Paddington is a
carefully crafted, well intentioned, entirely adorable movie that my whole
family enjoyed. If you’re the kind of
person who won’t see a kids’ movie without kids present, go make or find some
and sit them down for Paddington.
Here’s the setup: Paddington is a walking, talking
anthropomorphic bear who journeys from darkest Peru to modern London, there to
find a family who will love him. Upon
his arrival, he meets the Browns, led by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville
(who got my wife’s attention) and Sally Hawkins (who got mine).
[A quick aside about my feelings for Sally Hawkins: I first
noticed her in Happy-Go-Lucky, in which she played a willfully
cheerful and optimistic woman who, even though she often exasperated those
around her, raised spirits and souls through her example. Next, I saw her in Made in Dagenham, in which she played a union organizer of uncommon
wiliness and determination. Sally
Hawkins could play Hannibal Lecter, and I’d root for her to find a particularly
charming Chianti.]
Mr. Brown’s not too keen on inviting a bear into his home,
but Mrs. Brown overrules him and opens the door, much to the delight of their
boy and horror of their girl. What
follows is a lovely story of a little bear trying to fit in, trying to find a
home, and trying to elude the devilish taxidermist / commando / all-around
villain Nicole Kidman.
[Another aside, this time about actors, villains, and
children’s movies: You can tell a lot about an actor by how he or she
approaches the role of villain in a children’s movie. On the one hand, you look at David Cross in Alvin and the Chipmunks. He’s clearly slumming it, holding his nose
while he goes through the motions and collects the paycheck. On the other, you admire the gold standard:
Peter Dinklage in Underdog. Dinklage understands that a serious actor can
take portraying a comic villain in a children’s film seriously, hitting just
the right balance of menace and harmlessness.
It is hard to do, and only the best can pull it off.]
Ms. Kidman makes for a wonderful comic villain: evil enough
to give the climax real stakes, yet icily silly enough to avoid actually
frightening young viewers. She measures
up to the Dinklage Standard of age-appropriate villainy, turning in her best performance
since The Others. It helps that she has the good taste to
recruit, for a henchman, the wonderful Peter Capaldi (In the Loop) – another actor who absolutely nails it.
I sense a theme emerging.
Producer David Heyman lined up top talent for Paddington, from voice actors like Ben Whishaw, Imelda Staunton,
and Michael Gambon, to the onscreen performers I’ve noted above. The talent lineup, however, doesn’t stop with
the cast. Paddington the Bear, himself,
is a wonder of computer animated and practical effects. Falling somewhere between photorealistic and
teddy bear, he’s like a real bear, but with the rough edges sanded down and
wearing an adorable hat. The costuming,
the set design, the color palette, everything about this film is captivating,
serving to create a world just real enough to keep things grounded, yet magical
enough to whisk us away.
In short, Paddington
is a wonderful, wonderful film. Bravo to
director Paul King and everyone who came together to make this gem. I loved it.
