‘Christopher Robin’ Film Denied a Release in China

Christopher Robin is an upcoming film starring Ewan McGregor which sees a middle-aged Christopher Robin reunite with his childhood friends from the Hundred Acre Wood. Based on the trailers released so far, the film certainly looks delightful, and yet it has been refused a release in China.

As the BBC reports, Chinese authorities haven’t given a specific reason as to why the film has been denied a release in the country, but it is almost certainly due to the fact that, in China, Winnie the Pooh has become a symbol of resistance against Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It began when an image began to circulate online in 2013 which comparing Xi and the then US President Barack Obama to Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Another image did the rounds in 2014 when a picture of Xi with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was compared to a picture of Eeyore and Pooh. As the memes grew in popularity, Chinese censors began to block all images of Winnie the Pooh and it has been reported that Xi Jinping is apparently quite unamused by the comparison.

Christopher Robin may not be getting a Chinese release, but the country has allowed other recent films such as Mission Impossible: Fallout, Skyscraper, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Christopher Robin was released in cinemas on August 3 in North America and on August 17 in the UK.