Paddington
BBB.5
(out of 5)
Michael Bond’s delightful character creation, a veritable institution in England that was inspired by the sight of refugee children arriving in London in World War II, is brought to the screen with dapper and delightful results. Decades after a British explorer meets a two very hospitable bears in “Darkest Peru”, the ursine couple send their young nephew to London when their habitat is threatened, assuring the youngster that he will be more than welcome when he arrives as the explorer told them so. The bear shows up looking for a home and is greeted by a public both unphased at the sight of a talking animal in a red hat and also unwilling to take him in. That is until adorable, befuddled do-gooder Sally Hawkins spots him and insists on giving him a room despite the resistance of her conservative husband (Hugh Bonneville) and skeptical children. The idea does not seem like a good one considering that the newly named Paddington can barely use the bathroom without destroying the neighbourhood, but their affection for him grows while the threat of an ambitious taxidermist with ties to his past (played with comedic relish by a wonderful Nicole Kidman) looms large. The overall effect is not very deep, but the smooth script, likely brought to its level of delicious wit because of an uncredited rewrite by Emma Thompson, and the spritely direction make it bounce along, and the whole thing is never less than thoroughly charming. For anyone with a childhood familiarity with the character, they will find themselves waxing nostalgic, particularly as Ben Whishaw‘s voice work as the title character is perfectly achieved.
StudioCanal, Anton Capital Entertainment, TF1 Films Production, Canal+, Cine+, TF1, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Heyday Films, The Weinstein Company
Directed by Paul King
Screen story by Hamish McColl, Paul King, Screenplay by Paul King, based on the character Paddington Bear by Michael Bond
Cinematography by Erik Wilson
Produced by David Heyman
Music by Nick Urata
Production Design by Gary Williamson
Costume Design by Lindy Hemming
Film Editing by Mark Everson
Cast Tags: Alice Lowe, Barry Ashton, Ben Whishaw,Catherine Shepherd, Cleo Sylvestre, David McKail, Dominic Coleman, Eddie Nestor, Geoffrey Palmer, Gus Brown, Hugh Bonneville, Iain Mitchell,Imelda Staunton, James Bachman, Javier Marzan,Jim Broadbent, Jonathan Derbyshire, Jude Wright,Julie Walters, Justin Edwards, Kayvan Novak,Kenneth Hadley, Llewella Gideon, Lottie Steer,Madeleine Harris,Madeleine Worrall, Mary Roscoe,Matt King, Matt Lucas,Michael Bond, Michael Gambon, Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi, Ross Boatman, Rufus Jones,Sally Hawkins, Samuel Joslin, Sean Bridgeman,Simon Farnaby, Steve Edge, Steve Oram, Tarik Blake, Theresa Watson,Tim Downie, Toby Williams, Tom Meeten,Will Smith
British Academy Award Nominations
Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film
