rated PG for some action and is one hour and 44 minutes in length.

The Friday Film Review is sponsored by the Park City Film Series

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