Disney sure is bringing back warm fuzzy memories over the last few days. Along with the just-released first look at their upcoming Mary Poppins Returns, the studio released a teaser for Christopher Robin, a live-action/CG movie starring all your favorite Hundred Acre Wood characters.
From the trailer, it looks like Christopher Robin is all grown up and played by Ewan McGregor, but apparently, he has “lost his way,” with a stressful job and no time for his family. Enter Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings) who finds his old friend sitting on a bench and pops up to say hello. Cummings does an uncanny job mimicking the late great voice actor Sterling Holloway, who gave Winnie the Pooh his voice in the original Disney short films.
Watch all the cuteness above!
The official synopsis reads: “In the heartwarming live-action adventure, the young boy who embarked on countless adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood with his band of spirited and lovable stuffed animals, has grown up and lost his way. Now it is up to his childhood friends to venture into our world and help Christopher Robin remember the loving and playful boy who is still inside.”
Directed by Marc Forster, it also stars Hayley Atwell as Christopher’s wife Evelyn; Bronte Carmichael as his daughter Madeline; and Mark Gatiss as Keith Winslow, Robin’s boss.
Then there is the gang from the Hundred Acre Wood: Chris O’Dowd as Tigger; Brad Garrett as Eeyore; Toby Jones as Owl; Nick Mohammed as Piglet; Peter Capaldi as Rabbit; and Sophie Okonedo as Kanga. That’s a great lineup, especially O’Dowd as Tigger, who should infuse a madcap quality, and Jones as the stable and wise Owl.
The other great thing going for it is Forster. His Finding Neverland is one of the most gorgeous and heartbreaking films. It focuses on how J.M. Barrie (played by Johnny Depp) created Peter Pan, influenced by a widow and her four boys, including young Peter (Freddie Highmore). I just love it. I also really enjoyed Forster’s World War Z, which took the zombie genre into a horrifying direction.
Suffice to say, I’m excited for Christopher Robin, which opens August 3.
