A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.
- Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 3 wins & 7 nominations total
Featured reviews
Written by Paul King and Hamish McColl and directed by King, "Paddington" is a seamless blend of live action and animation, cheery in tone and beautiful to look at, thanks to the highly stylized art direction and production design that adorn the film. The humor ranges from the brittle to the overly broad (Bonneville dressed as an old scrubwoman sounds a discordant note in an otherwise fairly sophisticated screenplay). The movie also includes some subtle little homages to "My Fair Lady," "Home Alone," "Mission Impossible" and, most notably, Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins."
Fast-paced, well acted, and with warmth and charm to spare, "Paddington" is a whimsical treat that should appeal almost as much to oldsters as it does to youngsters.
Visually it is a delightful CGI representation of the eponymous bear (politely voiced by Ben Wishaw) and deploys some neat cinematic devices; script-wise it combines humour, word play, and sharp allusions to the plight of the immigrant; while acting- wise we have a slew of marvellous British performers including Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Julie Walters as the adults in Paddington's new family and Nicole Kidman who has other plans for our furry friend.
In a movie full of delights, the bathroom scene is a classic. A sequel or even a series is inevitable and would be most welcome.
We're presented with the amusing and entertaining adventures of this strange bear which comes to a big city in search of a new life, but ends up in a lot of trouble, more or less due to his actions. It's a movie which doesn't have an extraordinary plot, but it's enough to keep you interested while making you laugh with almost everything the cute bear does. By the way, the CGI is top notch, and together with the actors' performance, create a good movie for everybody to enjoy. As downsides, it tends to exaggerate in many scenes, while being very simplistic when speaking about the "evil" part which hunts Paddington.
Still, it manages to create a very enjoyable atmosphere which makes this movie a very good watch, especially during winter holidays.
To my delight, this is not Paddington's case.
Paddington is a brilliant exception to the dullness, soulless bunch of animated movies for kids out there. This is so mostly so because the original story is there, Paddington and the the Brown's family's souls and personalities are there, they feel modern and contemporary, but not too far removed from the original. Pablo Grillo's animation is fantastic per se, but there are many amazing animators out there; what sets this film animation apart is the magic infused into it, so we come to see Paddington as Paddington, not as a puppet, not as a CGI character, not as a fictional. Paddington feels real in this movie, as real as any of the actors.
The ambiance of the film is whimsical, it mixes elements that are very modern but also capturing a bit of the old London where the original story is set. The film has a great tempo, is full of fancy and fun, innocence and naughtiness, havoc and tenderness, action and stillness, happiness and sadness, adventure, laughter and family love.
The cast in this film is great, per se, but that not always guarantees a good movie in the end. However, all the actors are great and believable in this film. I especially liked Nicole Kidman in her evil sassy ruthless manipulative and sweet villain role.
The music is also fantastic with plenty of Latin rhythms throughout the film. Paddington is Peruvian, after all.
Paddington is not only a very sweet, fun an enjoyable film. It also has a great message about accepting those who are different and welcoming those who need of our care because have nowhere to go; two things that we should be reminded of in these troubled times when refugees are sometimes treated as an "it" not as Paddington. There should be more Brown families in the world.
I was expecting another dumb movie for kids. To my delight, Paddington is a a tender fun-filled magical film that made me feel a kid again.
Cute is an understatement to describe Paddington Bear: he is simply warm and cuddly and I fell for him wholeheartedly. I may even add PB to my Christmas list of wants, even at my great old age.
Adult comedies can engender one or two laughs, if you're lucky, but this family fun trip had me and the audience laughing throughout (apart from the odd serious moments where it wouldn't have been right to do so).
Everything was right: the colours, the cast (except I'm not a fan of Nicole Kidman: her pert nose, pert bum or whispered speech), and again...I was entranced by the great warmth of the entire piece.
Folks, go see this one, whatever your age, with kids or without. You'll all love it, I'm sure.
My hubby hadn't wanted to see it, but he thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended. I'm sure it will grace many TV screens at many Christmases for many years to come.
Did you know
- TriviaThe 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.
- GoofsThe first shot of the fictional 'Westbourne Oak' tube station clearly shows the red-tiled name of the real Maida Vale station.
- Quotes
Paddington: Mrs Brown says that in London everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in. I think she must be right - because although I don't look like anyone else, I really do feel at home. I'll never be like other people, but that's alright, because I'm a bear. A bear called Paddington.
- Crazy creditsThe credits feature the assurance "No bears were harmed in the making of this film."
- ConnectionsFeatured in Film '72: Episode dated 5 November 2014 (2014)
- SoundtracksImperial Echoes
Written by William H. Myddleton (as Arnold Safroni-Middleton)
Arranged by Natalie Holt (as Natalie Holt)
Copyright 1913 by Boosey & Co Ltd
By Permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd, An Imagem Company
- How long is Paddington?Powered by Alexa
- In what time period is the film supposed to take place?
- Why would the presence of a bear (let alone a talking one!) in the middle of a public, crowded train station go practically unnoticed by everyone around?
- Why can Paddington speak (in pristine, posh RADA english no less!), let alone read and write, and why is there literally no scientific interest shown in him for this remarkable ability that completely defies biology, throughout the entire film?
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Gấu Paddington
- Filming locations
- Costa Rica(Peru)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $55,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $76,271,832
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $18,966,676
- Jan 18, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $326,088,587
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1