Disney's latest live-action CGI family movie, Christopher Robin, won't be released in China.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, there has been no official explanation for this decision, but blame has been pinned on China's crackdown on images of the Winnie the Pooh character.

Pooh-Xi symbol of resistance

The Winnie the Pooh character has become a symbol of resistance for Chinese dissidents.

Foes of the ruling Communist Party have used the honey-loving pudgy bear as a stand in for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

This has resulted in Winnie the Pooh’s name and photo being banned from Weibo from time to time.

Censored

In June, Chinese authorities blocked HBO after Last Week Tonight host John Oliver made an episode that touched on Xi's sensitivity over being compared to Winnie the Pooh.

Oliver said on the show: “Clamping down on Winnie the Pooh comparisons, doesn’t exactly project strength. It suggests a weird insecurity [in Xi].”

Oliver's name was censored from Weibo after that.

Foreign movies quota

However, China's decision also likely has to do with not breaching the foreign film quota, where only a given number of foreign movies can be released in China per year.

Missing out on the Chinese market might mean the movie might forego making US$50 million to US100 million.

And no one would have expected timing to have played such a crucial part.

Disney put Christopher Robin into development in 2015, long before Winnie the Pooh became a lightning rod for controversy in China.

Shooting began on the Marc Forster-helmed film in summer 2017 in the United Kingdom, about the same time the Chinese Winnie the Pooh crackdown began.

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Christopher Robin stars Ewan McGregor.

It is out in Singapore now.