When he returns home, the writer—whose first name is Alan but is mostly referred to as Blue—tries to readjust to his previous posh life as a successful generator of witty plays and humorous magazine essays. But despite his happy-go-lucky socialite wife’s attempts to cheer him up, he continues to suffer from paralyzing flashbacks induced by such triggers as buzzing bees, flickering lights and popped balloons. Robbie’s Daphne decides a baby might lift her hubby’s spirits and make him forget that big, bad war. But their son’s arrival only reveals how ill-prepared the couple is to take on child-rearing responsibilities. Milne eventually decides that a rural retreat will halt his waking nightmares. Soon, a live-in nanny is hired to tend to their son, a warmhearted godsend named Olive (Kelly Macdonald, a nice contrast to a rather stiff Gleeson and chilly Robbie).
But when mummy extends a stay in London so she can party on and Olive is called away to tend to her sick mother, father and son are left to their own devices and eventually forge a close bond. Their outdoor rambles often include Christopher Robin’s stuffed animals, a gift from his mother and practically her only positive influence on the child, and together they bring the soon-to-be-famous characters to life. These sequences as well as those with Macdonald are often truly enchanting thanks to nine-year-old acting newbie Will Tilston, an androgynous chubby-cheeked cutie with Grand Canyon dimples, a remarkable bowl haircut and an innate sense of how to deliver a line.
Suddenly, Milne is writing up a storm about Pooh and his buddies, and his books become a worldwide sensation. That is when the film evolves into a sort of horror movie as his son becomes an unwitting celebrity, forced to do interviews, pose for photo ops and meet and greet fawning Winnie worshipers. Basically, he is unwillingly roped into being not just a muse but a shill for his father’s work.
When puberty hits, Alex Lawther (the young Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game”) takes over as Christopher Robin, whose fame makes him an irresistible target for bullies after he is sent away to a boarding school. When World War II breaks out, he fails to pass the medical test for becoming a soldier but begs his father to pull some strings. And that is where the telegram comes in.
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