History Headscratchers / ChristopherRobin

* Who is Christopher Robin's father? Is he actually meant to be the in-universe version of A.A. Milne, or is he a different person? He died when Christopher Robin was a teenager, before World War II. But in RealLife, A.A. Milne died in 1956. (Christopher Robin Milne was 35 at the time.)

** If Eeyore continuing to call Evelyn "Evelynmywife" is any indication, the animals of Hundred Acre Wood keep calling humans by how they're introduced. So perhaps Christopher Robin introduced himself to the animals using his full name when they first met and it just stuck. Note how Madeline is always "Madeline" since Christopher originally referred to her by her name and only added that she was his daughter to explain what a "Madeline" is.

** It's probably more to do with the legend of the FisherKing rather than TheFairFolk. Basically, while they have a separate existence outside of each other, according to myth the land is affected by the ruler's health and moods -- a healthy ruler will preside over a fertile and prosperous land, while a sickened ruler will face a land filled with decay. Since we can safely call Christopher Robin the "ruler" of the Hundred-Acre Wood, although the two have separate existences the latter is still linked to and affected by the moods of the former. As for its inhabitants, as noted above they're just semi-magical sentient beings who happen to be stuffed toys and forest animals come to life.

** Because they have almost certainly never encountered an adult human being before. They literally have no frame of reference for human aging and how the child Christopher Robin they knew can become the adult Christopher Robin they are now encountering. Plus, they are also already very scared by the weather-vane falling over and think it is because of a monster. Ergo, they conflate this with the huge unfamiliar giant stomping around and leap to the conclusion that he is the monster. Plus, the point is how drastically Christopher's rather joyless adult self has changed from his childhood; they don't see anything recognisable in Christopher until he loosens up and starts playing.

** If Eeyore continuing to call Evelyn "Evelynmywife" is any indication, the animals of Hundred Acre Wood keep calling humans by how they're introduced. Madeline is always "Madeline" since Christopher originally referred to her by her name and only added that she was his daughter to explain what a "Madeline" is.

* In this story, Robin seems to be Christopher’s last name instead of Milne like in [[RealLife real life]]. But even if Robin is his last name rather than his middle name in this version, why is he always called by his full name?

** RuleOfSymbolism. Assuming the Hundred Acre-Wood has its own separate existence, the reason the weather matches Christopher's mood is simply to match the intended emotional and symbolic message of the scene. In the world of the story, the characters are simply Christopher's childhood friends who just happen to be sentient toys and animals who live in a semi-magic forest.

** Perhaps it's an example of LoveImbuesLife.

* On one hand, the Hundred Acre Wood is clearly tied to Christopher's mind, with Pooh coming back into existence when Christopher remembers him, but the others don't until later. Even the weather is tied to Christopher's mind. On the other hand, anyone can see the animals. It's a big deal that the stuffed animals are physical, animate objects. What are they? [[TheFairFolk Fae]]? It would fit the English setting. However, as that page notes, the Fair Folk aren't exactly nice as humans know the phrase.

** Though Christopher Robin is definitely beaten down with the ugly sides of his life, there is still light in it; his wife and daughter. He loves them with all of his heart, and he's encouraging Madeline's studies because he believes it is what's best for her. Christopher as the loving and compassionate friend to Pooh survives in his love for his family.

** And, of course, this is still a Disney movie, not ''Film/TaxiDriver''. If you're looking for a harrowingly realistic depiction of the devastating impact of war on the human psyche of a man who has been completely broken down by it, unable to be put back together, you're probably looking in the wrong place.

** And, of course, this is still a Disney movie, not ''Film/TaxiDriver''. If you're looking for a harrowingly realistic depiction of the devastating impact of war on the human psyche of a man who has been completely broken down by it, you're probably looking in the wrong place.

** Also, even ignoring the second point, the fact that Christopher Robin served in a war doesn't mean he's become a war-crazed shell-shocked BloodKnight with blood-stained hands incapable of understanding anything but horror and death. He's obviously been affected by his experiences, yes, and he's not a particularly cheerful person as a result of them, but not every soldier returns from service as a completely broken lunatic utterly lacking in the potential for hope, joy and inner-peace as you seem to be suggesting. Plenty of soldiers have returned from combat with the ability to move on from their experiences and build happy lives afterwards, and we can presume Christopher Robin is one of them.

** Also, even ignoring the second point, the fact that Christopher Robin served in a war doesn't mean he's become a war-crazed shell-shocked BloodKnight with blood-stained hands incapable of understanding anything but horror and death. He's obviously been affected by his experiences, yes, and he's not a particularly cheerful person as a result of them, but not every soldier returns from service as an absolute lunatic completely lacking in the potential for hope, joy and inner-peace as you seem to be suggesting. Plenty of soldiers have returned from combat with the ability to move on from their experiences and build happy lives afterwards, and we can presume Christopher Robin is one of them.

** And, of course, this is still a Disney movie, not ''Film/TaxiDriver''. If you're looking for a harrowingly realistic of the devastating impact of war on the human psyche of a man who has been completely broken down by it, you're probably looking in the wrong place.

** Additionally, the entire first half of your post is immediately answered by a single sentence in the second - the ability to see and interact with Pooh and his friends has nothing at all to do with imagination, purity, or innocence. They are real, actual, living creatures that all real-world people can see and hear.

** Not only have you let your own interesting sense of morality skew your opinion on this matter, regarding the relative "purity" of someone who is no longer a virgin, you've made a gigantic assumption about the rules of this universe and then declared it "obvious". There is nothing obvious whatsoever about your assertion that the portal in his tree zeroes in on innocense and wonder. On the contrary, the only thing we can assume from the movie is that the portal from Hundred Acre Woods to the real world zeroes in on Christopher Robin himself.
** Additionally ,the entire first half of your post is immediately answered by a single sentence in the second - the ability to see and interact with Pooh and his friends has nothing at all to do with imagination, purity, or innocence. They are real, actual, living creatures that all real-world people can see and hear.

* The most curious thing about Christopher Robin still being able to see/interact with Pooh; how does he still have ''any'' innocence left to not be so spiritually-dead that Pooh is unable to find him? In accordance to the tropes of the "Fairy Tale" Genre, the more "adult" you become, the more you "inner child" dies to accomodate your aging-soul, and the less "inner child" you have, the more "spiritually blind-and-deaf" your childhood fairy friends are to you. Now, the fact that Christopher Robin by now has has '''obviously''' had-sex in order to be Madeline's father, not to metion more than likely '''killing''' God-knows-how-many men in World War 2, to say nothing of the ocean of alcohol (or worse) that he must have drowned himself in to silence their screams in his nightmares. Evelyn even mentions that she hardly sees him smile after The Allies Victory. His "inner child" would ''at best'' be coughing blood and dying, if not already dead-and-gone, by the time he returned to London maimed and physically broken. Granted, Pooh and his friends are physical-entities independent of imagination in this continuity; but the portal in his tree obviously "zeroes in" on innocence and wonder. So how is Pooh able to ''find'' Christopher in the first place when there is no inner-child left to find in a blood-soaked, emotionally-broken killer who is not even ''chaste'', much less innocent anymore?

* The most curious thing about Christopher Robin still being able to see/interact with Pooh; how does he still have ''any'' innocence left to not be so spiritually-dead that Pooh is unable to find him? In accordance to the tropes of the "Fairy Tale" Genre, the more "adult" you become, the more you "inner child" dies to accomodate your aging-soul, and the less "inner child" you have, the more "spiritually blind-and-deaf" your childhood fairy friends are to you. Now, the fact that Christopher Robin by now has has '''obviously''' had-sex in order to be Madeline's father, not to metion more than likely '''killing''' God-knows-how-many men in World War 2, to say nothing of the ocean of alcohol (or worse) that he must have drowned himself in to silence their screams in his nightmares. Evelyn even mentions that she hardly sees him smile after The Allies Victory. His "inner child" would ''at best'' be coughing blood and dying, if not already dead-and-gone, by the time he returned to London maimed and physically broken. Granted, Pooh and his friends are physical-entities independent of imagination in this continuity; but the portal in his tree obviously "zeroes in" on innocence and wonder. So how is Pooh able to ''find'' Christopher in the first place when there is no inner-child left to find in a blood-soaked, emotionally-broken adult,who is not even ''chaste'', much less innocent anymore?

* The most curious thing about Christopher Robin still being able to see/interact with Pooh; how does he still have ''any'' innocence left to not be so spiritually-dead that Pooh is unable to find him? In accordance to the tropes of the "Fairy Tale" Genre, the more "adult" you become, the more you "inner child" dies to accomodate your aging-soul, and the less "inner child" you have, the more "spiritually blind-and-deaf" your childhood fairy friends are to you. Now, the fact that Christopher Robin by now has has ''obviously'' had-sex in order to be Madeline's father, not to metion more than likely '''killing''' God-knows-how-many men in World War 2, to say nothing of the ocean of alcohol (or worse) that he must have drowned himself in to silence their screams in his nightmares. Evelyn even mentions that she hardly sees him smile after The Allies Victory. His "inner child" would ''at best'' be coughing blood and dying, if not already dead-and-gone, by the time he returned to London maimed and physically broken. Granted, Pooh and his friends are physical-entities independent of imagination in this continuity; but the portal in his tree obviously "zeroes in" on innocence and wonder. So how is Pooh able to ''find'' Christopher in the first place when there is no inner-child left to find in an emotionally-broken, blood-soaked killer?

* The most curious thing about Christopher Robin still being able to see/interact with Pooh; how does he still have ''any'' innocence left to not be so spiritually-dead that Pooh is unable to find him? In accordance to the tropes of the "Fairy Tale" Genre, the more "adult" you become, the more you "inner child" dies to accomodate your aging-soul, and the less "inner child" you have, the more "spiritually blind-and-deaf" your childhood fairy friends are to you.
Now, the fact that Christopher Robin by now has has ''obviously'' had-sex in order to be Madeline's father, not to metion more than likely '''killing''' God-knows-how-many men in World War 2, to say nothing of the ocean of alcohol (or worse) that he must have drowned himself in to silence their screams in his nightmares. Evelyn even mentions that she hardly sees him smile after The Allies Victory. His "inner child" would ''at best'' be coughing blood and dying, if not already dead-and-gone, by the time he returned to London maimed and physically broken.
Granted, Pooh and his friends are physical-entities independent of imagination in this continuity; but the portal in his tree obviously "zeroes in" on innocence and wonder. So how is Pooh able to ''find'' Christopher in the first place when there is no inner-child left to find in an emotionally-broken, blood-soaked killer?