christopher robin

A few weeks ago we saw Christopher Robin with Golden's family.  I'm torn about it.  It was a well-made movie, but it pushed a button that drives me nuts.  I get the sense that I'm overly sensitive about it since I've never heard anyone else sound off about it, but it does bug me.  I've sounded off about it before for other movies as well.

Christopher Robin is presented as someone who as an adult apparently cares too much about his career at the expense of his wife and daughter.  He's presented with an ultimatum that he has to work through the weekend when he has a trip planned with his family or he's informed that a large number of people are going to lose their jobs.  When he reports the situation to his wife and daughter individually they are each disappointed.  While the emotions and motivations in the situation are well-handled for a children's movie, he is presented as going down the wrong path for choosing to work through the weekend, and the story really kicks off from there.

There is more to the story, but in the same situation where other peoples' livelihoods hung in the balance, I would be hard-pressed to justify taking time off, even to spend it with my family.  In order to make the main character's choice difficult, I believe the movie overplayed its hand and presented a situation where the workaholic father and husband was actually justified in putting work ahead of other responsibilities.

With that being said, our kids loved the movie, and that is definitely not nothing.  There are quite a few well-loved movies they don't connect with.  This one had just the right laughs for them.