Rent Paddington (2014)

Charming, funny film about a bear from darkest Peru (but nothing like the books) - Paddington review by PV

This film is a charming take on the story of Paddington, a bear from darkest Peru, who gets found at Paddington station by the Brown family. They take him in, and much chaos ensues in a gentle, jolly way.

Well, that's the books. But the picture books had no real plot, just gentle adventures and vignettes; so, necessarily, a full-length movie has to create a three act structure - and introduce obstacles for the main character to overcome, largely in the form of Nicole Kidman's ice queen taxidermist baddie. Hey ho...

The script here is sharp, with several laugh out loud lines and sequences, the characters very well drawn and there's some class acting on display - and the wonderful stage and Shakespeare actor Ben Wishaw (who played the definitive Richard II in the Hollow Crown TV series) voices Paddington himself. Plus some of it's set at the Natural History Museum, just about my favourite place in London! It's probably the last time Dippy will be on screen too as that fake/plaster skeleton will soon be replaced by a real one of a blue whale.

Re the time this film is set - well, it does what very many adaptations of old kids' books do and goes for a non-specific fantasy time, where kids have ipods yet no-one has a mobile phone or computer. It works here - in a way it really didn't in the recent awful TV version of Professor Branestawm.

There is clear influence from silent comedy in this film - and I bet the film-makers went back to Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and others, and copied frame for frame the expressions and pauses. But nothing wrong with that!

Now the negatives. In the books, the Browns are a modest family living in (I think) a semi-detached house with a little garden. Here, they live in a stucco mansion which would cost well over £3 million in today's market, maybe £5 million. Julie Walters plays Mrs Bird who in the books is a cockney, I think - here she is Scottish (why? To appeal to the US market no doubt). Occasionally the movie edges over into smugland - especially as the cosy upper class Browns are portrayed as 'normal' whereas Peter Capaldi's single man who lived with his mother unto, she dies is portrayed as a baddie and/or fool (that is offensive - why is it OK to be abusive to single men like this in a way it would not be acceptable to any other group?) And then there are the occasional subtle pro-mass-immigration lines smuggled in - much waffle about 'everyone can fit in here in London' - and that all grates.

BUT it could have been a LOT worse, as many attempts at movies from old kids' books show. So a well-deserved 4 stars.

Good family fun - Paddington review by JD

For the very young (4 - 8) there are too many scary scenes, Nicole Kidman and Peter Capaldi both dramatically play their baddie roles (Capaldi strangely not in the credits). For adults there are scenes of severe silliness that will appeal like riding the bath down the stairs on a huge flood water. I don't expect many between 12 and 22 will be looking at this. There were some disappointments. Doing animated fur is obviously difficult. Sometimes it looked OK but then kept changing. A lot of moderately sad scenes which seemed out of proportion to the fewer moderately jolly ones and Hugh Bonneville not good casting.

Fun Filled Family Film - Paddington review by GI

Paddington Bear is almost a British institution as most children grew up reading the famous books by Michael Bond. This live action film adaptation really nails the character, not only of the bear from darkest Peru but also of the human characters - The Browns, Mrs Bird and Mr Curry. The great thing is the film is hilarious, heartwarming and thoroughly great family entertainment. After his home in Peru is destroyed in an earthquake a young and rare bear stows away on a ship to London to find the explorer who first discovered his family years before and taught them English. But alone and afraid in London he is taken in by the Browns who name him Paddington after finding him at the rail station but the nasty Millicent, a taxidermist covets Paddington for his rarity and intends to kill and stuff him. Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Julie Walters are all on fine comedy form and Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman play the baddies with Ben Whishaw voicing Paddington. A family film that warms the cockles especially as a Christmas time one that is simply wonderful.

What a delight! - Paddington review by RM

My partner and I watched this on a whim and despite being a few decades past its intended demographic we found it to be absolutely delightful.

We were in fits throughout at the slapstick adventures and the cultural misunderstandings, while also genuinely moved at how the film tackled issues like the death of a family member and coping with new surroundings. It also dramatised the importance of slowing down our busy lives to be kind and showed how love brings life to a home.

The top-notch special effects never overwhelm the story and there are lots of little visual jokes adding to the fun (the family members hiding in arches under a set of stairs, each perfectly matched to their size for instance).

I see another reviewer found the message about welcoming diversity stuck in their craw, while forgetting that London is probably the most diverse city in the world (albeit nowhere near as colourful and pristine as portrayed).

We'll be buying a copy on DVD to enjoy again and again.