The character of Paddington Bear is based on a lone teddy bear noticed by the author Michael Bond on a shelf in a London store near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve 1956. Bond bought it for his wife and was inspired to write a story. The outline of the lonely bear at Paddington Station was inspired by old newsreels showing trainloads of child evacuees leaving London during World War II with labels around their necks and their possessions in small suitcases.
Karen Jankel, daughter of Paddington's creator, Michael Bond, was almost moved to tears after the first screening she saw. "For me, it brought to life the bear that was so real. And I think they got it absolutely right."
In the U.K., the popularity of this movie greatly enhanced the sale of marmalade and oranges in the first half of 2015 and led to a rise in downloads of marmalade recipes.
Nicole Kidman's agent initially considered rejecting the part of Millicent before passing it on to Kidman. The agent casually mentioned the offer, thinking Kidman would turn it down immediately. However, to her surprise, she was met by an enthusiastic reaction from Kidman, who was eager to appear in this movie, as she is a childhood fan of Michael Bond's books.
Nicole Kidman learned to throw and twirl knives for her role as Millicent. She has noted that during shooting, the producers told her to tone down her knife-throwing tricks, as it was considered too intense for a children's movie. Ultimately, the scenes featuring her skills were cut out of this movie.
Michael Bond: (At around seventeen minutes) The man in the café who raises a glass to Paddington as he passes in a taxi is the author of the original Paddington stories.
Javier Marzan: The man who stood in for Paddington on-set also appeared as Buckingham Palace Sentry.