If there was any film that I was not looking forward to seeing this year, it was Paul King's feature length story of the beloved children's book character Paddington. With the teaser trailer all you got was two minutes of slapstick nonsense with no obvious reasoning behind it. This really soured my overall opinion of the film very quickly. With that in mind however, did Paul King's Paddington live up to its name?
Paddington follows rare bear 'ROOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOAR' (English name: Paddington) and his journey from Darkest Peru to London. Whilst looking for a family, he meets the Browns who take him in, much to the chagrin of Mr Brown, played by Hugh Bonneville. The family gives him his English name and accept him as family. However his arrival in London also captures the attention of vicious taxidermist Millicent, played by Nicole Kidman, who wishes to stuff him and put him on display in the Natural History Museum.
To start, the film is not at all how you might expect, though a lot of the opening scene definitely caters to the younger members of the audience with trips, falls and a lot of marmalade spillage. Paddington's bear guardians, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo, seem a little flat; they don't really come across as genuinely as King clearly intended them to, but that's carefully remedied by them not being in the film for very long. The film certainly does not waste any time; within ten minutes, Paddington is whisked away to London looking for a new family.
From the start it is obvious how much attention to detail was put into Paddington; the special effects are flawless in bringing his cuddly, loveable appearance to life. Ben Whishaw's voice for the bear was also very well chosen, giving Paddington his innocent, wondrous yet ever polite tone. The evolution of the character is practically non-existent but that is the same as in the old Paddington books. His polite, loving, innocent nature is always at the forefront of the movie and that is actually where a lot of the film's strength comes from.
The Brown family was also very well cast, though they are exactly like every other family in kid films;
No matter how commonplace the personality traits might be, the performances are very strong overall from the actors chosen for this family. However, through no fault of the actors, Paul King seemed to think no one would notice one dinner table scene where every event, even the name of a boy mentioned, plays out EXACTLY like a scene from Brad Bird's The Incredibles. From the dialogue and direction to the order of every actor's action, it is so close to the Pixar movie (and probably a lot of other movies) that it will completely distract anyone familiar with Brad Bird's animation from the journey of the actually very interesting and loveable Paddington. Also, while most of the Brown family member's relationships with Paddington feel very natural, the connection established between him and the daughter feels very forced, with slightly unnecessary moments between the two including a couple of bear dialect scenes. Nicole Kidman was also well cast as the wicked Millicent, though she did not get quite enough layering to her. She is given a bit of backstory, but for the most part it does seem like she is just evil for the sake of being evil. With that said though, kids films in today's world are not exactly known for real character layering, and this film overall does a better job than most, especially with the relationship between Paddington and the Browns.
The look of the film is gorgeous, with beautiful camerawork from King and lush, vibrant depictions of both Peru and London, though the obligatory VISIT LONDON scene is included (of course). Image-wise, nothing seems out of place and every scene is very well directed, even if most of them are a little unoriginal. A beautiful looking scene involves the introductions of the Brown family members using a dollhouse. The imagery in this scene is fantastic and really sets a good tone for the family.
Now on to the deal breaker, the comedy. While the slapstick in the teaser trailer had no context and thus seemed completely unnecessary, the full feature film brilliantly explains how each disaster comes about. One scene where Paddington tries to return a man's wallet is absolutely fantastic; as everything crashes down around him, Paddington simply wants to help this man and is ever-polite while doing so to hilarious effect. Every slapstick scene is brought about by Paddington attempting to be... well... Paddington, and this is what makes the character feel like he did in the books. Some of the comedy (a scene where Mr Brown dons a less than flattering disguise comes to mind) falls completely flat as we have seen it a million times before. However the scenes where Paddington gets himself into trouble through his kind, helpful behaviour are all really well executed and are consistently funny throughout the film. Some other comedy pieces like some rather adult innuendo at the very start of the film and a set of running gags throughout London are brilliantly funny. These really help tie the film together and will give people of all ages a good laugh. Another surprising approach to the film is it's carefree attitude. This will likely remind people of films made back in their childhoods. No one seems to bat an eyelid at this talking bear, with Mr Brown's first line upon seeing Paddington perfectly encapsulating this:
'There's some kind of bear over there. He's probably selling something.'
This is something we've seen in a lot of films, especially when we look back on our youth. This makes a lot of the apparent faults in the film considerably less 'faulty', as so many of our favourite childhood films had the exact same levels of silliness (that is why we loved them so much, admit it).
Overall this film was a hugely pleasant surprise with great comedy overall, minus a couple of cringe inducing scenes. Obviously all the criticism given here is coming from heavy comparison to other films but as a standalone modern family movie, it is actually very hard to fault. The actors are obviously having great fun playing the parts and the story while predictable is engaging especially to younger viewers. The look of the film is gorgeous, it does not waste any time in terms of pacing and most importantly, Paddington himself feels like the beloved character we all remember from the books. This film does not offer much in the way of originality, but what it does offer is both an endless supply of heart and a true reminder of why staying young on the inside is so much better than growing up completely. While I wouldn't really recommend it for cinema-goers looking for the next Best Picture winner, I would 100% recommend to fans of the books and/or parents who want to give their kids a great time, while secretly enjoying it themselves. This film will likely be considered a classic among the next generation as they grow up and I am not opposed to that at all.
P.S I dare anyone who loves the books not to get a little emotional when Paddington puts his coat on for the first time.
Paddington follows rare bear 'ROOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOAR' (English name: Paddington) and his journey from Darkest Peru to London. Whilst looking for a family, he meets the Browns who take him in, much to the chagrin of Mr Brown, played by Hugh Bonneville. The family gives him his English name and accept him as family. However his arrival in London also captures the attention of vicious taxidermist Millicent, played by Nicole Kidman, who wishes to stuff him and put him on display in the Natural History Museum.
To start, the film is not at all how you might expect, though a lot of the opening scene definitely caters to the younger members of the audience with trips, falls and a lot of marmalade spillage. Paddington's bear guardians, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo, seem a little flat; they don't really come across as genuinely as King clearly intended them to, but that's carefully remedied by them not being in the film for very long. The film certainly does not waste any time; within ten minutes, Paddington is whisked away to London looking for a new family.
From the start it is obvious how much attention to detail was put into Paddington; the special effects are flawless in bringing his cuddly, loveable appearance to life. Ben Whishaw's voice for the bear was also very well chosen, giving Paddington his innocent, wondrous yet ever polite tone. The evolution of the character is practically non-existent but that is the same as in the old Paddington books. His polite, loving, innocent nature is always at the forefront of the movie and that is actually where a lot of the film's strength comes from.
The Brown family was also very well cast, though they are exactly like every other family in kid films;
- Loving, embarrassing Mum? Check.
- Stern, strict, over protective Dad? Check.
- Easily embarrassed, 'too cool for School' teenage daughter? Check.
- Overly energised, irritatingly bouncy kid son? Check.
No matter how commonplace the personality traits might be, the performances are very strong overall from the actors chosen for this family. However, through no fault of the actors, Paul King seemed to think no one would notice one dinner table scene where every event, even the name of a boy mentioned, plays out EXACTLY like a scene from Brad Bird's The Incredibles. From the dialogue and direction to the order of every actor's action, it is so close to the Pixar movie (and probably a lot of other movies) that it will completely distract anyone familiar with Brad Bird's animation from the journey of the actually very interesting and loveable Paddington. Also, while most of the Brown family member's relationships with Paddington feel very natural, the connection established between him and the daughter feels very forced, with slightly unnecessary moments between the two including a couple of bear dialect scenes. Nicole Kidman was also well cast as the wicked Millicent, though she did not get quite enough layering to her. She is given a bit of backstory, but for the most part it does seem like she is just evil for the sake of being evil. With that said though, kids films in today's world are not exactly known for real character layering, and this film overall does a better job than most, especially with the relationship between Paddington and the Browns.
The look of the film is gorgeous, with beautiful camerawork from King and lush, vibrant depictions of both Peru and London, though the obligatory VISIT LONDON scene is included (of course). Image-wise, nothing seems out of place and every scene is very well directed, even if most of them are a little unoriginal. A beautiful looking scene involves the introductions of the Brown family members using a dollhouse. The imagery in this scene is fantastic and really sets a good tone for the family.
Now on to the deal breaker, the comedy. While the slapstick in the teaser trailer had no context and thus seemed completely unnecessary, the full feature film brilliantly explains how each disaster comes about. One scene where Paddington tries to return a man's wallet is absolutely fantastic; as everything crashes down around him, Paddington simply wants to help this man and is ever-polite while doing so to hilarious effect. Every slapstick scene is brought about by Paddington attempting to be... well... Paddington, and this is what makes the character feel like he did in the books. Some of the comedy (a scene where Mr Brown dons a less than flattering disguise comes to mind) falls completely flat as we have seen it a million times before. However the scenes where Paddington gets himself into trouble through his kind, helpful behaviour are all really well executed and are consistently funny throughout the film. Some other comedy pieces like some rather adult innuendo at the very start of the film and a set of running gags throughout London are brilliantly funny. These really help tie the film together and will give people of all ages a good laugh. Another surprising approach to the film is it's carefree attitude. This will likely remind people of films made back in their childhoods. No one seems to bat an eyelid at this talking bear, with Mr Brown's first line upon seeing Paddington perfectly encapsulating this:
'There's some kind of bear over there. He's probably selling something.'
This is something we've seen in a lot of films, especially when we look back on our youth. This makes a lot of the apparent faults in the film considerably less 'faulty', as so many of our favourite childhood films had the exact same levels of silliness (that is why we loved them so much, admit it).
Overall this film was a hugely pleasant surprise with great comedy overall, minus a couple of cringe inducing scenes. Obviously all the criticism given here is coming from heavy comparison to other films but as a standalone modern family movie, it is actually very hard to fault. The actors are obviously having great fun playing the parts and the story while predictable is engaging especially to younger viewers. The look of the film is gorgeous, it does not waste any time in terms of pacing and most importantly, Paddington himself feels like the beloved character we all remember from the books. This film does not offer much in the way of originality, but what it does offer is both an endless supply of heart and a true reminder of why staying young on the inside is so much better than growing up completely. While I wouldn't really recommend it for cinema-goers looking for the next Best Picture winner, I would 100% recommend to fans of the books and/or parents who want to give their kids a great time, while secretly enjoying it themselves. This film will likely be considered a classic among the next generation as they grow up and I am not opposed to that at all.
P.S I dare anyone who loves the books not to get a little emotional when Paddington puts his coat on for the first time.