Paddington

I will admit to not having much familiarity with the British children’s literature icon Paddington Bear, though I was at least aware of him with his iconic red hat and blue coat. It’s because of this unfamiliarity that I did not see the 2014 film adaptation Paddington, or its sequel Paddington 2, when they first came out, though I had been meaning to watch them after hearing how good they are. With the upcoming US release of the third film, Paddington in Peru, I finally got around to watching the first film to see how good it was, and found it to have exceeded my expectations.

In Darkest Peru, a bear cub (Ben Whishaw) lives in the jungle with his Uncle Pastuzo (Michael Pastuzo) and Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton), who have learned human speech and mannerisms from an English explorer who made an expedition there 40 years ago. When Uncle Pastuzo is lost in a storm, leaving only his hat behind, Aunt Lucy has the cub stow away on a boat to London to find the explorer. When the bear arrives at Paddington station, he is found and picked up by the Brown family, who name him after the station and agree to help him find the explorer.

 

Paddington (Ben Whishaw, left) is picked up by the Brown family.

 

Even without having read the book, it’s easy to see why the movie has such a positive reception. Although Paddington himself doesn’t have much of a story arc, he proves himself to be an effective agent of change, as his politeness and childlike wonder help bring out the best in most people he interacts with, especially the disjointed Brown family. Paddington’s love of marmalade is not only endearing, but also becomes a surprisingly critical plot point in the final act. Despite getting a little gross in a couple places, not to mention having an evil taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) pursue Paddington for her own goals, it is overall a very wholesome movie that feels like a welcome change of pace in the modern media landscape.

The film also has some really good visual effects work that has aged spectacularly. The Brown household not only has an interesting tree theme, but said theme is used for some neat visual metaphor for the tone of the story. There’s also some inventive visuals, such as the clever use of lighting to indicate the mood of the Brown house based on Paddington’s presence, as well as some very interesting use of a dollhouse and a model train for expositional purposes. Additionally, Paddington not only has an endearing design that hits the sweet spot between realistic and anthropomorphized, he also feels like he has an actual physical presence, thanks in part to the acting abilities of the cast. On that front, Nicole Kidman is very effective at playing a villainous character and it’s interesting seeing Peter Capaldi (who became the Twelfth Doctor around the same time) in the role of Mr. Curry. Additionally, Ben Whishaw has the perfect voice for Paddington, even reprising his role for the recent The Adventures of Paddington animated series.

 

An inventive way of delivering exposition.

Whether you’re a fan of the books or not, you simply can’t go wrong with Paddington. It’s a very wholesome feature that just about anyone can enjoy, and it may even leave you coming back for more.