Palpable sense of sadness and loss

LAUNCHED by a much-loved children’s book, A Bear Called Paddington(1958) by Michael Bond, which spawned yet more books and a clutch of TV series, Paddington Bear is not a brand to be messed with lightly. The original stories’ marmalade-flavoured, quintessentially British tone of voice and the ursine orphan’s episodic adventures don’t seem immediately feature-friendly given the tales’ lack of superpowers, princesses or stuff blowing up.

This film is actually quite charming, thoughtful and as cuddly as a plush toy, albeit one with a few modern gizmos thrown in.

These include a contemporary period setting, an extended narrative arc featuring an invented baddie (Kidman) to add tension, some winking jokes and allusions only grown-ups will get.

It strikes a judicious balance between honouring the spirit of the books and servicing the needs of the target demographic.

Inevitably, the opening stretch gussies up Paddington’s backstory. Where the original book was content to merely tell the reader that our hero was a stowaway on a boat from “Darkest Peru” raised by an aunt now in a home for retired bears, the film shows us this and more.

First, a mock newsreel unfolds, telling how Paddington’s Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo (voiced by Imelda Staunton and Michael Gambon) met a mysterious British explorer who introduced them, cargo-cult-style, to the wonder that is marmalade and also helpfully left behind a gramophone that taught them English.

But years later, by which time their young, orphaned and notably disaster-prone nephew has come to live with Lucy and Pastuzo, the latter is tragically killed in an earthquake and this sets the young bear on his way to London. But at Paddington Station, he finds the locals less welcoming than he’d expected.

Kind-hearted Mrs Brown (Sally Hawkins), a children’s book illustrator, takes a shine to the little bear, whom she names after the station. She manages to persuade her stiff-backed insurance-assessor husband Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville) to let Paddington move in with them .

Meanwhile, a taxidermist (Kidman) gets wind of Paddington’s presence and determines to acquire him for the collection at the Natural History Museum. To this end, she recruits help from the Browns’ grumpy neighbour Mr Curry (Peter Capaldi).

Indeed, the great achievement of writer-director Paul King, who comes more from a TV comedy and pop video background, is his ability to work with a broad palette here, in both emotional and technical terms.

In between the knockabout physical humor, there’s a palpable sense of sadness and loss, and a running theme about displacement.

A similar playfulness runs through the movie. A dollhouse in the attic opens up to reveal all the residents of the Brown household, moving from room to room in a way that directly quotes, as does the musician device, any number of Wes Anderson movies.

The production design by Gary Williamson and costume design by Lindy Hemming straddle the gray area between realism and luridly coloured exaggeration.

Performances across the board sing in the same key, with everyone a bit hyped up and overacting just enough to make it fun. Hawkins stands out, while Bonneville shows off a comic side.

The “acting” from Paddington himself (CGI animators at London’s Framestore), is expressive although some of the fur movement is a little ‘computery’. Whishaw's gentle tenor voice has such a touching fragility to it that one wonders how they ever thought anyone else could have done it better. – Reuters/ Hollywood Reporter