Christopher Robin

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Christopher Robin
Winnie-the-Pooh character
Winnie-the-Pooh 16.png
Christopher Robin, walking down the stairs with his plush bear Winnie the Pooh, as seen in Winnie-the-Pooh
First appearance Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)
Created by A. A. Milne
Based on Christopher Robin Milne
In-universe information
GenderMale
Nationality English

Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney adaptations of the Pooh stories.

Contents

Christopher Robin Milne

Christopher Robin was based on the author A. A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne, who later in life became disappointed about the use of his name. Christopher Milne wrote in one of a series of autobiographical works: "It seemed to me almost that my father had got where he was by climbing on my infant shoulders, that he had filched from me my good name and left me nothing but empty fame," One of the poems, "Vespers" – which describes young Christopher Robin saying his evening prayers – was said by Christopher Milne as "the one work that has brought me over the years more toe-curling, fist-clenching, lip-biting embarrassment than any other." [1]

In the books

Christopher Robin appears in Milne's poems and in the two books: Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). In the books he is a young boy and one of Winnie-the-Pooh's best friends. His other friends are Eeyore, Kanga and Roo, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, and Tigger. In the second book, there are hints that Christopher Robin is growing up. In the final chapter, the inhabitants of the Forest throw him a farewell party after learning he must leave them soon. It is implied that he will attend boarding school; Christopher Robin Milne, for whom the stories were originally developed, left home to attend Stowe School at age 9. [2]

In addition to both Pooh books, the character was immortalized in other works by A. A. Milne including two books of poems: When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927). An arrangement of one of the poems, Buckingham Palace, was first recorded by Ann Stephens in July 1941. [3] Petula Clark released a recording of it in 1953 to coincide with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[ citation needed ]

In David Benedictus's 2009 authorized sequel Return to the Hundred Acre Wood , Christopher Robin was at school, but during the summer break he returns to the forest for a visit with a lot of knowledge to share. Though slightly older, he is still the same person as before and is happy to share more good times with his friends all summer. At the end of the summer, he has to leave again for another school year, but the animals know they will see him again.

Christopher Robin is cheerful, compassionate, adventurous, fun-loving, imaginative, and helpful. Despite being a child, he is much wiser and more mature than many of the other characters, and is someone Pooh and the others look up to. In the book illustrations, his house appears as a hollow tree with a door at the top of the forest.

Disney adaptations

Christopher Robin
Disney's Winnie the Pooh character
Christopherrobin.jpg
First appearance Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)
Created by A.A. Milne
Portrayed by
Voiced by
In-universe information
GenderMale
Family2018 film:
  • Evelyn Robin (wife)
  • Madeline Robin (daughter)

Since 1966, Disney has released numerous features starring Winnie-the-Pooh and related characters. Christopher Robin appears in all of the Disney adaptations except for Kingdom Hearts , Welcome to Pooh Corner , Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh , Springtime with Roo , and Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie . But in most of the cartoons, he is only a supporting character, sometimes only appearing in a few scenes or episodes; in Pooh's Heffalump Movie , he only appears during the credits. His personality is virtually the same as in the books, but he attends day school instead of boarding school.

Christopher Robin's bedroom, but not Christopher Robin himself, appears in live-action opening sequences. In the world within his storybooks, his house appears just as it does in E. H. Shepard's illustrations.

An English boy living in the Ashdown Forest, Christopher Robin has brown hair. He wears a yellow polo shirt with white collar and trim on his short sleeves, blue shorts, white socks and black Mary Jane shoes (or sometimes red sneakers). On several appropriate occasions, he plays a snare drum.

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh re-imagines him as an American boy living in the suburban house 100 Acre Road whose backyard connects directly to the Hundred Acre Wood. His mother also appears in the series and Robin is apparently their surname in that continuity.

Some of these elements were reused for The Book of Pooh , but the animals are once again characters in Christopher Robin's storybook. His hollow tree house does not appear from both series.

Christopher Robin has appeared on House of Mouse with his friends, but he is the only main Winnie-the-Pooh character that does not appear in the Kingdom Hearts video game series; in this continuity, the Winnie-the-Pooh book belongs to Merlin and Christopher Robin's role is played out mostly by Sora. He only appears in two episodes of My Friends Tigger and Pooh but in the whole series, he is absent and is replaced by his younger friend Darby, a feisty red-headed girl who is the main protagonist and hosts the series.

His appearance was updated for the 2011 film.

In the Doc McStuffins crossover special "Into the Hundred Acre Wood!", Christopher Robin visits Doc's toy hospital searching for Pooh, who has been admitted as a patient. Christopher Robin and Doc bond through their shared ability to talk to toys. The character is voiced by Oliver Bell. [4]

Ewan McGregor played a grown-up version of the character in the 2018 Disney live-action film Christopher Robin , [5] while Orton O'Brien portrays the character as a child. [6] In this film adaptation, the now adult Christopher is director of efficiency at a luggage company, and Pooh ultimately helps him to devise a plan to significantly decrease the company's expenditures.

Blood and Honey

In the 2023 horror film, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey , Christopher Robin was played by Nikolai Leon with Frederick Dallaway as young Christopher Robin. [7] Like the 2018 Disney film, Christopher Robin is a grown adult, who sees his old friends again. However, due to leaving them for college five years ago, they're feral, and go on a rampage.

Portrayals

Of the nine main characters, Christopher Robin has the most voice actors. He has been voiced by the following:

Reitherman, Hoskins, Gross and Tiesler are the only actors to use an American accent for the character. All others use received pronunciation.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigger</span> Fictional tiger-like character

Tigger is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic stuffed tiger. He was originally introduced in the 1928 story collection The House at Pooh Corner, the sequel to the 1926 book Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toy animals. He appears in the Disney animated versions of Winnie the Pooh and has also appeared in his own film, The Tigger Movie (2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eeyore</span> Character from Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh-books

Eeyore is a fictional character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heffalump</span> Fictional species from Milnes Winnie the Pooh stories

A Heffalump is an elephant-like character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories by A. A. Milne. Heffalumps are mentioned, and only appear, in Pooh and Piglet's dreams in Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and are seen again in The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Physically, they resemble elephants; E. H. Shepard's illustration shows an Indian elephant. They are later featured in the animated television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988–1991), followed by two animated films in 2005, Pooh's Heffalump Movie and Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)</span> Fictional character

Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie‑the‑Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys and animals featured in the stories. Although he is a "Very Small Animal" of a generally timid disposition, he tries to be brave and on occasion conquers his fears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roo</span> Character in Winnie-the-Pooh

Roo is a fictional character created in 1926 by A. A. Milne and first featured in the book Winnie-the-Pooh. He is a young kangaroo and his mother is Kanga. Like most other Pooh characters, Roo is based on a stuffed toy animal that belonged to Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne. Though stuffed, Roo was lost in the 1930s in an apple orchard somewhere in Sussex.

<i>Piglets Big Movie</i> 2003 film

Piglet's Big Movie is a 2003 American animated musical adventure comedy-drama film released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 21, 2003. The film features the characters from the Winnie-the-Pooh books written by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard and is the third theatrically released Winnie the Pooh feature. In this film, Piglet is ashamed of being small and clumsy and wanders off into the Hundred Acre Wood, leading all of his friends to form a search party to find him.

<i>The House at Pooh Corner</i> 1928 book by A. A. Milne

The House at Pooh Corner is a 1928 children's book by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. This book is the second novel, and final one by Milne, to feature Winnie-the-Pooh and his world. The book is also notable for introducing the character Tigger. The book's exact date of publication is unknown beyond the year 1928.

<i>The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh</i> 1977 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a 1977 American animated musical anthology comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It was first released on a double bill with The Littlest Horse Thieves on March 11, 1977.

<i>Poohs Heffalump Movie</i> 2005 animated film directed by Frank Nissen

Pooh's Heffalump Movie is a 2005 American animated musical adventure comedy-drama film produced by the Japanese office of Disneytoon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring characters from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories, the film is the fourth theatrical animated film in Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise and DisneyToon Studios's third adaptation of Winnie the Pooh stories, following The Tigger Movie (2000) and Piglet's Big Movie (2003). The film was released theatrically on February 11, 2005. The film was followed by a direct-to-video Halloween sequel titled Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie which came out seven months after the film's release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred Acre Wood</span> Fictional forest in the Winnie-the-Pooh series

The Hundred Acre Wood is a part of the fictional land inhabited by Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Winnie-the-Pooh series of children's stories by author A. A. Milne. The wood is visited regularly by the young boy Christopher Robin, who accompanies Pooh and company on their many adventures.

<i>The Book of Pooh</i> US childrens TV series

The Book of Pooh is an American children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; the other two were the live action Welcome to Pooh Corner and the animated The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which ran from 1988 to 1991. It premiered on January 22, 2001 and completed its run on July 8, 2003. It was repeated on Playhouse Disney until June 2, 2006. The show is produced by Shadow Projects. Walt Disney Pictures released the first of two films, a direct-to-video spin-off film based on the puppetry television series titled The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart in 2001.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day</i> 1968 short film directed by Wolfgang Reitherman

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<i>Poohs Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin</i> 1997 film

Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin is a 1997 American direct-to-video animated adventure comedy-drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Karl Geurs. The film follows Pooh and his friends on a journey to find and rescue their friend Christopher Robin from the "skull". Along the way, the group confront their own insecurities throughout the search, facing and conquering them in a series of events where they are forced to act beyond their own known limits, thus discovering their true potential. Unlike the film's predecessors, this film is an entirely original story, not based on any of A. A. Milne's classic stories.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore</i> 1983 animated short film directed by Rick Reinert

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnie the Pooh (Disney character)</span> Fictional teddy bear created by A. A. Milne

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References

  1. Eccleshare, Julia. 2002. Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: portraits of children's writers. National Portrait Gallery. ISBN   9781855143425. p. 33
  2. Christopher Milne (1976). The enchanted places. Penguin. p. 1.
  3. Maloy, Liam (2020). Spinning the Child - Musical Constructions of Childhood Through Records, Radio and Television. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781351334099 . Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  4. Milligan, Mercedes (January 18, 2017). "'Doc McStuffins' Visits 'Hundred Acre Wood' Jan. 18". Animation Magazine . Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  5. "Ewan McGregor to Star in Disney's 'Christopher Robin'". The Hollywood Reporter . April 26, 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  6. Brody, Richard (August 6, 2018). ""Christopher Robin," Reviewed: Disney's Pleasantly Abrasive New Spin on Winnie-the-Pooh". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  7. "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) - IMDb". IMDb .