Review of Paddington (2014) by Charlie P — 29 Mar 2018

After his treehouse is destroyed in an earthquake, a young bear (Ben Whishaw) is forced to leave behind his home of Darkest Peru and his beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) in order to make a new life for himself in London. While searching for an explorer that his aunt and uncle befriended long ago, the polite young bear is found by the Brown family who offer to help him find the explorer in the hope that he can find the young bear, now named Paddington, a home. But Michelle (Nicole Kidman), a sinister taxidermist, is hot on his trail...

Michael Bond's Paddington books have delighted children since 1958 with thier sharp wit, humorous situations and charming characters throughout the adventures of the young bear from Darkest Peru.

Although there have been several TV adaptations over the years with the most famous example being the BBC 1975 stop-motion series created by Ivor Wood, there was some concern over bringing his innocent adventures to the big screen which wasn't helped by some of the trailers looking absolutely awful for this film and the much-publicised departure of Colin Firth who was going to voice the bear himself, from the project just 5 months before the release of the film. Thankfully director Paul King understood what made the bear lovable in the first place, and as a result has created one of the best live-action family films of the 2010's.

Although some of the bear's antics may be a bit too extreme for purists, the screenplay itself is fantastic in protraying the bears struggle for acceptance within the Brown family and in keeping it's British roots with the execellent cast. Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi and Hugh Bonnevile all bring a strong sense of likability to thier characters, with Walters getting the biggest laughs as the eccentric house-keeper Mrs Bird.

Cinematographer Erik Wilson and composer Nick Vrata bring the romantised world of London to life with the use of effects such as animated paintings, a dolls-house dissolving into the Brown's household and Paddington's drawings coming to life to create a greater sense of fantasy, despite being set in modern day which is an impressive achievement for most live-action adaptations.

Overall despite some plot elements being a tad predictable and some of the humour not always working, Paddington is regardless, a charming family film that does the little bear justice without getting any hard stares for purists. Pass the marmalade, and roll on, number two!