Paddington - Review

There's a talking bear walking around London...

...and no one has a problem with this? No one? Really? Well....GOOD!

The Plot

A young bear cub (Ben Whishaw) sets out on a journey to London from Darkest Peru after his home is destroyed by an Earthquake. There, he seeks to find the explorer who taught his aunt and uncle English and the existence of a delightful treat called marmalade. But upon arrival, instead of finding a welcoming city, he discovers the harsh reality that modern day people are not as kind as the explorer had promised his guardians. But with chance, he encounters a family (Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville) who decide to take him in till he can find the explorer who was so kind to his guardians many years ago. Hot on his trail however is an efficient museum curator and taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) who has more nefarious plans for the furry cub who will be known as Paddington.

Review

Paddington is a surprisingly charming film. From the major turning point onwards, experienced movie goers will be able to see the ending coming a mile away. But because of how Paddington is handled, the predictability becomes a charming stroll that doesn't get too boring because a smile will be on your face the whole time. At least that's the way it was for me. What I was afraid of was the obligatory need to modernize a beloved character and fill said character's dialogue with zany spins on modern pop culture dialect. Instead, Paddington is raised to be a classic English gentlemen by not only his guardian bears, voiced by Michael Gambon and Imelda Staunton, but by the various recordings and books left to them by a stereotypical yet kind classic English explorer. This makes him very much a creature out of time and is under the belief that the England he imagined is the one he will find. This is probably the best way to bring a beloved English childhood staple into modern times without forcing modern jargon on him. 

Aside from Ben Whishaw's wonderful voice he's given to Paddington, there was another element that really sold his charm in that people just accepted he's a talking bear. If this film had been made in the hands of an American director and an American studio, there would be an over exaggerated need to constantly remind people that there is a talking bear and that it is weird. In here, it shows people seem far more interested in other things rather than a talking animal. We do live in an age where anything can happen and a mindset that nothing is original anymore. So I guess people not really being too amazed about a talking bear isn't too far of a stretch. Let alone view a bear in the middle of a train station as a stranger rather than an animal. Which is another thing that the film really does delve in very well.

Despite its cliches, the movie contains some really deep themes of xenophobia and how much the family dynamic has changed so much over the years. This is exemplified by very nice performances from Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Brown, the hesitant and paranoid father, who is pretty much the individual who has to grow the most in the movie. He is immediately distrustful of Paddington, not because he's a bear but because he's a stranger. Judy, Mr. Brown's daughter, played by Madeleine Harris, shares some of his sentiment but it has more to do with her need to be popular by disassociating herself with things she believes are unpopular...like a talking bear. Mr. Brown pretty much represents the modern idea of xenophobia, as well as other phobias, while Judy could easily represent the youth culture in how old fashion things are not considered cool. Luckily these two are contrasted by a kindhearted Mrs. Brown, played by Sally Hawkins, and the youngest child Jonathan, played by Samuel Joslin. Mrs. Brown represents the open minded and caring side of people while Jonathan exemplifies the ideal of a child's sense of wonder. Mrs. Brown is initially the only one who acknowledges Paddington as a person and Jonathan is the only one who seems to be amazed that Paddington is talking bear. While it does sound like a cliche dynamic, it works well in selling a point home, especially for young children, which is the obvious target demographic.

That's not to say there isn't some adult humor in here. Which is what I find charming about, and very British, is that the adult humor in this children's film is handled with a lot more class than an American counterpart. The jokes are actually funny, and smart enough to illustrate a point rather than being funny just for the sake of being funny. Sure there are some of those toilet humor jokes you'd find in a normal kids film, but they are so seldom and limited only to Paddington's incapability to understand most things. But other than adult humor and adult themes, there really is some dark stuff explored in the film. Particularly Nicole Kidman's character, the Museum Curator, who is pretty much a well thought out yet cliche villain. What makes her stand out to me the most is that she outright wants to kill Paddington and stuff him to become an exhibit in her museum. That's pretty dark for a film about a talking bear with good manners. And would've been a traumatic way to explain how Teddy Bears are made.

Final Thoughts

All in all, this is probably one of the better made cliche predictable kids films made. Probably because it is a British Production, it appears so much more classier and deeper than other films in this demographic. The performances are playful and are not afraid of dealing with adult subject matters in a children's film. I know that Colin Firth was originally casted to play Paddington, and that he voluntarily dropped out after he thought his voice doesn't match with the cuddly bear. I'm so glad he did, because Ben Whishaw adds a youthful naiveté to the bear cub who is still more polite than most people. Although it is predictable, you'll find yourself smiling the whole way. Everyone should have a bear in their family, as long as that bear is Paddington.

SCORE: 7.5/10 - A nice kids film that deals with adult themes in a very subdued way