 |
| Korean poster artwork for the adventure comedy family film Paddington. |
Beloved Bear by Linh
One of the most loved fictional bears in children’s literature finally
has his own movie. Paddington is the brainchild of author Michael Bond
and the young bear began life on the pages of a children’s book series. The Paddington
books inspired an animated television series and a stage musical adaptation
depicting the funny misadventures of Paddington bear. With Bond’s blessing, Paddington
is brought to cinematic life with an ensemble cast featuring some of Britain’s
best stage and screen performers. Keep an eye out for Bond’s cameo appearance
in the film as a kindly gentleman at Paddington train station.
Paddington is an origin film for Paddington bear, with most
of the storylines from the first book and a few stories from later Paddington
books. The film opens with a black and white short documentary created by
British explorer Montgomery Clyde (Tim Downie). Clyde is amazed to learn that a
species of highly intelligent bears live in the jungles of Darkest Peru and he
teaches them to speak English. He introduces them to marmalade, which they
immediately love. The bears featured in Clyde’s short documentary clip are
Uncle Pastuzo (voice of Michael Gambon) and Aunt Lucy (voice of Imelda
Staunton) and in the documentary, Clyde tells them they will be warmly welcomed
if they ever visit London. Many years later, Uncle Pastuzo and Aunt Lucy are
still living in Darkest Peru with fond memories of meeting Clyde and hope to
visit him in London one day. They are raising their nephew (voice of Ben
Whishaw), who is a curious and adventurous teenage bear. The young bear loves
marmalade and helps his uncle and aunt make marmalade according to a special
recipe. He is also bilingual and can speak, read and write English as well as
his own bear language.
The bears’ happy life is disrupted when an earthquake destroys their
home and kills Uncle Pastuzo. The young bear was able to retrieve his uncle’s
red floppy hat, which he then continues to wear almost every day. Aunt Lucy
decides that due to her old age, she cannot raise her nephew any longer and she
will need to live at the Home For Retired Bears. She instructs her nephew to go
to London and find Clyde who may help him find a home. She packs a suitcase
full of jars with marmalade, ties a tag around her nephew’s neck which says
“Please look after this bear. Thank you.” and hides him inside a boat bound for
London.
When the young bear arrives in London, he is wide-eyed with wonder and
excitement, until he discovers the warm welcome he expected was not
forthcoming. At the train station, people ignore him and quickly walk past him
without a word. The bear stands in front of the ‘lost and found’ office at the
station until the Brown family walk past, and Mrs. Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins)
turns around to converse with the bear. Mr. Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville) is
immediately suspicious of the bear while his children, Judy (Madeleine Harris)
is disinterested and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) is bemused. After the bear tells
them his name in his bear language, Mrs. Brown suggests that he might like an
English name. She names him Paddington as that is the name of the train station
where they met him. The Browns take Paddington to their home to stay
temporarily, where they live with their housekeeper Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters),
and they offer to assist Paddington in finding Clyde. Unbeknownst to Paddington,
his new life in London will soon become dangerous as Clyde’s daughter Millicent
(Nicole Kidman) has some nasty plans that threaten his existence.
The cast is excellent and computer-generated images and special effects
used to create Paddington works seamlessly.to blend animation with live action.
Colin Firth was originally cast to voice Paddington, yet Ben Whishaw is
commendable and better suited for the role with his younger voice and modulated
tones. Hugh Bonneville, best known for his role as Robert Crawley in the
television drama Downton Abbey, relishes the opportunity to show some
comic and action skills as Mr. Henry Brown. He is brilliant as a cleaning lady
in one scene and as a risk-taking rebel in an earlier scene. Oscar nominated
actress Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine, X+Y) is delightful and
affable as Mrs. Mary Brown whose inquisitiveness and curiosity attracted her to
Paddington at the train station. Julie Walters (One Chance, Brooklyn)
is always a hoot in any comic role and her portrayal as the observant and wise
Mrs. Bird outshines the CGI feathered birds (Paddington’s hungry pigeons) in
the film. Fans of the Doctor Who television series will be pleased to
see Peter Capaldi (The Fifth Estate, World War Z) as the nosy and
grumpy neighbour Mr. Curry, especially in the scenes when he appears inside or
near a London telephone box, in reference to himself as The Doctor. Nicole
Kidman (Lion, The Secret In Their Eyes) played a nasty character
in The Golden Compass which was not well-received by most viewers, yet
her portrayal of Millicent Clyde, a knife-throwing taxidermist for the Natural
History Museum in this film, is vastly superior in nastiness. There was a brief
sombre moment for some viewers when Kidman’s character said “My father is dead”,
as some people were aware her father in real life, Dr. Anthony Kidman, died
during the film’s post-production stage.
Paddington is a film which reminds us that no matter where we
come from, we can always find a home elsewhere. However, the film depicts
possible obstacles and other challenges that make ‘fitting in’ more difficult
depending on one’s race or ethnicity. Paddington not only comes from a
different country, he is also of a different species, which makes his presence
in the human community very interesting and sometimes complicated. He is
the only anthropomorphic bear in London who speaks English, which makes him
especially unique and finding a home for someone like Paddington requires
open-mindedness, kindness and patience. Although he is a bear, Paddington
contributes to the community and to the Brown family through cultural means of
food and language, such as sharing his special marmalade recipe and teaching
them his bear language.
There are underlying themes of immigration, social inclusion and
acceptance which are depicted implicitly through Paddington’s misadventures and
his interactions with other characters in the film. For example, Mr. Gruber
(Jim Broadbent), who owns the antique store, has a strong German-Jewish accent
and represents immigrants who may have escaped war-torn countries to find a
home in London. Through hard-work and perseverance, Mr. Gruber has settled
comfortably in London to become a familiar and friendly face in the community.
Paddington’s arrival in London would be deemed by some as “illegal” as he
arrived by boat without any legal identity papers. The community’s acceptance
of Paddington is a result of his misadventures, so he is liked for his
considerate, polite and generous nature.
Paddington is a highly enjoyable and entertaining film that
will entice viewers to read or re-read the Paddington books and is a
great introduction of Paddington bear for the uninitiated. Director Paul King
succeeds in bringing the warmth and humour of Paddington bear from the books to
the film. The fantasy scenes from Paddington’s imagination and his
misadventures in the bathroom, in the kitchen and chasing the wallet thief are
highlights of the film. For fans of Paddington, there are many more stories
from the Paddington books that would make sufficient and superb material
for another Paddington film.
Director: Paul King
Writers: Michael Bond (books), Paul King
(screenplay), Hamish McColl (screenplay)
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins,
Julie Walters, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Madeleine Harris,
Samuel Joslin, Tim Downie, Ben Whishaw (voice), Michael Gambon (voice), Imelda
Staunton (voice), Matt Lucas, Madeleine Worrall, Theresa Watson, Geoffrey
Palmer, Lottie Steer, Michael Bond
Producers: David Heyman, Harvey Weinstein,
Bob Weinstein, Rosie Alison, Alexandra Ferguson, Ben Irving, Jeffrey Clifford,
Ron Halpern, Manohar Tahilramani, Oliver Courson
Cinematographer: Erik Wilson
Original
Music Composer: Nick
Urata
Film
Editor: Mark
Everson
Production: Gary Williamson (production
design), Cathy Cosgrove (set design)
Costume
Designer: Lindy
Hemming
Running
Time: 1 hour
and 30 minutes
