Hello :-)
I don’t know if
it’s the same for you, but nothing from my childhood is good anymore. Fireman Sam is all CGI weirdness, Pokémon have got a whole load of new
Pokémons I don’t recognise and don’t even get me started on the recent Postman Pat movie… Childhood nostalgia
is the most potent kind and when a classic like Paddington is brought up to date it’s always going to be met with
trepidation.
Thankfully Paddington is absolutely lovely. It’s a gorgeous mix of old and new, perfectly
charming and really, really funny.
A young bear
from Peru with a penchant for marmalade travels to London in search of a home.
Finding himself at Paddington station, he begins to realise that life in the
big smoke is not all he had imagined. This is until he meets the Brown family,
who see the tag around his neck that reads ‘Please look after this bear’ offer
him a place to stay.
The set up is so
marvellous Paddington will have even
the biggest curmudgeon on side within minutes. The brilliant newsreel footage,
the sweet relationship between Uncle Pastuzo, Aunt Lucy and Paddington and all
the little details that round the world out. It’s such a well realised vision,
you can’t help but care about these characters and they’re only on screen for a
few minutes.
The comedy is
top notch. There are some lovely visual gags, some good old fashioned slapstick
and the vast majority of the material works on a level for children and parents
alike. The script is great and bounces the narrative along at a perfect pace to
keep even the most distractible children engaged.
Paddington is anchored by sterling performances
from the central cast. The Browns are wonderful; Sally Hawkins is a delight as
ever, Hugh Bonneville looks like he’s having a whale of a time as the uptight
patriarch and Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin are great as the Brown
juniors. They make for a convincing family unit with whom you want to spend
time.
There are loads
of lovely supporting turns delivered by the cream of British comedy. Julie
Walters, Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Alice Lowe, Simon Farnaby and a whole host
of other faces you’ll recognise.
Nicole Kidman is
brilliant as the film’s villain. With her sights so firmly set on our young
bear she is a genuinely scary baddie, like a taxidermy obsessed T1000. She
properly throws herself into Millicent’s snake skin, stiletto heeled boots and
it’s marvellous.
Ben Whishaw was
an eleventh hour replacement for Colin Firth as the voice of the eponymous bear
and I can’t begin to tell you how good of a decision that was. Whishaw has a
voice as soothing as tea and buttered crumpets but still possesses the youthful
exuberance you need in a children’s character like Paddington. The character’s
CGI work is really good, you soon forget you’re watching a cartoon bear and
fall a little bit in love with him.
Paddington isn’t a Christmas film (well… there’s
some snow and a bit of a Christmas tree right at the very end) but it does have
the warm glow of something like Miracle
on 34th Street (the nice bits, obviously not the bits where
they’re trying to section him). When the biggest Christmas film we have this
year is the hideous Nativity 3: Dude,
Where's My Donkey something as delightful as Paddington is a thing to be cherished.
I hate the
misconception that films for children are low hanging fruit, that patently
isn’t true. It’s hard to keep kids engaged for an hour and a half, let alone
entertain their parents at the same time but Paddington does both. It’s a lovely surprise that stays faithful to
Michael Bond’s much-loved books but gives us laughs for a modern audience.
It’s gorgeous, if
you’re looking for something to take the kids to while they’re off this
Christmas, it’s perfect. Just don’t blame me if you have a hankering for marmalade
on toast afterwards…
That’s all
lovely, now let’s have some
Reasons to be
Cheerful…
1. Colin
Trevorrow has sent us all a Christmas present! A badass picture of Chris Pratt and a Raptor anyone?
2. The trailer for the new Pixar flick Inside Out has
been released :-) Cars 2 was a bit
all over the place but I still have love for Pixar and this looks like it could
be a lot of fun.
3. In more
trailer news the red band trailer for Kingsman is out. It’s usually a cause for concern when a film’s release gets pushed back
(this was originally intended for release in October 2014) but this looks good.
It’s going to be a nice bit of counter programming for Valentine’s day.
Well that’s all
for today.
Goodbye till
next time :-)
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