Xi Jinping's sensitivity to memes pushed China to ban 'Winnie The Pooh' film

China's censor board recently denied a release to Disney’s latest movie, Christopher Robin. Most of “Christopher Robin,” a new Winnie-the-Pooh movie starring Ewan McGregor, is the story of a midlife crisis.

Rumours tend to suggest that the real motive behind blocking images of Winnie the Pooh is avoid comparisons between Winnie the Pooh and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.

No reason has been given for the film's denial, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, it is because of China's censorship of Winnie the Pooh images that started last year.


The authorities have been blocking images of the character on social media because of memes comparing Chinese leader Xi Jinping's appearance to Pooh's.

Disney has not reacted to the snub of the live-action/CGI film, which stars Ewan McGregor as a middle-aged British businessman and carries a PG rating.

Winnie the Pooh, the character created by British author A A Milne as a companion for an eight-year-old Christopher Robin, comes to life in the film to help his now-adult friend regain his imagination.

It is believed that the recent step towards banning Winnie The Pooh' film is a fallout of its 2015 experience. In 2015, a picture showing Xi Jinping riding in a motorcade alongside an image of Winnie the Pooh in a toy car was reportedly labelled as ‘China's most censored photo’ by political analysis company Global Risk Insights.