The first teaser of Christopher Robin, Disney’s live-action version of AA Milne’s stories featuring the bear Winnie-the-Pooh, was released on Monday. The teaser revealed the beloved bear and his human friend, who has now grown up into Ewan McGregor. Jim Cummings, who has voiced Winnie and Tigger in Disney productions, plays the anthropomorphised bear who frequently gets into trouble.
Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, The Kite Runner, Quantum of Solace) has directed the Disney production, which will be released on August 3. “The movie is so full of joy and emotion and also of scenes that I think are very timely,” Forster told Entertainment Weekly. “[Pooh] is still as relevant today as he’s ever been. Perhaps even more so.”
Milne’s first book, Winnie-the-Pooh, was released in 1926, and was followed by The House at Pooh Corner two years later. The set of characters proved hugely popular among children and adults alike.
Disney’s live action version follows the animated film in 1977. Christopher Robin is set in the late 1940s, and stars McGregor as a World War II veteran who has returned home to his wife (Hayley Atwell) and young daughter. He works as a luggage salesman, and runs into his ursine companion from his childhood during a trying time.
“I believe he’s not just a lovely teddy bear for children to play with or who can put you in a good mood,” Forster told EW. “There’s this timeliness to him, and his Pooh-isms, as naive as they sound, there’s always so much truth to them. He doesn’t take himself seriously, but there’s so much substance. They make you smile, but at the same time, you think, he’s so right.”
The voice cast includes 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.
Domnhall Gleeson played Milne in the 2017 movie Goodbye Christopher Robin, which traces the author’s relationship with his son who inspired the boy from his takes.
