Christopher Robin

Oh, Pooh. It's you.

A.A. Milne's bear of very little brain saw his creation depicted in last fall's Goodbye Christopher Robin. We now have the similarly titled Christopher Robin. It's sentimental and simple but it's a nice romp through the Hundred-Acre Wood.

The film opens as Christopher Robin bids his stuffed animal friends adieu. He's off to boarding school. He and Pooh promise not to forget each other. Years later, Christopher (Ewan McGregor) is worn out by his stuffy job at a luggage factory. His bosses force him to work one weekend to save the company from failure. He was supposed to go to Sussex with his wife, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell) and their daughter, Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), but they'll have to go alone.

Pooh Bear (Jim Cummings) finds Christopher pondering the situation. Pooh needs Christopher to find his missing friends. He also thinks a Heffalump is around. Christopher reluctantly agrees to help. He's not happy with this diversion at first. But he learns to have fun again as he saves the day.

Director Marc Forster works from a screenplay by Alex Ross Perry and Allison Schroeder. The opening credits bring us nicely to speed with Christopher Robin's life post-Pooh. That even includes a stint in World War II. You won't be surprised with his jaded outlook on life after that. The truth behind the Heffalump is a big nothing, but it's not out of character for Pooh and friends, so that's something. Any scene with Pooh and friends is the best one. You'll get the references to the first Disney shorts even if you haven't seen them in ages.

McGregor is good as Christopher Robin. He's convincing as a dour workaholic who learns to have fun again. As I said before, you'll understand his outlook after the credits. Atwell and Carmichael are strong in their supporting roles; the latter takes the lead in the action-filled climax. The voice cast is especially good in their parts. Cummings reprises his roles as Pooh and Tigger and does it awesomely. The best new casting is Brad Garrett as Eeyore, who fits in the role perfectly. If only the film had more of Rabbit (Peter Capaldi) and Owl (Toby Jones).

There's plenty of technical goodness in the Hundred Acre Wood. The visual effects are great for a $70 million movie. Pooh and company look like actual stuffed animals rather than obvious CGI. Their interactions with the human cast are believable. Cinematographer Matthias Koenigswieser sets the story to a sentimental mood. Geoff Zanelli and Jon Brion emphasize the mood with their score. And Disney legend Richard Sherman provides a few new catchy songs, including one he performs in a mid-credit scene.

Christopher Robin is sentimental and sweet and sometimes slow. Its story will resonate with adults right away but might take longer with kids. But it'll be worth it if and when it does. It's a story of finding your lost happiness in adulthood. I can relate to that. Its 2 hours are an easy summer breeze in a season of big blockbusters.