Although a visually magnificent film, Christopher Robin suffers from a crisis of identity, with its story of a family man struggling to find his inner-child one marketed to kids, yet will register more with adults.

All things Winnie the Pooh seems to be the rage these days. Last year came the biopic Goodbye Christopher Robin, in which the origins of the Winnie the Pooh books were explored. Now comes Christopher Robin, a film set within the universe which inhabits those books.  Directed by Marc Foster (World War Z), Christopher Robin is a curious tale that follows the life of its title character, who is now a family man facing the pressures of work-life balance. Ewan McGregor plays this adult version of Christopher Robin as a repressed character, unable to convey his true emotions to his wife Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), or stand up to his scrooge of a boss Mr. Winslow (Mark Gatiss) who insists Christopher work on a weekend that was designated to family time.

Such a gloomy affair needs an intervention. Enter Winnie the Pooh, hungry for honey and searching high and low for his long absent friend. In this current era of VFX filmmaking where digital creations sit comfortably alongside all things “real life”, the work found in Christopher Robin is exceptionally good. Pooh, Tigger, Hee-haw, and the rest of the gang, are given the GCI treatment from VFX houses Framestone and Method Studios who deliver photo realistic work that is jaw dropping in its VFX magic.

It only makes sense that these CGI characters steal scenes from their human co-stars, who all play the stiff-upper-lip British stereotype a little too well. McGregor is never allowed to have that natural charm of his shine through in his portrayal of a character wallowing in his own misery. Adults might see the dramatic appeal, but kids might find it a case of too much stuffy drama and not enough adventure.

It all comes down to the curious decision to have Marc Foster direct. Known for more serios fare (The Kite Runner), Foster just can’t conjure that fun adventurous spirit that Christopher Robin needed to lift itself out of its doldrums. There is some great VFX magic here. It’s a shame that magic couldn’t bring with it a sense of fun and spirit this movie so needed.