"Christopher Robin" producer talks about his memories of Winnie the Pooh

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Winnie the Pooh, a character who first made his appearance in an A.A. Milne collection of verses in 1924 before appearing in his own book in 1926, has a special significance to millions of people across the globe. Many of us grew up with him alongside his coterie of friends, which included Christopher Robin, Eeyore and Piglet.

Brigham Taylor, one of the producers of the new Disney film Christopher Robin, also grew up with the character. In a recent interview, Taylor told us about his lifelong affection for the character. “My mother would read to me these stories from A.A. Milne’s books, poems and stories,” he said, adding that some of his first memories were stories that were read to him by his Mom.

Since that time, Taylor has ventured into adulthood becoming a successful producer. Over the past two decades, he served as a production executive on films like Miracle, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and Secretariat. He’s also produced movies like The Jungle Book and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The executive still hasn’t forgotten his childhood imagination though and he kept that front and center while producing Christopher Robin. “Good business is being as loyal as you can be to who these characters are,” he told me. “It was always about maintaining loyalty to who these characters were.”  

The new film sets itself apart as it ages Christopher Robin. In the feature, Robin is a grown adult played by Ewan McGrego who is both a successful businessman and a parent to young children. Through a series of events, Robin once again comes face to face with his childhood allies, animated characters who are voiced by actors such as Jim Cummings (who voices Winnie the Pooh and Tigger), Brad Garrett (Eeyore) and Peter Cabaldi (Rabbit).

That was one of the things that appealed to Taylor. Showing Christopher Robin’s need to keep these characters in his adult life was a driving force for the producer. He said, “That was the whole reason to come back and tell this version: to understand what the value of these characters are to us in our adult lives.”

It's something that we should all consider today.

Christopher Robin hits theaters nationwide today.