Christopher Robin is a
character
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
created by
A. A. Milne, based on his son
Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920 – 20 April 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories a ...
. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''
Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in
various Disney adaptations of the Pooh stories.
In the books
Christopher Robin appears in Milne's poems and in the two books: ''
Winnie-the-Pooh'' (1926) and ''
The House at Pooh Corner'' (1928). In the books he is a young boy and one of
Winnie-the-Pooh's best friends. His other friends are
Eeyore,
Kanga, and
Roo
Roo is a fictional character created in 1926 by A. A. Milne and first featured in the book ''Winnie-the-Pooh''. He is a young kangaroo (known as a joey) and his mother is Kanga. Like most other Pooh characters, Roo is based on a stuffed toy an ...
,
Rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
,
Piglet,
Owl, and
Tigger. In the second book, there are hints that Christopher Robin is growing up. In the final chapter, the inhabitants of the
Hundred Acre Wood throw him a farewell party after learning he must leave them soon. It is implied that he will attend boarding school; Christopher Robin Milne, for whom the stories were originally developed, left home to attend
Stowe School
, motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
...
at age 9.
In addition to both Pooh books, the character was immortalized in other works by A. A. Milne including two books of poems: ''
When We Were Very Young'' (1924) and ''
Now We Are Six'' (1927). An arrangement of one of the poems, ''Buckingham Palace'', was first recorded by
Ann Stephens in July 1941.
Petula Clark released a recording of it in 1953 to coincide with the
coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, and despite neither making the charts, both versions were popular on
BBC radio's ''
Children's Favourites'' programme.
According to
David Benedictus's 2009 sequel ''
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood'', Christopher Robin was at school, but during the summer break he returns to the forest for a visit with a lot of knowledge to share. Though slightly older, he is still the same person as before and is happy to share more good times with his friends all summer. At the end of the summer, he has to leave again for another school year, but the animals know they will see him again.
Christopher Robin is cheerful, compassionate, adventurous, fun-loving, imaginative, and helpful. Despite being a child, he is much wiser and more mature than many of the other characters, and is someone Pooh and the others look up to. In the book illustrations, his house appears as a hollow tree with a door at the top of the forest.
Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin was based on the author A. A. Milne's son,
Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920 – 20 April 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories a ...
, who later in life became disappointed about the use of his name. Christopher Milne wrote in one of a series of
autobiographical works: "It seemed to me almost that my father had got where he was by climbing on my infant shoulders, that he had filched from me my good name and left me nothing but empty fame," One of the poems, "Vespers" – which describes young Christopher Robin saying his evening prayers – was said by Christopher Milne as "the one work that has brought me over the years more toe-curling, fist-clenching, lip-biting embarrassment than any other."
Disney adaptations
Since 1966, Disney has released numerous features starring Winnie-the-Pooh and related characters. Christopher Robin appears in all of the Disney adaptations except for ''
Kingdom Hearts
is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...
'', ''
Welcome to Pooh Corner'', ''
Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh'', ''
Springtime with Roo
''Springtime with Roo'' (also known as ''Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo'') is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated musical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and DisneyToon Studios, and animated by Toon City Animation i ...
'', and ''
Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie
''Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie'' (also known as ''Pooh's Heffalump Halloween: The Movie'') is a 2005 American direct-to-video animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and DisneyToon Studios, featuring the characters from Winnie t ...
''. But in most of the cartoons, he is only a supporting character, sometimes only appearing in a few scenes or episodes; in ''
Pooh's Heffalump Movie'', he only appears during the credits. His personality is virtually the same as in the books, but he attends
day school instead of
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
.
Christopher Robin's bedroom, but not Christopher Robin himself, appears in live-action opening sequences. In the world within his storybooks, his house appears just as it does in
E. H. Shepard
Ernest Howard Shepard OBE MC (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''The Wind in the Willows'' and ''W ...
's illustrations.
An English boy living in the
Ashdown Forest, Christopher Robin has brown hair. He wears a yellow polo shirt with white collar and trim on his short sleeves, blue shorts, white socks and black
Mary Jane shoes (or sometimes red sneakers). On several appropriate occasions, he plays a
snare drum
The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
.
''
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' re-imagines him as an American boy living in the suburban house 100 Acre Road whose backyard connects directly to the Hundred Acre Wood. His mother also appears in the series and Robin is apparently their surname in that continuity.
Some of these elements were reused for ''
The Book of Pooh'', but the animals are once again characters in Christopher Robin's storybook. His hollow tree house does not appear from both series.
Christopher Robin has appeared on ''
House of Mouse'' with his friends, but he is the only main ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' character that does not appear in the
''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series; in this continuity, the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' book belongs to
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
and Christopher Robin's role is played out mostly by
Sora. He only appears in two episodes of ''
My Friends Tigger and Pooh'' but in the whole series, he is absent and is replaced by his younger friend Darby, a feisty red-headed girl who is the main protagonist and hosts the series.
His appearance was updated for
the 2011 film.
In the ''
Doc McStuffins'' crossover special "Into the Hundred Acre Wood!", Christopher Robin visits Doc's toy hospital searching for Pooh, who has been admitted as a patient. Christopher Robin and Doc bond through their shared ability to talk to toys. The character is voiced by
Oliver Bell
Oliver Bell (born May 13, 2004) is an American actor, based in Florida. He began his professional acting career at the age of eight. He is best known for his role as Little John/the Devil on the WGN America series '' Salem'', and Little Boy in th ...
.
Ewan McGregor played a grown-up version of the character in the 2018 Disney live-action film ''
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney a ...
'', while Orton O'Bren portrays the character as a child.
In this film adaptation, the now adult Christopher is director of efficiency at a luggage company, and Pooh ultimately helps him to devise a plan to significantly decrease the company's expenditures.
Portrayals
Of the nine main characters, Christopher Robin has the most voice actors. He has been voiced by the following:
*
Bruce Reitherman
Bruce Reitherman (born September 15, 1955) is an American filmmaker and former child actor. He voiced Christopher Robin in ''Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' and Mowgli in ''The Jungle Book''.
Life and work
Born in Burbank, California, ...
: ''
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree''
*
Jon Walmsley: ''
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'', ''
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' is a 1977 American animated musical anthology comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It is the 22nd Disney animated feature film and was first rel ...
'' (also re-recorded Christopher's lines for ''Honey Tree'')
* Timothy Turner: ''
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too''
* Kim Christianson: ''
Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore
''Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore'' is a 1983 American animated featurette based on the sixth chapter of both books ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and '' The House at Pooh Corner'' by A.A. Milne. Produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by B ...
''
* Tim Hoskins: ''
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh''
* Edan Gross: ''
Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too''
*
Brady Bluhm
Brady Bluhm is an American actor. He played Christopher Robin in many ''Winnie the Pooh'' films. He has also played roles in ''Dumb and Dumber'', its sequel '' Dumb and Dumber To'', and the TV series '' Get a Life''. Bluhm was a member of the Churc ...
: ''
Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin'', ''
A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving
''A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving'' is a 1998 made-for-TV special featuring the voice talents of Jim Cummings, Paul Winchell, and John Fiedler. The special shows Pooh and his friends learning the true meaning of Thanksgiving. It was nominated for P ...
'', ''
A Valentine for You'' and ''
Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving''
*
Frankie J. Galasso
Frankie J. Galasso is an American musician and actor. He is best known as a member of the boy band Dream Street.
Early life
Galasso was born in New York City to Lisa (''née'' Cicero) and Francesco Galasso and attended Salesian High School in N ...
: ''
Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin'' (singing voice)
*
Tom Attenborough
Thomas Frederick Richard Attenborough (born 13 October 1986) is an English voice actor and theatre director. He is the son of theatre director Michael Attenborough, grandson of the late film actor and director Richard Attenborough and the great ...
: ''
The Tigger Movie''
* Tom Wheatley: ''
Piglet's Big Movie
''Piglet's Big Movie'' is a 2003 American animated musical comedy-drama film released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 21, 2003. The film features the characters from the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books written by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard, and is ...
''
*
Kath Soucie: ''
Piglet's Big Movie
''Piglet's Big Movie'' is a 2003 American animated musical comedy-drama film released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 21, 2003. The film features the characters from the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books written by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard, and is ...
'' (singing voice)
* William Green: ''
A Very Merry Pooh Year''
* Paul Tiesler: ''
The Book of Pooh''
* Struan Erlenborn: ''
My Friends Tigger and Pooh''
* Jack Boulter: ''
Winnie-the-Pooh''
*
Oliver Bell
Oliver Bell (born May 13, 2004) is an American actor, based in Florida. He began his professional acting career at the age of eight. He is best known for his role as Little John/the Devil on the WGN America series '' Salem'', and Little Boy in th ...
: ''
Doc McStuffins''
Reitherman, Hoskins, Gross and Tiesler are the only actors to use an American accent for the character. All others use
received pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent traditionally regarded as the Standard language, standard and most Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robin, Christopher
Literary characters introduced in 1926
Child characters in animated films
Child characters in television
Child characters in literature
Male characters in animation
Male characters in television
Male characters in literature
Fictional children
Fictional English people
Winnie-the-Pooh characters
Animation based on real people
Characters in poems
Fictional British Army personnel
Fictional World War II veterans