Back in early March, tears were shed, hearts were melted and childhood memories were brought to mind when the first trailer for Disney's Christopher Robin debuted. The emotional gut punch came at the end of the trailer when we got a glimpse of Winnie the Pooh and heard Jim Cummings' iconic voice. The silly old bear was the only resident of the Hundred Acre Wood to make an appearance so we've been eagerly anticipating a look at our other childhood favorites. Now we have one as some official images have dropped, giving us our first glimpses of Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. Check it out:
Based on how Pooh looked in the teaser trailer, this is about what I expected, and all the characters look exactly how they should. Seeing the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood all sunbathing with shades on is really cute. I like that Piglet gets his scarf, and I'm hoping there is a bow on Eeyore's tail even though we can't see it. This is one of those movies where images don't tell you much about how something will look onscreen and you really need to see them in motion, especially since they are stuffed animals. But if the magic of teaser trailer is indicative of the whole film, we don't have anything to worry about and Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger (and hopefully some other favorites) will look just as good as Pooh when they are brought to life.
What's so interesting about this approach is that when this movie was announced, I imagined that these characters would look far more cartoony and not like stuffed animals come to life. This aesthetic allows for Pooh and friends to have their classic Disney looks while retaining their stuffed animal origins and fitting the time period. Looking at the characters sunbathing, it basically just looks like four stuffed animals dressed up and that is the point as this is actually part of the story. We are essentially seeing stuffed animals, because that's what they are, and obviously they are not 'alive' in this shot.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the film finds a grown up Christopher Robin who thinks he's losing his mind when Pooh & Co. come back into his life. Everyone else can see them, but they just see stuffed animals whereas he sees them as alive, with some sort of magic at work. So it sounds like this isn't a Toy Story situation where they play dead when people other than Christopher Robin are around. This makes it seem like even when they are moving and talking, he is the only one who can see it. I can imagine that would make a person and those around them think they are going mad. That could get dark if it was all in Christopher Robin's head, but I'm chalking it up to the idea that he is connected with his inner child and can only see the truth because of that. Sort of like Peter Pan in Hook, except for it isn't make believe, it's real.
Christopher Robin hits theaters and your brain's nostalgia center on August 3rd. Check out our guide to see all of Disney's Upcoming Live-Action Remakes and for all the most wonderful things about Tiggers, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
