«Jean-Christophe and Winnie»: childhood and the quest for self4 reading minutes

Cinema Wednesdays - Virginia Eufemi

«Jean-Christophe, what day is it?
Today, Winnie.
Oh! my favorite day!»

On a rainy Saturday afternoon, the cinema is packed with children running and playing hide-and-seek between the rows of seats. Parents and grandparents, armed with buckets of popcorn and other treats, have brought their siblings and school friends to see the (new) adventures of the famous Disney cuddly toys. What stuffed animals? Winnie's friends, of course! The little yellow bear with the too-short red T-shirt and the too-small brain. But do these children even know who they're talking about? Do they know all the inhabitants of the Forest of Blue Dreams? You'd be surprised at their reactions...

Jean-Christophe (Ewan McGregor), the little boy whose imagination brought to life a whole world of stuffed animals, has grown up. And the first few minutes of the film don't spare the young man from boarding school, grief and the Second World War. The tone is set. The cruelty of life has caught up with the innocence of childhood. Today, Jean-Christophe lives in London, the war is over and he has found a job with a luggage company. He is married with children. Absorbed by his work, he won't be able to go away for the weekend with his family to his old house in the countryside, where it all began. Alone in grey London, this man crushed by responsibilities and oppressive work finds, after thirty years, an old friend with a round belly.

The psychological dimension of Jean-Christophe and Winnie seems more powerful than in other children's films. Perhaps precisely because it isn't. Beyond the household scenes that take up the first part of the film and present «adult» problems, this feature underlines the complexity of «grown-up» life: Dad would like to come to the country, but if he doesn't work, his boss will fire him, but if he doesn't go, Mom will be angry. It's all very well to put family first, but the sense of responsibility often takes over. In this happy atmosphere in which the viewer finds himself - all enhanced by a predominantly gray color - an old teddy bear makes an appearance, «where he belongs».

The psychoanalytical significance of Jean-Christophe and Winnie seems obvious. For a start, play is a central element. Once the hallmark of the kid in the short pants, today it's a chore to be endured in the company of annoying neighbors. Even his daughter Madeleine (Bronte Carmichael) never plays. It's through play that our protagonist rediscovers his inner self, his childlike soul. And in play, imagination play a predominant role; Jean-Christophe imagines his newfound friends as an escape from a dull, oppressive everyday life. And poignantly, after all these years, his old friends only recognize him when he uses his imagination.

Other highly symbolic elements very dear to Disney: holes. Alice enters Wonderland through a black hole (1951), the mercenary brigade discovers Atlantis after passing through a long black tunnel (2001) and, finally, the Forest of Blue Dreams lies beyond the hole in a tree. We won't dwell on this telling metaphor, but we will underline the psychological richness of Jean-Christophe and Winnie, a true journey into the psyche of a lost man in search of himself.

From Mary Poppins (1964), Disney seems to love fathers who work too much and neglect their families. This was also the case in Hook (1991) - originally produced with Disney backing by Steven Spielberg and with a casting doré (Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Dustin Hoffman) - in which we meet an old Peter Pan who has forgotten his childhood soul, leaving his family behind to work as a lawyer in London. What followed was a journey into the depths of his being to find the original Peter Pan.

But let's get back to our sheep, or rather our bears. It will not have escaped the notice of connoisseurs that Jean-Christophe and Winnie makes numerous references to the Disney animated feature The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977). We find our beloved narrator browsing the illustrated pages of Winnie the Pooh's book. The music is equally familiar; in just a few notes, we recognize the famous song that introduces Pooh in the animated film. But also the wind, the water that carries Eeyore away, the fog that allows Winnie to follow in her own footsteps and, of course, the terrifying ephelants and nouifs.

The only downside - a disturbing but interesting choice - is that Coco Lapin and Maître Hibou become real animals in this film. All the others - Piglet, Tigrous, etc. - are animated stuffed animals, except the two mentioned above, who have no seams (but do have speech), as if the child had been playing in the forest with his stuffed animals and with animals he had found in the forest.

Finally, let's not forget all the children in the cinema. It's good to see so many of them. Alas, there was no laughter on this rainy afternoon. And yet, despite some sluggishness, Jean-Christophe and Winnie has truly succeeded in capturing (and retaining) the essence of Winnie the Pooh. The bear is exactly as we remember him: silly, clumsy, but terribly «funny» and endearing. There are plenty of comic moments in the second half of the film, with zany situations and particularly good wordplay. Adults will undoubtedly have a great time in the company of these cuddly toys. But what about children? You be the judge, perhaps by trying to rediscover your inner child.

Write to the author: virginia.eufemi@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Walt Disney Company CH