Let's Analyze.... Christopher Robin

A few weeks ago, my sister had mentioned to me that her oldest son (14) and daughter (13) had just realized that the characters from Winnie the Pooh were all in Christopher Robin's imagination.
They were floored.

I imagine that this was one of those moments for them that was similar to when they realized that Santa, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny weren't real. There was a slight shock factor, but an understanding as well.

By the time kids are old enough to realize the truth, they understand the purpose behind the story.

With this fresh in my mind, Sofia and I were sitting on the couch watching and episode of Winnie the Pooh where everyone forgot Eeyore's birthday and they were trying to make up for it.

This got me thinking... Kids replay events through play. I've heard Sawyer do this with his Hotwheels.

Could this episode have been Christopher Robin reaching out, hoping that someone would remember his birthday? I mean, we rarely see his parents and he has to resort to playing with stuffed animals by himself in the woods.

Now, that got me wondering, who do all of the characters stand for?

Here's my little gut-punch to your childhood.

Obviously we have Christopher Robin. A lonely, only child who fills his time creating elaborate stories using his stuffed animals to work out his emotional issues.

Kanga- CR's mother. In real life, his mother is absent most of the time. She's probably strict and absorbed in CR's step-father. So in CR's pretend world, she's loving, involved, and is a kangaroo. Kangaroos have a pouch in which their young stay close to them. Obviously something CR craves with his mother.

Roo- CR's sibling which was never born, eventually causing his parent's divorce. Roo isn't gender specific, because CR didn't care which gender his sibling would have been. He just wanted a sibling.

Rabbit- CR's bitter, grumbling, neurotic father who can never be the same after the divorce. He thrust himself into his garden as an obsessive way to ignore what's really going on in his life.

Owl- CR's step-father. A pompous, arrogant man who is cultured and thinks he always knows best. He cares very little about anyone but himself and makes people feel small to make himself feel better.

Gopher- The crazy grandfather. Enough said.

Pooh- A friend that CR made up to make himself feel empowered and confident. After all, it always makes us feel better to have a friend that we can correct and make feel little -"Silly old Pooh." - Sounds sweet, but is meant in a derogatory way.

Tigger- Tigger represents the childhood that CR should have had if infertility hadn't caused the divorce. He's bouncy, hyper, and has the speech of a three year old. He's everything that childhood should be.

Piglet and Eeyore- These represent CR's emotions that someone as young as him can't understand. Piglet is nervous and scared of everything (Wouldn't you if your whole life was changed?) He hides when someone knocks at the door and is cautious of everything. He's constantly wondering "What's going to go wrong now?" He's eager to please everyone and wants to tag along. Eeyore is the depression that stems from the loss that CR has endured. "What's the point? No one cares about me. Everyone forgot about me." There may even be feelings of masochistic nature. He does keep asking people to stab him with his tail.

There you have it, people. That sad, sad tale of Christopher Robin. I'm sure there's much more that can be analyzed with these characters, but I already feel evil for even crossing this line. I suggest you go and watch the older episodes of Winnie the Pooh and see what you think now.

Happy watching!
-Heather