'Winnie the Pooh' to be the Next Live-Action Disney Movie

Joey Sack ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Disney is showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to live-action adaptations of their classic animated films. This year, they released the better-than-expected Cinderella, and there are plans to make live-action adaptations of The Jungle Book, Dumbo, and Mulan. So, what’s the next property to get the Disney live-action treatment? Winnie the Pooh. That’s right! Your favorite residents of the Hundred Acre Wood are coming to the big screen in a live-action film. The indie filmmaker, Alex Ross Perry, who wrote and directed 2014’s Listen Up Philip, will write the script. According to Deadline, who originally broke the story, the film will follow Christopher Robin as he returns to the Hundred Acre Wood as an adult.

Now, the original Winnie the Pooh film, 1977’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, was an adaptation itself, adapted from some of the stories by A. A. Milne, as was 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. So it’s entirely possible that this film could feature elements of Milne’s other stories, but most likely it will be an original story, unless the original books dealt with Christopher Robin growing up. But in this may lie the problem: the last time that Disney made a live-action adaptation in which one of the main characters return to the same world years later was in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, which was very colorful and made a lot of money, but left many audiences underwhelmed. The last thing that the Winnie the Pooh franchise needs is to have Christopher Robin be so unlike his original character that he becomes unlikeable. Another possibility is too much focus on the wrong character; if the story focuses too much on Christopher Robin and not enough on Winnie the Pooh (whose name is in the title), the film will suffer for it. Although it’s unlikely that Disney would go down this path, there’s always a chance of there being a Transformers-like focus on the human character when there should be more focus on the character after whom the film is named.
However, the setup of Christopher Robin coming back as an adult could lead to a very interesting story, if played right; it could be a wonderful family film about learning to grow up without losing touch of your inner child. Christopher Robin may stumble back into the Hundred Acre Wood in an attempt to keep from facing the harsh realities of the world beyond the Wood. Pooh and his friends have to work together to help Christopher Robin accept that he is no longer a child, and that he must face the future while also holding onto the good times and happy memories of the past. It could be a very mature and heartfelt story (and Mr. Perry, if you want to use this idea, feel free. Just make it good).

Don’t think that this article is about not wanting a new Winnie the Pooh movie, because it isn’t; Winnie the Pooh is a timeless character that has brought joy to the young and young-at-heart for years. There is nothing wrong with making more films with him and his friends, as long as they’re done right. The biggest problem with adapting Winnie the Pooh into a live-action film is quite obvious and quite simple: the medium. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and all the others who live in the Hundred Acre Wood lend themselves more to animation than live-action (especially Tigger, with his non-stop bouncing and his very flexible body). The only way to show them in the “real” world would be to use CGI, and unless it’s very well done CGI that captures the feel of the original film, it’s not going to be good. It won’t feel like Winnie the Pooh. In addition, it will be a daunting task to find actors to fill the classic roles of Pooh, Tigger, and others, who have for so long, been reserved for voice actors, so much so that any changes to their voices may or may not be welcomed by fans who grew up with a certain voice in mind for each of the characters.
If Disney wants to make a new Winnie the Pooh film, go ahead; you have Emertainment Monthly’s blessing. But if making it live-action does nothing to add to the story and instead takes something from it, just keep it 2D. It’s been four years since the last traditionally animated Disney film (which was, coincidentally, 2011’s Winnie the Pooh). These characters and these settings should not be forced into a medium that they don’t fit into. A new animated Winnie the Pooh film would be great, but if Disney has a way to bring Pooh and company to life in live-action in a way that preserves the original spirit of the franchise, it will surely make for a great experience for any fans of the original books and animated properties. So Disney, you may want to join Pooh at his “Thoughtful Spot” in the Hundred Acre Wood, and really “think, think, think” about whether or not a live-action Winnie the Pooh movie would be in your best interest and in the best interest of a certain silly old bear.