Paddington

Last night, my siblings and I saw the new “Paddington” movie, but before I talk about that, I should probably give my thoughts on the previous movies. Let’s start with the first “Paddington” movie, released in 2014.

When Paddington, voiced by Ben Whishaw, arrives in London (after he loses most of his family in a natural disaster back in Peru), he at first is lost with so many strangers and obviously, a little overwhelmed by the whole “bright lights, big city” feel. Reagan Gavin Rasquinha said in his review, “Nevertheless, he does have a taste for all things British (with an accent to match and a love for marmalade too) and stoically decides to wait it out at Paddington Station until hopefully, he will meet a family which will let him into their home and make him part of the family unit.”

What helps him is the signs he wears around his neck that says: “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” Soon, Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville), Mrs. Brown (Sally Hawkins), and their kids (Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin) notice him and decide to take him home. Mr. Brown says that Paddington can stay for only one night. Mrs. Bird, played by Julie Walters, manages the Browns’ house in her own strange but effective way. Rasquinha said, “Mrs. Brown learns that Paddington - a name she coined for him back at the train station - is quite literally, a rare bear and helps him to connect with his past in order to give him emotional grounding.”

Millicent the taxidermist, played by Nicole Kidman, finds out about Paddington’s rare breed and wants to turn him into her latest specimen, stuffed with sawdust and preserved for the future. The Browns and obviously Paddington will avoid her by any means necessary.

The unified combination of animation with live action is the best part of the film. Besides gently delivering the message about the importance of belonging, the cheerful film score also keeps the moving going nicely.

I believe my sister got this from the library and we checked it out together. I loved the movie, but I didn’t know this was based on a children’s book because I never read that growing up. You should see this movie because everyone can watch it and love it. Especially with Kidman playing a very believable villain.

To my surprise, they came out with “Paddington 2” in 2017. The first film was a surprise hit with a great message: in a big city, even a bear from Peru can find a home and fit in. Nick Levine said in his review, “Once again co-written and directed by Paul King, who cut his teeth on The Mighty Boosh, this sequel offers a similar mix of visual gags that brings Michael Bond’s beloved bear gently into the 21st century.”

The film begins with Paddington thinking of what to buy his Aunt Lucy for her 100^th birthday. Visting a local antiques shop, he sees a pop-up book showing the great London landmarks that his Peruvian clan has always wanted to see. Levine said, “Paddington starts a window-cleaning business so he can buy the book, but while he’s filling his savings jar, he’s framed for theft by washed-up luvvie Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) who wants the book for himself.” After a trail with a funny cameo from Richard Ayoade as a useless expert witness, Paddington is sent to prison.

Even the prison scenes are surprisingly filled with warmth and well thought out humor. Paddington has a rocky start when he accidentally ruins his inmates’ clothes, but makes amends by sharing his marmalade recipe with the prison’s tough cook Knuckles McGinty, played by Brendan Gleeson. While he’s in prison bringing together a diverse group of criminals, the Brown family are trying to prove Paddington’s innocence by gathering locals played by British comedy favorites like Sanjeev Bhaskar and Jessica Hynes.

This film is a fantasy. Levine said, “It’s set in a London where everyone lives in a fancy Notting Hill townhouse and chats to each other on the street. But like its predecessor, this film never feels woolly: it’s filled with entertaining CGI set-pieces and has an admirable underlying message about the importance of community spirit.” The result is another heartwarming and completely lovable film with jokes that will make kids and adults laugh.

I checked this out from the library and my brother and I saw this together. We loved this film a lot and I think that everyone should see this if they saw the first one and enjoyed it. You will love this film too, I promise.

Once again, to my surprise, they made a third movie, “Paddington in Peru,” released five days ago. Compared to the second film, this one may seem a little more like standard kid’s film. The second film is still one of the most amazing and emotionally smart children’s movies of the last 20 years, so whatever came next was always likely going to be in its shadow. “Paddington in Peru” is a perfectly likable film on its own, even if it’s a step down from the two films that were directed by Paul King.

This time, Paddington flies back home to Peru to look for his Aunt Lucy, voiced by Imelda Staunton, who has gone missing somewhere in the Amazon rainforest. With a kind of unbalanced riverboat captain (Antonio Banderas) as their guide and his daughter (Carla Tous), Paddington and family (Mrs. Brown is now played by Emily Mortimer) fly to the jungles of darkest Peru on an innocent journey not only to find Aunt Lucy, but the lost city of El Dorado.

Mattie Lucas said in her review, “Part of the charm of the Paddington films has always been how his inherent kindness affects those he meets and how his sometimes hapless attempts to fit in and be British sometimes end in disaster. Paddington in Peru doesn't really afford Paddington much time for such things, and while he's still as clumsy as ever, the isolated nature of the story doesn't allow him to touch many lives along the way.” Olivia Colman is enjoyable as a particularly suspicious nun, but this film is more concerned with grand adventure and Paddington’s main mission to find where he belongs. While he does eventually find where he came from, obviously he realizes he’s been home all along.

Lucas noted, “It's a plot that resembles, somewhat surprisingly, Kung Fu Panda 3, which also found its bear hero discovering where he came from, only to choose to stay with the family he's come to know. Of course, this is all done with Paddington's signature British manners, which always make for some cute moments, but it doesn't have that colorfully whimsical spark that made the first two films so magical.” Hands down, fans will enjoy spending another two hours watching this lovable bear and his family, and parents may be happy to watch a family film kindly easy on obnoxious (and dated) pop culture references, even if his latest adventure doesn’t really reach the level we’ve come to expect.

My brother wanted to see a film last night, so I thought this would be a film that all of us would enjoy, and I was right. I had came back from work, but because I was tired, I feel like I fell asleep at certain moments, but I still found myself enjoying the film. Go to the theaters and see this because it doesn’t seem to be marketed enough, so check it out. If you loved the last two films, you should definitely not skip this one over.

The creators already confirmed there will be a fourth film, but whenever that is released, I will be looking forward to it. These films have all been good, so make sure not to miss any one of them, especially if you have read the books.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned this Friday for the continuation of “Black History Movie Month.”