Christopher Robin, Disney's live-action film, to not release in China amid ban on Winnie-the-Pooh memes

Christopher Robin , adapted from A A Milne and E H Shepard’s book Winnie-the-Pooh and directed by Marc Forster, has been banned from getting a release in China, reports The Telegraph. [caption id=“attachment_4380045” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A promo for Christopher Robin. Disney[/caption] As per The Hollywood Reporter , no reasons have been provided for the decision of blocking Disney’s new film Christopher Robin. However, it is believed to be a nationwide resistance to references to the character that supposedly resembles president of China. Winnie-the-Pooh emerged as a symbol of political dissent against the country’s ruling Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping in the country, which has resulted in authorities blocking pictures of the bear on social media. The memes featuring Pooh as Jinping were created by Chinese citizens following the announcement of eliminating presidential term limits for the Chinese leader. [caption id=“attachment_4890201” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A meme comparing Xi Jinping to Pooh. Twitter/@vinayak_jain[/caption] Last month, Chinese social network Weibo blocked all mentions of John Oliver and his HBO show Last Week Tonight after Oliver criticized Jinping. The move by China to not release the Disney live-action film, The Hollywood Reporter says, might prove to be a small blow for the film’s business, since 2014’s Maleficent and 2015’s Cinderella, managed to rake almost $48 million and $72 million respectively in China. Christopher Robin stars Ewan McGregor as the titular character, whose mundane life is interrupted when he is unexpectedly reunited with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and the other talking animals of the Hundred Acre Wood.