Disney’s Christopher Robin is looking to be another mediocre entry in Disney’s repertoire of live-action films but it does seem like it would be able to garner some decent traction at the world-wide box office. However, one country in particular may not be very keen on the film and the beloved Winnie the Pooh character. The film would not be seeing the light in Chinese cinemas as the film has been denied release from the country’s film authorities.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a source pinned this down to China’s crackdown on images of the beloved character which is a central role in the Ewan McGregor led film. Authorities began blocking pictures of Winnie the Pooh on social media last summer as the character has become a symbol of resistance with foes of ruling Communist Party in China, particularly Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
To make things far more ludicrous, bloggers, have drawn comparisons between Pooh and Xi which in turn drove the country’s censorship in full force. HBO was even blocked in June after host of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver poked fun at Xi’s sensitivity over being compared to the bloody bear. Some have countered this and brought up the possibility of this being due to the foreign film quota in China as there are already several Hollywood tent-poles in the country’s market right now.
This is hilarious and it looks like Xi would be the butt of plenty of censorship jokes for a while now. Chances are, it wouldn’t really affect the film all that much as it is expected to do pretty well especially against a $75 million budget which is relatively low for a Disney film. Christopher Robin isn’t earning stellar reviews but it does seem like some nostalgic adults would be taking their kids to their theaters to check this out and it would likely make a ton of cash back.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
