Today is the day you can bring home a copy of Avengers: Infinity War to enjoy with the whole family. My husband loves going to the theater to see the movies, but what he loves even more is setting up his surround sound to his liking, turning on the closed captions and then taking it all in without the noise of others we enjoy the movie even more.

We loved watching Avengers: Infinity War in the theaters and I can’t wait to watch it again at home, once I get home again. We have been traveling like crazy. I wish I had brought our copy on vacation with us, because I’m really sick today and it would be nice to take a break from the pool and the ocean and sit and enjoy all of the extra features this disc has to offer.

Check it out:

Avengers: Infinity War Extras

The 4K Cinematic Universe Edition’s never-before-seen bonus material grants behind-the-scenes access to MCU members and features the memorable moments when characters first meet, the rationale behind some unexpected on-screen pair-ups, and a funny Super Hero gag reel. Featurettes explore the frighteningly powerful Thanos and two action-packed attempts to prevent his collection of all six Infinity Stones: the struggle on Titan and the massive battle in Wakanda. Deleted scenes and filmmaker commentary reveal even more on-set secrets from Marvel Studios’ monumental undertaking.

The Multi-Screen Edition includes a Blu-ray and a Digital Copy of the film, giving viewers the flexibility to watch the film on different devices. Those with 4K Ultra HD capability may opt for a 4K Cinematic Universe Edition, which includes a 4K Ultra HD disc, a Blu-ray, and a Digital Copy.

And for those who wish to catch up on their MCU history, select retailers are also offering bundled packaging as well as individual Digital and Physical releases of “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

BONUS MATERIAL (may vary by retailer):

Blu-ray & Digital:

· Strange Alchemy (5:08)– Share the thrill of characters from across the MCU meeting for the first time—and discover why some were teamed up together.

· The Mad Titan (6:34) – Explore the MCU’s biggest, baddest villain, his trail of influence through the stories, and the existential threat he represents.

· Beyond the Battle: Titan (9:36) – Dive into the climactic struggle on Thanos’ ruined world, including the epic stunts and VFX, to uncover the source of its power.

· Beyond the Battle: Wakanda (10:58) – Go behind the scenes to find out how the filmmakers pulled off the most massive and challenging battle Marvel had ever attempted.

· Deleted and Extended Scenes (10:07)

· Happy Knows Best (1:23) – Tony and Pepper spar over the details of their upcoming wedding—until a hassled Happy Hogan pulls up with an urgent request.

· Hunt for the Mind Stone (1:24) – On a darkened street, Wanda Maximoff and the wounded Vision attempt to hide from Thanos’ brutal allies.

· The Guardians Get Their Groove Back (3:20) – As Peter Quill and Drax quarrel over their failed mission to Knowhere, Mantis interrupts with news.

· A Father’s Choice (4:00) – Thanos confronts Gamora with a vision from her past—and with lying to him about the Soul Stone.

· Gag Reel (2:05)– Watch your favorite Super Heroes make super gaffes in this lighthearted collection of on-set antics.

· Audio Commentary (approx. 149 min.) by Anthony and Joe Russo, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Digital Exclusive:

· A Directors’ Roundtable (approx. 32 min.) – Eight amazing directors reflect on how their movies contribute to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s larger storytelling adventure.

Christopher Robin is a must see movie for all ages. This movie has heart and humor and excellent writing. Christopher Robin has a direction that we all should go with an excellent message or two about life and family. We could say it’s full of “Pooh-isms” and we could also say that it’s because of a fantastic director, Marc Forster. We sat down with Marc Forster and talked a lot about Christopher Robin.

One of the first things we wanted to know is why did he make Christopher Robin? Marc Forster is known for movies that are much more adult like World War Z. So his daughter looked at him while on an airplane watching a Pooh cartoon and says why can’t you make a movie for kids once? He then said to her jokingly, “Why don’t I do Pooh?” then he said three years later, he made Pooh.

The cast aligned the way he wanted. He said that he and Ewan have worked together before and that they have been friends every since…..

“We have been looking to do something together, comedically and dramatically, He’s so good, but the one thing is there’s something about him, he’s so likeable and so lovely. You want to just connect with him and you want him that his heart opens again and he becomes playful and he reconnects with his family. And so you really root for him and it was really crucial to have an actor who has that sort of ability because otherwise, you suddenly don’t connect with him or don’t want to root for him because he said okay, rather not connect with your family again. The movie for me ultimately is about love. His red sweater is sort of like this metaphor for love. I always felt like it’s about the heart.”

Marc talked about how much research went into creating Christopher Robin. He said for the time period, people did start going on vacations in England. He also talked about other symbols in the movie because the red color that symbolized love.

“I like metaphors in general. I wanted the film to end suddenly with him, Ewan, with his sweater too short. It’s like the film is too short as well. I just thought it was funny. For instance, the daughter leaves the drawing for him and when she finds the drawing, said I didn’t realize you could draw as well and then he hits the table and then the honey falls down, it’s sort of like, the honey obviously is supposed to then wake up Pooh. Because the idea was that when he actually sees the drawings, that’s sort of when they come back in is consciousness and that’s sort of like when the animals sort of come alive again, in a sense.”

He was also asked about what messages he wanted everyone to take from the film. If you remember Ewan said that he doesn’t like to say because he feels the viewers should be moved in different ways and make that choice for themselves.

Marc said,

“I think it’s so important to have hope, joy and really, it’s about love. Pooh is about love and reconnecting with the people you love. We all guilty of that, you know. Everybody works so much today that to find that balance between work and the people you care for. I don’t want to talk for everybody but I think that mainly the generalization is we don’t spend enough time or attention to the people we love. I think why we’re here for is to connect with one another.”

Watching the film really makes me want to go to England again. I think the locations they filmed were so perfect. He talked about the locations a little bit.

We shot lots of in Ashdown Forrest. Literally next to where Milne’s estate is and where the real forest was. Probably ten miles down the road from where we shot was the little river where we built our Pooh bridge. It is connected to the same river the real Pooh bridge is, so it’s all the same woods and neighborhood. We shot a little bit of also Windsor Park and outside Windsor Castle. Where sort of the Queen’s park is. The great thing about that particular forest is that the Queen park is sort of untouched. Every tree that falls down can’t be touched. Everything is just how nature brings it and it’s very wild and looks also very beautiful. I would say fifteen percent there and the rest at Ashtown.

You can see these amazing symbols and locations in Christopher Robin now in theaters.

Please check out our other Winnie The Pooh coverage…

Christopher Robin Movie Review

Ewan McGregor is Christopher Robin

The Christopher Robin Red Carpet & Premiere Experience

I’m Piglet in Winnie The Pooh July 15th 2011

Behind the Movie Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack

Winnie The Pooh Soundtrack

From the Honey Colored Carpet: Hot Winnie The Pooh Toys

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray & DVD October 25th

Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year

Disney’s The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway

Disney Consumer Products presents Winnie the Pooh Smackerels Giveaway

Disney Baby Winnie The Pooh Baby Bouncer

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Book Review

Winnie The Pooh Crafts and Coupons

Disney’s Christopher Robin has a really great cast, from Ewan McGregor playing Christopher Robin to Hayley Atwell playing Evelyn Robin down to Bronte Carmichael playing Madeline Robin. Bronte brought so much to life in her performance on the big screen. She evoked sadness, humor and fun as her relationship with her father played out. You see, Christopher isn’t the father that everyone would expect. He’s a workaholic who never has time for her and it’s her adventure with his childhood friends that change all that.

We are very happy to say that we got to interview Bronte at the Christopher Robin press junket. She was adorable as she answered some of our questions.

Bronte told us how she got the role. She did about three taped auditions and then a screen test with director Marc Forster. She didn’t know that she got the part until her mother surprised her with a stuffed Eeyore. Her mother put him on a bench in their garden with a note saying that he was looking forward to their adventure in the Hundred Acre Wood.

It was the perfect gift for her because she loves stuffies. She plays with them a lot at home and said that acting with them was really easy. She also mentioned how the crew of Christopher Robin filled her trailer with Winnie The Pooh stuffed animals. I’m going to be honest here and say I want one of those stuffies. The Winnie The Pooh stuffed animals are adorable.

Bronte said that Winnie The Pooh is a “Really special character.” She was first introduced to Winnie The Pooh because her parents used to read to her. She also had lots of pop-up books and she listened to audio books. Then someone asked her if she thought she would ever outgrow Winnie The Pooh. She said,

No. I think it should always be a special thing. No one should- Pooh is a very special character. He’s just so simple. He’s not a really baby-ish character………….I quite like the House and Pooh Corner. Because each of the characters in it, they will have a story about them. They all show their personality. You know a bit more about them. You meet Tigger and everything

Bronte told us that one of her favorite Pooh stories is the House and Pooh Corner. She said that she liked how each character will have a story about them. You see each one’s personality and know a bit more about them.

Bronte also talked about what her favorite scenes were to film. She is a big fan of the action sequences. She liked doing her own stunts and cycling, saying that “it was really fun.” Then she said that other children that might want to pursue acting should remember to just be natural. You should just be you and in the moment.

Christopher Robin is now in theaters.

Please check out our other Winnie The Pooh coverage…

Christopher Robin Movie Review

Ewan McGregor is Christopher Robin

The Christopher Robin Red Carpet & Premiere Experience

I’m Piglet in Winnie The Pooh July 15th 2011

Behind the Movie Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack

Winnie The Pooh Soundtrack

From the Honey Colored Carpet: Hot Winnie The Pooh Toys

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray & DVD October 25th

Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year

Disney’s The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway

Disney Consumer Products presents Winnie the Pooh Smackerels Giveaway

Disney Baby Winnie The Pooh Baby Bouncer

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Book Review

Winnie The Pooh Crafts and Coupons

We have exciting news and that is that you can finally bring Avengers Infinity War home on Blu-ray and DVD on August 14th. In celebration of the ability to watch Avengers Infinity War at home we have an interview with Trinh Tran the executive Producer of Avengers Infinity War and a look at Madame Tussauds Marvel Wax exhibit and how you can have a wax Infinity Gauntlet made from you own hand.

One thing about Trinh Tran is how she has worked her way up at Marvel from the beginning. She is a power woman now at Marvel having worked on so many different titles and now being the Executive Producer of Avengers Infinity War it’s a very big deal. I mean she was part of the meetings where they decided who was going to survive and who wasn’t.

It was pretty difficult. Sitting in the story meeting we really had to make the decision of who we want to survive, so that we could tell the next story. We sat there and we boarded it out, we brainstormed, we’d sit in the room, we hash it out every single day. In pre-production it was really trying to figure out how this was going to connect to Avengers 4 and we wanted to be able to tell a story. There is a specific reason why some of these people survive.”

What exactly does that mean being an Executive Producer on a major Marvel movie? What did she do? I’d have to say she does a little bit of everything.

It’s amazing because I’m able to be a part of the whole journey from beginning to end. When the idea first came out, we were finishing up, shooting Civil War. We came back and we were in the story room with Joe, Anthony, Steven, and Chris, our writers. We started just hashing out ideas so being a part of that creative process and sitting together with the Writers and Directors and coming up with the beats and ideas and then just really taking it all the way through shooting. Being in Atlanta for a year and a half. That was the longest time I’ve ever been away from LA. Being on set every day, just really making sure that Marvel’s vision was there and that we were following through with the stories that we wanted to tell. Following it through in post production, being in Editorial every single day, night, holiday, you name it. I remember actually the last day we called Wrap and we had a big cake there and everybody made speeches. As soon as the AD called Wrap, Joe and I ran straight to the airport because we had a 10 AM Editorial call. And we went straight into post production, that’s how intense it was. But it was just being there every single day, every step of the way, which was the most exciting part.”

She also talked about how much fun it was to work with everyone, but it was also very difficult to get that many actors together in one place. They all have such busy schedules. And you can relive all that fun by bringing Avengers Infinity War home. And if you are in LA you need to go visit Hollywood Madame Tussauds and make your own Avengers Infinity Gauntlet.

Disney provided us with hotel and transportation to LA to attend the Christopher Robin Press Junket. While we were there we interviewed Ewan McGregor and Jim Cummings and today we are sharing with you our interview with Hayley Atwell who you may know as Agent Carter. We hope we see Agent Carter again in the future and we were going to ask her about it but we didn’t get the chance. Hayley had so much to say about Christopher Robin and her experience there.

Hayley found Christopher Robin the movie to be a wonderful antidote without being too sentimental. She said that it’s as profound as the books were and that it was sweet and endearing.

“the profound simplicity of it just made me feel that this is kind of already a wonderful film to be telling now, you know. it’s just something that’s very refreshing. It’s basically saying you’re enough and I just wanna hang out with you as you are, you know, anyway. I’m a big fan of it.”

Hayley found out about Christopher Robin the movie while she was on holiday in Greece. Mark Foster, the director wanted to skype with her and told her his idea about Christopher Robin being an adult….

But wouldn’t it be interesting to explore the idea of what happens when Christopher Robin grew up and have that being the access point for adults who would identify with being an adult now and being I think, being burdened and lost a little bit by the pressures of everyday life and being on a bit of a hamster wheel and not realizing that your ambitions are kind of getting the better of you and so we talked a little bit about that. And then he talked about wanting to create the relationship between Evelyn and Christopher as one where it began with genuine love and joy and he said at the beginning that you know that what is at stake for him to lose and you kind of route for them.

So we wanted any scenes or any moments with Evelyn for her to be someone who had compassion to know that this man who’s come back from war, who’s struggling to provide for his family, whose heart’s in the right place he’s struggling within himself rather than anything that she could probably criticize him for and she’s taking on the pain of what’s happening on the child as well. So rather than in any way seeming kind of unsympathetic or moaning or whining or anything like that, just someone who she’s taking care of her own feelings and experiences in this, feeling lost and left behind by her husband but knowing that he’s in a lot of pain as well. So we speak a little bit about that really and then I got back on the boat, just about find my way back.

Hayley did an amazing job playing Evelyn. She was strong and supportive and a very loving mother. She did whatever she had to do to help her child be happy. Hayley told us that she had a very strong mother herself. She also mentioned her aunt Roundy who actually was at the press junket with her. She described her character as being complex. Evelyn isn’t passive and she doesn’t just allow things to happen. Hayley said that Evelyn is aware of the complexities of Christopher’s situation and that she is heartbroken over the effects it’s having on her daughter. She takes that burden and encourages her daughter to love her father and not turn against him.

Hayley said she doesn’t have children but she’s seen parents and people in her life as they are with their children. It’s a tricky thing to navigate, and help children navigate these relationships and that people are going to identify with Christopher Robin. I mean, I agree with her being a “stay at home” parent while also working from home. I feel like I’m constantly telling my children that I’m working I’ll play with them later and later never comes.

We know that Hayley likes to play pranks on people, she done it on other projects that she has worked on. So we asked her about any pranks she may have played on Christopher Robin. This was her response:

“Well, I think well it wasn’t so much of a prank. There was a moment where Mark Foster was saying in a small picnic scene and I knew a lot of the dialogue wouldn’t be used. I knew the scene was more of an establishing shots and he said, you know, talk to the animals. I said well I’m not gonna really give him much back. I don’t know how to improvise with stuffed animals but I ended up kind of going on a bit of a rampage talking to Kanga and going Kanga, I just wanna say like kudos for you for being a single parent here. I was like you’ve done a great job with Roo and I was also going like where is Roo’s dad in all of this actually and Mark going I don’t think that’s gonna make it in. It’s an interesting spin.

I remember kind of offering Owl a sandwich and then the voice saying oh, no thank you I’m free and I go oh, you’re gluten free. That probably wasn’t a concept in the 1940s that people knew about. So and then we, you know, had an ongoing gags that, you know, Piglet was the diva who never came out of the trailer and was addicted to hay corns and was a nervous wreck and also kind of and also the fact that I thought in my ignorance a very valid conversation which is how does Piglet identify. Like I’m interested to know like how does he, she identify. I don’t know.

How does Piglet identify. So we just kind of humanized them I think and it was fun watching so we’d film with the stuffed bears who looked very similar to the final animated ones that you see and then for the visual effects department we had to do a scene again without the stuffed bears but instead for visual effects they needed the headless, hairless versions that were grey and so you do a scene like oh, lovely. And then all of a sudden this kind of thing would be in front of you and suddenly I’m doing a Guillermo Del Toro horror version of the film and then the next pass it would be without limbs as well and then one was a rod with a light on it and then eventually it was just absolutely nothing there so it was the deconstruction of Pooh throughout the takes which we found very amusing and slightly creepy.”

Christopher Robin is now in theaters and remarkably takes you back to being a child and reminds you that life needs to be enjoyed from time to time.

was no way. But, you know, I’d be sitting around, oh I believe I will buy Park Place. You know, playing, ‘okay, Winnie the Pooh, you can buy Park Place.’ You know, playing Monopoly or something like that.
I really enjoyed listing to Jim Cummings talk about his life and his job. He’s just such a cool guy with such creativity that comes through his animated personality.  

Please check out our other Winnie The Pooh coverage…

Christopher Robin Movie Review

Ewan McGregor is Christopher Robin

The Christopher Robin Red Carpet & Premiere Experience

I’m Piglet in Winnie The Pooh July 15th 2011

Behind the Movie Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack

Winnie The Pooh Soundtrack

From the Honey Colored Carpet: Hot Winnie The Pooh Toys

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray & DVD October 25th

Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year

Disney’s The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway

Disney Consumer Products presents Winnie the Pooh Smackerels Giveaway

Disney Baby Winnie The Pooh Baby Bouncer

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Book Review

Winnie The Pooh Crafts and Coupons

We had the opportunity to interview Jim Cummings at the Christopher Robin (now in theaters) Press Junket, who has been the voice of Winnie The Pooh since 1988 and later also became the voice of Tigger. He has been the voice of many different characters over the years as he is an amazing voice actor. When we spoke to him, he told us which characters other than Tigger and Pooh were his favorites.

He said he loved being the voice of Darkwing Duck from Darkwing Duck, Ray from Princess and the Frog, and Hondo from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

One thing I love about Jim Cummings is that he is full of energy. He can bounce between characters with is voice with major ease. One minute he will be saying, “It’s Very Hard, It’s tough to do.” In a Winnie The Pooh voice and go right into, “I have to conjure up about a sweet spot somewhere. And then I bounce.” In a Tigger voice. He described his profession as “Schizophrenic”.

Jim Cummings said that he has done many characters over the years and when it comes to Winnie The Pooh and Tigger, they were already established so he just had to nail those. He shared with us that he was always making voices as a child. Other characters he said he “would sculpt”. Then other voices he would work with the animators to get right.

But, the new ones like I don’t know, Dark Wing Duck maybe….. you work with the animators, with the producer, with the writers who sometimes know what they’re talking about. And, so, it, you know, it’s a sculpting process, it’s kind of like audio sculpting, it’s like a sculpture you can hear. Dark Wing for example wasn’t the biggest guy in the world but he wasn’t tiny, he wasn’t a mouse. You know, they wanted him to be fairly bodacious and boisterous but not over the top like you know, he wasn’t goofy.

He started talking in the voice of Darkwing Duck……

that flaps in the night you bring it down and it wasn’t supposed to, you know, it wasn’t going to quack, per se.

Then he went back into his voice…

And we didn’t have to give him a lisp or anything weird, so you know, you just go, ‘oh, yeah, well, mm, okay, yeah, that’s good.’ And that’s kind of it, yeah.

He very lovingly spoke about playing Tigger and Pooh in Christopher Robin. He called it an “honor” and a “Privilege” to bring these characters to new generations. He brought it to my childhood and then again to my kids on the Disney Channel.

I’ve jokingly said, you know, ‘Winnie the Pooh generation is every three and a half years because brand new set of Pooh fans.’ You know, but, it’s joyous. And you know, one of the best things about my job is that when I you know, when I’ll do a voice for a little child or something and then they realize, ‘wow, doesn’t really look like Winnie the Pooh.’

In a way, it feels like to us that Jim Cummings is Winnie The Pooh, so when we asked him if he had a favorite Pooh Quote I wasn’t surprised that he listed so many different ones.

 

Probably. I, you know, there are so many. I you know, sometime, you know, I always say that there’s such a thing as Pooh logic. You say well, ‘what do you think Pooh–.’ Well, I think that I think. You know, and he, it’s just Pooh logic. It’s the various things you know, you’re stronger than you seem, you’re braver than you think and you know, smarter than you think, stronger than you feel and braver than you seem.

Jim Cummings also mentioned that he does ad lib a LOT. He said it works for some characters and doesn’t for others. He said that Tigger can say different things but for Pooh it doesn’t always work. He also lovingly said that his character Ray was completely off script.

Jim Cummings had so much to tell us during his interview. He talked about how he almost met the original voice of Pooh. It was in a restraunt and he didn’t have the nerve to go say hi. He thinks it’s such a cool thing that now he is the voice of Pooh. He also shared that if you have children that are interested in being a voice actor that they should always be making voices and trying to do other voices. And I’ll leave you with who his favorite Winnie The Pooh characters were as a child and how he would play around with the voices even then. And as you read this, picture him jumping between the voice characters….

It was Tigger. Tigger and Eeyore. Yeah, I, you know, I’d be sitting around we’d be playing Monopoly and it’s just one of those things that you’re doing as a kid and you never think you’ll probably–. Cause I was in the audience for the first three, you know, when they came out in the early sixties. But, he was, they were gone for like twenty-five years till the late eighties, so, there was no way. But, you know, I’d be sitting around, oh I believe I will buy Park Place. You know, playing, ‘okay, Winnie the Pooh, you can buy Park Place.’ You know, playing Monopoly or something like that.

I really enjoyed listing to Jim Cummings talk about his life and his job. He’s just such a cool guy with such creativity that comes through his animated personality.

 

Please check out our other Winnie The Pooh coverage…

Christopher Robin Movie Review

Ewan McGregor is Christopher Robin

The Christopher Robin Red Carpet & Premiere Experience

I’m Piglet in Winnie The Pooh July 15th 2011

Behind the Movie Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack

Winnie The Pooh Soundtrack

From the Honey Colored Carpet: Hot Winnie The Pooh Toys

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray & DVD October 25th

Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year

Disney’s The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway

Disney Consumer Products presents Winnie the Pooh Smackerels Giveaway

Disney Baby Winnie The Pooh Baby Bouncer

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Book Review

Winnie The Pooh Crafts and Coupons

I have just seen Christopher Robin twice and I have so many reasons why you need to go see Christopher Robin and why you need to see Christopher Robin with your entire family.

Why You Need TO See Christopher Robin

Winnie The Pooh

At first Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) begins as a Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings) story does, within the pages of of a book. We see Christopher Robin as a young boy still playing with Winnie the Pooh and his friends, Tigger, Roo, Kanga, Piglet, Owl and Rabbit. Then we skip forward to them saying good-bye and then to boarding school.

Christopher Robin is Family Friendly

We see Christopher Robin meet a girl and fall in love and then go off to War as we know he does. What we see as he is leaving, is that his wife is pregnant with his child and then he’s gone for almost six years. He comes home and is dealing with finding a job and getting to know a child that he doesn’t know and he doesn’t do a great job. He works a lot, and that’s what we see is that he’s not really a family man. Every scene tugged on my heart strings. It’s when he has canceled on his family weekend that he runs into the adorable Pooh. And his first thought was that we went crazy. “Pooh”…..”no no no no no no no no”.

Christopher Robin is perfectly full of “Poohisms” Or “Pooh Quotes” that so many people know and love. Pooh didn’t come back to help Christopher Robin, he actually came to get his help. While helping Pooh, Christopher begins to see things in a new light. He sees things in the eyes of the child he once was, but it took something even bigger to get him to really see. Again, it was charming and adorable to see a grown man play. It reminded me of when I would/do play with my kids. As our children grow the play becomes less and less. So I found that the movie Christopher Robin reminded me that I need to seize every moment I can.

So Funny

The movie Christopher Robin is so funny. Whenever one of the stuffies talked it would make me feel something and I’m happy to say most of the time it was humor that I felt. There were a few times where those strings were pull and I felt sad.

The Wit

The writing in Christopher Robin was perfect to me. Everything moved along and sometimes even surprised me. “I’m a bear of little brain” and how powerful it became when it was reversed by Christopher and then again Christopher used it at the end of the movie. And that’s only one line of a movie full of Pooh wisdom.

The Animation

Oh, I have to say that the animation was what really made the Winnie the Pooh characters come to life. Each one had these eyes that were like, doll eyes but also like so piercing. All the extra characters that didn’t see the animals actually talk, would see those eyes and think, is that animal alive. Their movements were also like how a stuffed animal would move, some movements were really stiff. I can’t wait to see Christopher Robin again with my family.

Christopher Robin is in theaters today.

Please check out our other Winnie The Pooh coverage…

Ewan McGregor is Christopher Robin

The Christopher Robin Red Carpet & Premiere Experience

I’m Piglet in Winnie The Pooh July 15th 2011

Behind the Movie Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack

Winnie The Pooh Soundtrack

From the Honey Colored Carpet: Hot Winnie The Pooh Toys

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray & DVD October 25th

Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year

Disney’s The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh on Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway

Disney Consumer Products presents Winnie the Pooh Smackerels Giveaway

Disney Baby Winnie The Pooh Baby Bouncer

Disney’s Winnie The Pooh Book Review

Winnie The Pooh Crafts and Coupons

Let’s be honest and talk about lists and who is on my list. Ewan McGregor is on my list, and when I found out I was going to get to interview him it was like an epic bucket list fulfillment. I was more excited about this interview than I have been about any interview in a long time.

Ewan McGregor has done it all when it comes to acting, he’s been funny, he’s been in musicals, and he’s been serious. He is a man of many talents and it’s evident in Christopher Robin too. He takes this beloved character, makes it his own while staying true to the essence of Winnie The Pooh. He makes you want to be a kid again, while also making you feel like parenting is an epic job and we need to do it right.

Ewan talked to us a little bit about how he became part of the project, Christopher Robin. He’s been friends with Marc Forster the director since he did the movie Stay. Marc trusts Ewan and gave him the opportunity to be more of a collaborator than just an actor in this film. He didn’t have any trepidation over helping to create this character, because even though we know about Christopher Robin as a boy, we don’t know him as a 40 something year old man and that was Ewan’s job.

He said,

I felt like it was just the right part for me to play at this point, in this time. And then felt like I absolutely knew what I wanted to do with him. So it was- so I didn’t have a lot of trepidations. I think anything that makes you sort of- any of that kind of fear is usually the good- it’s a good idea to do. It’s better to do stuff you’re slightly scared of than not.

Ewan said he didn’t really have a particular favorite Pooh story from his childhood but mentioned that he did read all the stories to his children. He said that everyone in Britain is familiar with Winnie The Pooh. While talking about his memories he was reminded that when he was on set and heard the voice of Winnie The Pooh or Tigger he recalled how familiar the Disney versions of Winnie The Pooh are as well. That voice, Jim Cummings recreates, just takes people back.

Ewan talked about his favorite character. I mean he didn’t come right out and say it, but he did say he liked Pooh, he spent the most time working with Pooh and loves Pooh’s wisdom. While also in contrast he enjoys Eeyore a great deal as well. Eeyore is depressed, strike that, glum.

But when you are with him you feel happy. But he also said he loves them all, even Kanga, ‘cause she’s the “mum”.

When you watch the movie Christopher Robin you are going to see these adorable stuffed animals that sell out every time they go out on shelves. These animals are of course animated on the big screen and acting with them was a multi-step process. The first step was with some very young an enthusiastic actors. These guys were just brought in to do the lines, but as days went on they became more and more like their characters. Then they acted with the stuffed animals, then they acted with headless animals.

“But it was just crude and rudimentary, and that take wouldn’t really be in the film because they couldn’t animate on top of the actual teddy bear. So we’d play the scene a few times with the actors and with those stuffies. And by the time we did that, I got a real sense of what the scene felt like and how to play it. And then they would replace the teddy bear, the visual effects people needed theirs without hair, so they had gray versions of them all, they were just like gray canvas, no hair. And then very basic they had little eyes and the nose.

Just so you’re looking in the right place, but it was all gray. And then they had versions, then it gets a bit gruesome, they had versions with no heads. So you had to do the scene again with the stuffies with no heads. And then there was a Pooh version who had no head but also no arms or legs it was just a little tummy. …….. it was like the horror version of the scene. And then we had to do scenes without the bear at all, nothing there to look at. And then sometimes a little bit, a little area like antenna from a car with a light on top.

So they could make them different heights, to just make sure your eye line was in the right place, and then often nothing at all. And then but because of these great actors it went once they removed the real stuffie, they would always just be off camera. And they would be playing this still throwing the lines in playing the scene with you. And also you could ad lib with them, they were good actors, they would make stuff up and if you went off script so would they. And it was it was really great. And then I don’t know that it would feel so realistic had it not been for their input, because they were so enthusiastic and such good actors.”

Ewan was really fantastic to listen to. He was as charming as you would expect or hope for and dreamy to look at of course. He was modest and wouldn’t tell us what he thought we should think of the movie, or what lesson we should get from the movie. He said that movies are subjective and everyone will get something different out of it. He got a little personal and commented a little on his dad and how his mom has noticed the different in his relationship with his children compared to what he had. It was a different time when Winnie the Pooh was written and Christopher Robin was alive.

He also commented on how hard it was to be cold to Bronte Carmichael who played Madeline, Christopher Robin’s daughter. He said it’s just not how he is and that she was also a very sweet actress not jaded by having parents that are already in the industry.

As you all know, Winnie The Pooh is so iconic and stimulates such emotion in everyone. Ewan was asked if there was something that he enjoyed saying that was iconic and he said that, “silly old bear” was lovely to say.

I mean it’s lovely saying silly old bear, there’s something nice about that. But I loved also the scene with Bronte Carmichael on the stairs at the end, when he sort of comes to the end of his realization that he’s not been the father he wants to be with her. And that she- he can see that she’s gone to all this trouble and danger for him. And that scene was lovely, those lines were nice to say, that he’s sorry. I mean funny, they’re both sorry scenes, isn’t it interesting, that’s quite interesting. Anyway those were two of my favorite scenes.

Christopher Robin will be in theaters on Friday  8/3 and I suggest that you go see it. It’s a fantastic movie. You’ll want to be young again, you’ll want to be a better parent, you’ll want to disconnect and feel and that is a good tell that this is a fantastic movie.

Disney provided hotel and transportation to LA for the Christopher Robin Press Junket and red carpet premiere.

On Friday, August 3rd, Christopher Robin will be released in theaters and it’s a perfect family film, it’s for kids and adults alike. I enjoyed it, I even fell more in love with it watching it the second time at the premiere which was unlike any red carpet event I have been at so far. The Christopher Robin Red Carpet was on the Disney lot.

One of the reasons that the Christopher Robin Red Carpet was on the lot was because there was a dedication to Richard Sherman, whom you should know is the music man of Disney. Or at least one of the two, the Sherman Brothers were a song writing duo that created a lot of music for Disney. So I took a few photos of the dedication.

The rest of the photos that I took at the Christopher Robin Premiere were from all the adorable photo opps that were on the lot. All of which were so adorable just like Winnie The Pooh and everything he did in the movie Christopher Robin.

It was really a fantastic experience. I loved the bike and the picnic bench.

Here are more photos from my experience and from the professionals.

There was honey inspired food and beverages, like the Smackerel.

I spent time with my good friend James, The Rock Father. And I signed the digital guest book.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse were at the Christopher Robin Red Carpet so I had to get my photo taken with them.

Ewan McGregor made an apperance too.

photo credit: Disney

Oh and this was me at the end of the night right before I went to bed. I was on cloud nine.