Paddington (2014)
12:23 PM
A Little Bear will Make a Big Splash
Paddington is directed and written by Paul King (Little Crackers, Come Fly with Me) and stars Ben Whishaw (Skyfall), Imelda Staunton (Maleficent), Tim Downie (The King's Speech) and Madeleine Worrall (Bunny and the Bull). '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'. How well have Heyday films looked after this world-famous bear?
Paddington was a really pleasant surprise for me. I heard tremendous things about it (98% on Rotten Tomatoes) and thought that I had to see it once it was available on DVD. So I took the chance and I was incredibly impressed! This has to be one of my favourite films of 2014. It's weird as I'm British but I've never been a huge fan of British family movies - I just always think Hollywood does it better. However, this film proves my theory wrong as this is just as good as any family release that I saw in 2014.
The story was just very heart-warming. I was constantly smiling throughout - there wasn't a moment where I was counting down the minutes until the end of the film. It wasn't boring at all! The story moved at a nice pace and had some nice meanings - everyone should fit in no matter who they are and what they look like. The film was very funny as well - there were jokes for both young and older viewers. There were a couple of stand out scenes for me. One is where there is a dolls house that opens up and shows all of the rooms in the house with all of the characters in it. The second is the one that was inspired by Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. I loved how they basically copied that scene for a younger audience - it fitted in really well and was pretty iconic.
The animation of Paddington was also very good. He was like a real bear! Unlike films like 'Hop' and 'Alvin & The Chipmunks', Paddington actually looked like he was really interacting with the characters. All of the acting was also very strong. My favourite performances came from Nicole Kidman who was an excellent villain. I also loved Imelda Staunton who was very witty and made me laugh quite a few times. However, even though he was good, I think Ben Whishaw was the wrong choice for Paddington's voice. I think a younger person may have suited the role - that's the only issue I had with the film which proves that is is really good!
Paddington shows a positive representation of the UK and manages to be a British film that can appeal to international markets. The story is what a family film should be and will probably go down as a classic. The acting is brilliant and some of the scenes are iconic. Heyday films have looked after this bear really well and continued Paddington's famous legacy.
4.5 STARS
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