Tweeness is an underrated virtue. OK, sure, when that hand is overplayed in any film, let alone a family film, it can be overwhelming and off-puttingly disingenuous. And yet, if you get the levels right, it can be a powerful force that helps you forget that your world may be going to Hell in a handbasket for a few hours as it leaves you feeling toasty and safe. Plenty of films over the last couple of decades that have set themselves in England has locked into the whole cozy, tea and crumpets fantasy world, with the early Harry Potter entries, the Narina films and virtually everything Aardman has ever done leaning heavily on dry, British wit and lovable eccentrics.
However, in 2014, a new champion rose to out-twee them all and all he had to his name was a big red hat, a battered suitcase, a blue duffle coat and a spare marmalade sandwich just for emergencies. This warrior’s name was Paddington Bear, and you are not prepared for the irresistible warmth you will feel in his wake.
In darkest Peru, explorer Montgomery Clyde discovers a rare species of bear that’re not only intelligent, but are capable of human speech and have a deep love for marmalade that they consume like more lovable and cuddlier crack addicts. Naming them Lucy and Pastuzo, he eventually leaves to go back home, but tells them that they are always welcome in London if they ever want to visit.
40 years pass, and we find that Pastuzo and Lucy are living with their little, curious nephew – but after a disaster turns their idyllic lives topsy-turvy, the little bear is sent to London via a cargo ship in order to find a new home and family to live with. Of course, London 40 years ago may have been perfectly receptive to the idea of adopting a random wild animal, but these days people are a bit more wary of such things – even if the bear in question is wearing an adorable hat. However, while he patiently waits at Paddington station for someone to adopt him, the little bear eventually runs into the Browns.
While risk adverse patriarch, Henry, wants nothing to do with the fuzzy little orphan and typically sullen teen daughter, Judy, is to scared of being embarrassed to care, mega-hearted mother, Mary, and adventurous son Jonathan manage to sway the nay-sayers around to taking in the newly named Paddington just for one night. However, despite being ludicrously lovable (and an utter disaster zone), there are dark forces moving against Paddington in the shape of Millicent, an obsessive taxidermist working for the Natural History Museum, has targeted the furry, little Peruvian to become her next, stuffed masterpiece. Can Paddington and the Browns manage to discover whatever happened to Montgomery Clyde, find the bear a real home and avoid the clutches of a crazed taxidermist?
Paddington turns out to be a movie full of joyous surprises, not least because director Paul King is renowned for directing every episode of surrealist masterpiece, The Mighty Boosh. But while some use that sense of innocent, wonder-filled, “Britishness” just to create a quaint backdrop to their fantasy shenanigans, King ensures that he weaponises it much in the same manner that Peter Lord and the boffins down at Aardman do as they hone it into a surprisingly razor sharp edge to both mock and embrace the way of life. In fact, on more than one occasion, King feels like hes paying due to the compositions and understatement of Wes Anderson and as we all know that Anderson likes a quirky kids film as much as the next guy, it feels very fitting. But between beautifully pitched jokes about the weather (Londoners apparently have 107 different ways to say “it’s raining”) and an onslaught of British character and comedy actors, Paddington may be genuinely one of the best and smartest family movies that not only delivers laser precision humour and a cavalcade of feels, it’s also savvy with the balance between the two.
Of course, the star of the show is Paddington himself, an absurdly huggable mess of pixels that manage to evoke all the wide-eyed innocence of a true outsider while still having the comic timing of Charlie Chaplin. Whole set pieces that see him inadvertently causing wholesale destruction via a Rube Golbergian string of events and plain old bad luck nail the funny bone with ruthless accuracy, be it the apocalyptic flooding of a bathroom or a manic chase of a pickpocket bizarrely played by Peep Show’s Super Hans. Also gifting the Peruvian bruin with the vocal chords of Ben Wishaw proves to be something of an incredible masterstroke as he manages to find the innocence in Paddington that doesn’t grate on the nerves or have him be utterly clueless just for the sake of it. Additionally, the movie is smart to have actual stakes involved, with a legitimately shocking events occurring that suggest that Paddington is horribly vulnerable, especially when in the sights of Nicole Kidman’s harsh-bobbed villain.
While other human casts may tend to be beaten into submission by the blinding glow of the cuteness of their anthropomorphicized lead, the Paddington gang manage to mostly hold their own. Sally Hawkins switches into pure children’s TV presenter mode when portraying the kindly Mary, which admittedly means that Hugh Bonneville’s fussy Henry and Julie Walters’ brash, Scottish housekeeper get to nab all the best lines and moments (a flashback to Henry’s more wayward years is pure genius). But the kids aren’t annoying and the procession of comedic faces such as Matt Lucas, Simon Farnaby and Alice Lowe offer up a bunch of odd characters for the film to play with. However, I have to say that compared to everyone else on hand here, Kidman’s antagonist ends up being fairly weak despite her murderous intentions and she’s certainly no match for other, animal hating harridans such as Cruella De Vill or Mrs. Tweedy.
However, arguably the most affecting thing about Paddington (other than the sight of him Mission: Impossible-ing his way up an air shaft with a pair of dust busters on high suction) is that there’s a genuinely thoughtful story about immigration on hand here. Oh, don’t worry, it’s not an intrusive, preachy message, but in actuality an organic celebration in diversity which makes sense when you consider Paddington’s heritage. As a result, its all part of a delicious, heart warming stew that not only will keep the little ‘uns enthralled, but has more than enough meat on its furry little bones to keep big kids enthralled too.
Anyone who would turn their nose up at such a winning family flick immediately deserves the hardest of hard stares. But with its extremely knowing ways and a main character that’s impossible not to fall in love with, this is yet another slice of twee, British magnificence that you certainly won’t want to keep under your hat.
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