Hello "Goodbye Christopher Robin"
Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 10:13PM 
Chris here, just imagining a Beatles / Winnie the Pooh crossover. You say goodbye, because I say hello to the first Goodbye Christopher Robin trailer. (Which Beatle matches which Pooh character? Ringo is such a Tigger.)
The film is chasing after our literary nostalgic tears in the vein of Finding Neverland, following A.A. Milne (played by the ever dashing Domnhall Gleeson) as his son inspires him to create the adventures of Winnie the Pooh during WWI...
Might Goodbye be heading towards the same level of Oscar success as Neverland. Gleeson and costar Margot Robbie (playing Milne's wife Daphne) have been steadily building to that level of recognition, but can a dusty period literary weepy take them there?
While the film focuses on Gleeson as Milne, we will be treated to some delightful actress talent with Kelly MacDonald (her narration here is quite lovely without overselling the sweetness) and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge. We'll see if Margot Robbie gets to play more than a supportive doting wife, but this trailer doesn't give us much hope. But the first look does have some lovely visuals and modest emotionality that suggests the film may not be the over-saccharine exercise you might expect. Let's have a look:
Are you saying "Hello" or "Goodbye" to Goodbye Christopher Robin? The film opens October 13.
Reader Comments (22)
This just feels sort of unavoidable? The look is nice and MacDonald is a good fit for the voiceover but I just don't see on its face what's special about this project. Yes it doesn't look like it's gonna be too much but I don't know if that necessarily means it's appealing.
I honest to God cannot understand Gleeson's appeal whatsoever. He was ridiculous in Star Wars and irritatingly bland in Brooklyn.
I enjoy period pieces and literary stories, but this just seems too saccharine. Given the tone of the trailer, it seems unlikely they'll deal with, even in passing, how, as an adult, Christopher Robin thought his father had exploited his childhood by writing the Pooh books. (It bothered me in Finding Neverland too that the end titles never even alluded to what a miserable life Peter Llewelyn Davies ultimately had.) I think a period biopic about the ethics of artists involving their children in their art might be really interesting, but what's presented in the trailer just seems too sweet to be true to life.
Also, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't it be "Goodbye, Christopher Robin"?
I enjoy period pieces and literary stories, but this just seems too saccharine. Given the tone of the trailer, it seems unlikely they'll deal with, even in passing, how, as an adult, Christopher Robin thought his father had exploited his childhood by writing the Pooh books. (It bothered me in Finding Neverland too that the end titles never even alluded to what a miserable life Peter Llewelyn Davies ultimately had.) I think a period biopic about the ethics of artists involving their children in their art might be really interesting, but what's presented in the trailer just seems too sweet to be true to life.
Also, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't it be "Goodbye, Christopher Robin"?
There's usually nothing interesting to me about watching art about art. Birdman was the exception. This is not. I don't care to watch films about the writing, acting, or painting processes
People are way too harsh on a trailer. I like Domnhall Gleeson - always interesting and finds a new character each time out. Maybe it's a happy and welcome tonic in these strange days.
Normally I'll happily watch this kind of saccharine, soft-focus literary period pic as a guilty pleasure but this looks... underwhelming.
The narration , to me, seems SO distracting ! That accent...
I used to really like Domnhall Gleason. Then I saw him in "About Time" and I'd suddenly reached my saturation point with him. I didn't find him sympathetic anymore. Same with Martin Freeman in the last Sherlock series.
It has nothing to do with the actors, I'm sure they're giving the same good performances. It's just curious, that as an audience, you can just suddenly lose interest.
I say Goodbye.
If this stuff is most (as in 70% or more) of the movie, I'm a no. If this is roughly 40-60% of the movie, I'm a maybe. If this is a third or less of the movie, I'm a yes. (Again, it mostly depends on how much time and sympathy they give to the unseen/unmarketable older C.R. Milne.)
Yeah - I still love Domnhall Gleason for sure, but I'll probably wait for the reviews to come in on this one. "Are you writing a book? I thought we were just having fun" - this line gives me hope that it'll have the dark turn of Christopher's resentment of his father exploiting him .. but the rest of the trailer doesn't really indicate anything other than a light touch. There seems to be an interesting story there, so it could be amazing if they really get into it! We'll see.
Btw.. About Time, Brooklyn, Ex Machina - all great Domnhall performances, which have me looking forward to more. Although I completely agree, I think his Star Wars performance was embarrassing and just a complete miscasting.
I don't have a strong attachment to Winnie the Pooh, but I like the cast. This looks beyond bland, so strong reviews will probably determine if I see it or not.
I love the voiceover. Everything else seems...bland.
They don't even show Margot Robbie with dialogue?
I'll watch anything with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, even in a small part. Crashing (Netflix) and Fleabag (Amazon) were two of my fav TV viewing from last year.
I still like the gingery Domnhall and agree with everything T-Bone said.
I hope the film dives into the fact that A.A. Milne HATED Winnie the Pooh. He thought it took away his credibility as a serious author.
@Ben
My favorite Milne quote:
"If you stop painting policemen in order to paint windmills, criticism remains so overpoweringly policeman-conscious that even a windmill is seen as something with arms out, obviously directing the traffic."
I never understood the appeal of Gleeson. I was so overjoyed watching Ex Machina for this very reason (haha!). He's so "meh" to me, and completely floundering in The Force Awakens where in Brooklyn he's at least meant to be the bland irish Wonderbread.
Meh.
This looks like a commercial for toilet paper.
I could listen to Kelly Macdonald talk all day. They were wise to spotlight her (voice, at least) in this otherwise mediocre trailer.
I doubt it'll be that good, but I also have a very strong connection to the Pooh stories and can cry just remember the ending, so I'm definitely there.
Gleason interests me more than most. I remember Broadway.com doing it's traditional interviews with the Tony nominees (he was nominated in the 05/06 season for Lieutenant of Inishmore) and I found him completely charming.