Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh is special. While there are hundreds of thousands of characters out there who do everything in their power to hide their sadness, Eeyore wears his loud and proud, and, in turn, it's earned him the love of millions of fans through multiple generations. As an extension of this, it's amazing to see the beloved melancholy donkey is back on the big screen in director Marc Forster's Christopher Robin -- but while recently speaking to actor Brad Garrett about the part in the movie, he revealed one thing that's just a little extra special about the role in the film:
I wanted to make sure, and I think Disney wanted to make sure, and the director, that this time around for Eeyore, of course it's doom and gloom, that goes without saying, but there wanted to be a vulnerability to him where also he was possibly approachable. We wanted to play him the way he's known, of course, but in some points we wanted little slivers of hope.
While covering the Los Angeles press day for Christopher Robin late last month, I had the opportunity to hop on the phone with Brad Garrett to talk about his role in the movie, and what made the experience of playing Eeyore a special one. At one point I asked him about his work with the film's director and putting his own personal stamp on the famous role, and in his answer he explained why there is an extra little spark in the character that isn't necessarily always there in other iterations.
Created by A.A. Milne, Eeyore has always been the resident sad sack in Winnie The Pooh's friend circle, but Brad Garrett is right that the character has a few more up-beat moments in Christopher Robin. For example, when Eeyore reunites with his eponymous friend as an adult (played by Ewan McGregor), he is sure that he is actually a Heffalump who is there to eat him, but slowly that attitude begins to change. As the stuffy Christopher begins to let his inner-kid out again, it's something that the little donkey recognizes, and it leads to a wonderful little moment of happiness for the famed depressive.
Of course, just because he has tiny glimmers of hope doesn't mean that Eeyore is totally changed into a happy, shiny individual, however. In fact, at the start of our interview Brad Garrett explained not only his personal love for the character, but also explained why he is one that people can really connect to in this day and age. Said Garrett,
I've always been a Winnie The Pooh fan, like so many people, but you know, to me Eeyore, it's so different for so many characters. I just think he resonates today louder than ever because, you know, we seem to be living in a world where his attitude maybe just rings the loudest - if that makes any sense. At least for me it does.
Christopher Robin, which also stars Jim Cummings, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Peter Capaldi and Mark Gatiss, is now in theaters nationwide.
