Add Winnie the Pooh to Hollywood’s jam-packed list of CG animations in line for the live-action treatment. Falling in line behind Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan, Snow White, The Lion King and many, many more, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Marc Forster has agreed terms to helm Christopher Robin, Disney’s fantasy drama designed to follow the human character of Pooh’s lush world.
Given the barnstorming success of The Jungle Book galvanized this new wave of live-action remakes, it’s not too surprising to hear that the Mouse House has elected Brigham Taylor, producer on Jon Favreau‘s lucrative hit, to produce. Alex Ross Perry, meanwhile, will pen the script.
Not to be confused with Fox Searchlight’s Untitled A.A. Milne Project, Christopher Robin follows the titular boy who befriends the iconic, honey-loving bear. Sources close to THR claim that Disney has cited Seth MacFarlane’s buddy movie Ted as inspiration for its blend of CG and live-action, not the profanity. There will, however, be a heavy dose of magical realism coursing through the veins of Forster’s live-action romp, which follows Robin, the adult version of the boy found in A.A. Milne’s books, as he shares his adventures with the animals of the Hundred Acre Wood.
Per THR:
Robin has grown out of the joyful imagination he had as a young boy and is now a businessman who prioritizes work over his wife and daughter. With his home life on the brink, the last thing his life needs is the return of Pooh, who needs his help in finding his friends again. Robin has to find a way to help both sides or risk losing everything he holds dear.
Forster, who has made a foray into effects-heavy filmmaking before with World War Z, is an intriguing choice to tackle a movie that is, first and foremost, a family-friendly adventure. Can he engineer a sleeper hit in the vein of Favreau’s Jungle Book? Christopher Robin is without a release window at this time, but stay tuned for more.