Directed by Paul King
November 2014
Paddington (PG)
Starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman, Ben Wishaw, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent
Paddington journeys from Darkest Peru to London to find a family, leaving behind his elderly Aunt Lucy. Paddington is a bear with a taste for marmalade and perfect manners. He is adopted by the Brown family who help him try to find the adventurer who introduced his family to civilisation after encountering Paddington's aunt and uncle many years before.
Major credit to the production team who have the tone just right. Not too knowing but not too tame and soppy either.
Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins are Mr and Mrs Brown - so happy to see Sally Hawkins embrace the family business - her mum and dad did the kids classic 'The Jolly Postman' book, and she's a children's book author. Bonneville is even more perfect and his very funny disguise as a cleaning lady provides the film with one of its PG features ( 'mild innuendo'!)
Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman and Peter Capaldi have a blast as the baddies and the film's political message of London as a city which welcomes foreigners is delightfully anti-xenophobic. Julie Walters proves her expertise in portraying elderly women again and even the kids are not too obnoxious.
A lovely film, that deserves to be a big hit with kids and nostalgic adults alike!
9/10
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