Disney is plowing ahead with live action versions of their classic animated properties, including Winnie the Pooh. Yes, the small bear with an insatiable hunger for honey and his 100 Acre Wood pals will be brought back to the big screen in the near future, and they won't be their usual traditional, 2-D animated selves. However, aside from screenwriter Alex Ross Perry listing some inspirations for the new Winnie the Pooh adventure, there hasn't been any big news regarding its progress until today, when it was announced that the man who directed World War Z has been tapped to oversee the movie.
According to THR, Marc Forster has been hired by Disney to direct the Winnie the Pooh movie, which is now titled Christopher Robin. Along with news of Forster's recruitment came a plot description. While we're all familiar with Christopher Robin as a young boy who enjoyed spending time with the denizens of the 100 Acre Wood, this movie will follow him as an adult, and by this point he's "grown out of the joyful imagination" he had when he was young and is prioritizing his work as a businessman over his wife and daughter. Just as Christoper's home life starts to hit a breaking point, Winnie the Pooh pops back into his life to get his help with finding his friends. The movie is subsequently described as having "strong elements of magical realism," while its main goal is to tell a "emotional journey" mixed properly with a "heartwarming adventure."
Christopher Robin will be the latest entry in Marc Forster's resume of directing work, which kicked off in 1995 with Loungers. His more notable projects include the previously-mentioned World War Z (though he didn't return for the sequel), Monster's Ball, Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner and Quantum of Solace. He also directed 2004's Finding Neverland, which somewhat ties into Disney's Peter Pan since it revolved around the life of the original play's writer J.M. Barrie.
While it was already a given that Christopher Robin would see the 100 Acre Wood animals as CGI creations interacting in the "real world," this reported plot synopsis sounds like an interesting mix of Winnie the Pooh's innocent roots and a more mature story that both younger and older moviegoers can enjoy. Rather than retread Christopher Robin's adventures as a lad yet again, we'll see how the magic in his life is reignited when Pooh reunites with him, even if Christopher is bothered by the little bear's presence at first. It's way too soon to tell how this Disney live action adaptation will be received by the masses compared to all the other ones on the way, but at the very least, the creative direction sounds intriguing.
We'll keep you updated on how the Winnie the Pooh movie is progressing as more news comes in, but let us know what you think of these director and plot developments in the comments section below.
