Goodbye Christopher Robin

You might adore Winnie the Pooh and his cuddly friends, but it’s author might not share your sentiments. That’s perhaps the most surprising takeaway from Goodbye Christopher Robin, which chronicles the messy true-life creation of the beloved children’s characters who have endured for generations.

An uneven tribute to childhood innocence and the power of imagination, this heartfelt and wholesome drama doesn’t disguise its intention to yank at the heartstrings, although its moments of poignancy feel more contrived than genuine.

Set against a backdrop of postwar unease, the story follows A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson), a British veteran of World War I whose writing career has taken a downturn since his return from combat. That frustrates his high-society wife (Margot Robbie) to the point where she flees their rural estate, leaving their young son, Christopher Robin (Will Tilston) in the care of Milne and a beloved nanny (Kelly Macdonald).

Meanwhile, Milne finds unlikely inspiration in his son’s stuffed animals, including Winnie the Bear, Tigger the Tiger, Piglet the Pig, and more. So he reinvents himself as a children’s author — meant as a method of connecting with Christopher Robin — only to find that the resulting fame is more of a curse than a blessing. That’s especially true for the youngster, who resents the eponymous character in the books and the unwanted attention it brings.

A familiarity with the Pooh mythology isn’t necessary — this is technically an origin story, after all. And for fans of Milne’s work, it provides some amusing tidbits: Who knew Winnie the Pooh’s name is short for Winnipeg?

As directed by Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn), the evocative film offers a stylish rendering of the Hundred-Acre Wood. The screenplay offers a mild exploration of the perils of fame. Back in those days, apparently, struggling parents didn’t so readily exploit and risk publicly humiliating their children for a quick buck.

At any rate, Gleeson (The Force Awakens) again showcases his versatility as a character who largely keeps his emotions internalized. Tilston plays the androgynous moppet with an appealing charisma that belies the forced precociousness of the character.

Goodbye Christopher Robin is pretty fluffy and innocuous, unlikely to have even a fraction of the lasting impact of the characters and fantasy world spawned by its subject, which is just as well.

Rated PG, 107 minutes.