Paddington Reviews

If you see the words “live action Paddington movie” and immediately go into a dark place, I get that. Between the preponderance of fairy tale blockbusters, needlessly snarky adaptations, or ones that pull and stretch the material beyond recognition, adapting beloved children’s books and stories hasn’t been on the hottest streak as of late. For every Coraline there’s about five Cat in the Hat or Garfield: The Movie. So I completely understand that chilling feeling slowly moving down your spine and settling into your stomach.

 

But here’s the very good news: Paddington is far more a Coraline then it is a Cat in the Hat. It’s a film of tremendous whimsy, lacking in guile, and populated by kooky, charming characters that exhibit tremendous layers, even our villain is given a backstory that explains her profession and obsession with Paddington. It’s also really funny, has great special effects work, and has a stellar vocal performance from Ben Whishaw in the lead role.

 

This is after all a film where a talking bear can stand in the middle of a crowded railway station and be greeted with indifference from many of the urban denizens. The film takes it as a given that there’s an element of magical realism at play with children’s literature, and it never goes to great lengths to explain away how and why Paddington can talk. His species of bear can talk and learned English thanks to an explorer several decades back, that’s it, thank god for simplicity. It’s here that the filmmakers and Paddington’s overwhelming sincerity dovetail – Paddington isn’t just a fish-out-of-water story, but one of found families, kindness, and providing emotional support.

 

Which isn’t to say that there aren’t moments of daring or ample shenanigans, this is a children’s film after all. Many of them are quite funny, a marmalade sandwich acting as a brick through bureaucracy, Paddington mistaking toothbrushes for ear cleaners, or his accidental flooding of a bathroom are all jubilant, quirky little moments that further the narrative, display his naivety, or merely exist to make you smile. Sometimes they manage to capture all three at once, and that’s the great joy of the film.

 

It helps that actors as strong as Hugh Bonneville as fuddy-duddy dad, Nicole Kidman as our somewhat-sympathetic villain, Julie Walters as eccentric maid, and Jim Broadbent as an immigrant bringing a tremendous amount of pathos to his scenes breathe life into the film. They’re all clearly enjoying what they’re doing, and that sense of fun and enjoyment translates through the screen to you. That’s no easy feat.

 

Yet it’s Sally Hawkins as the matriarch that sees magic and adventure everywhere that provides a solid human face for us. Hawkins appears to be making a habit lately of playing women adopting empathetic creatures, and her loopy mother is a ton of fun. She’s the empathetic center of Paddington, the human face that allows us to find the beating heart of the talking bear. We love him as much as she does by the end.

 

It’s that beating heart at the center of Paddington that makes it all so perfect. There’s humor, warmth, and a refreshing gentleness to be found here, and I’m all for it. Less snark and more overly polite talking bears wearing red hats and blue coats, please.

Even though I heard about Paddington, I have to admit that my knowledge of his character didn't go beyond a set of coffee mugs that my wife brought in when we went to live together. Anyway, even though this movie turned out to a big commercial and critical success, to be honest, I didn't really care much about the damned thing, I'm afraid. At least, I have to admit that it was miles better than some similar movies also dealing with some CGI animated animals like 'Garfield', 'Alvin and the Chipmunks', 'Hop' or 'Yogi Bear'. Eventually, that was pretty much my main issue, the fact that even if Paddington himself was really cute and charming and even though this movie was probably the best one in this genre, it remains after all such a tedious genre nonetheless. I guess it didn't help either that I didn't grow up reading the stories involving the famous little bear. Still, if you look at the story slightly more carefully, you would notice that it is in fact really generic and predictable after all. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn't really impressed by the damned thing, I have to admit that it was still a solid family feature and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

A young bear from the Jungles of Peru travels to London to find a home and meets the Brown family! They name him Paddington (Ben Whishaw). He causes trouble for Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville) by accidentally flooding the bathroom but receives some likeness from Mrs Brown (Sally Hawkins) and their son Jonathan!

I really like the humour of this movie! This movie features kid and adult entertainment! I do prefer 'Toy Story' and 'The LEGO Movie' but this is really good entertainment for kids and adults!

It may be a bit scary for kids though. Nicole Kidman plays Millicent, the villain who has a collection of stuffed animals and wants to stuff Paddington! Like many fake villains, Mr Curry (Peter Capaldi) pretends to be on her side and then betrays her by telling the Browns about it!

This is a PG rated movie and the dangerous behaviour and mild threat makes sense! Parents! Accompany your kids, they will love it but should not copy the dangerous behaviour of Paddington skateboarding and flying with an umbrella or using toothbrushes to clean his ears!

'Paddington' features entertaining humour, a funny cast and an intelligent plot! It's not a great movie, but it's definitely worth seeing! For all ages!