Paddington

Composite Score: 81.65

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Tim Downie, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Ben Whishaw, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Nicole Kidman, and Peter Capaldi

Director: Paul King

Writers: Paul King, Hamish McColl, and Michael Bond

Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy

MPAA Rating: PG for mild action and rude humor

Box Office: $282.38 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                One of the most wholesome and hopeful films of the last decade, Paddington manages to go beyond being a basic family film into something that resonates deeply with the human spirit. It touches on concepts of family, hospitality, and environmentalism all while telling a hilariously entertaining story about a Peruvian bear with a British accent who moves to London after an earthquake destroys his family home.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Paddington contains very little to be down on, but at times, its humor does stray into excessively childish or even problematic territory. Rude humor happens at various points throughout the film, as should be expected of a live action children’s film; however, the moment that raises some questions as to its appropriateness and potential to be problematic is when Mr. Brown is forced to dress as a woman to help Paddington find information about the expedition to Peru where his family was discovered. The scene is played for comedy, and the security guard’s lack of realization even when faced with Mr. Brown up close and personal does elicit a slight chuckle. I also recognize that “cross-dressing” is a common trope in British comedy, and that’s a much larger can of worms than I am looking to open up right now. All I want to point out is the questionable nature of making a man in drag into a comedy bit.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                Paddington’s overall wholesome nature does not suffer heavily from one questionable scene of gender-bending comedy. The bear’s positive outlook on life carries over to the other characters on the screen and, eventually, to the audience as well. I applaud the success of the film overcoming the difficult task of making a purely good character into someone who is also interesting without having to give them some tragic flaw that they must overcome. Yes, Paddington has a tragic backstory, but his biggest character flaw is simply a lack of understanding of the human world, something that (I think) is not the most relatable character trait. Nonetheless, this stuffed-animal-looking bear manages to win the hearts of the Brown family and the audience through his simplicity and optimism over the course of the film.

                Aforementioned comedic shortcomings aside, Paddington is funny. I found myself laughing out loud at multiple pieces of the film’s witty dialogue and creative storytelling. The film benefits greatly from a script that focuses its humor on the British tendency to simply accept whatever life throws their way with resistance rather than questioning. When Paddington first meets the Browns (and basically every other character in the film), the first question is hardly ever, “How is that bear talking?” or, “Is that a BEAR?!” and is usually something along the lines of, “What is this bear’s angle, wearing that red hat and talking to us like that?” It really is a solid bit that never got old for me. Other bits of comedy in the film also have that same British tinge, and for people who enjoy such dry humor, it will work well.

                The film succeeds as a family film for all in the way that it approaches its deeper themes, introducing them in such a way that children can grasp what is going on and so that parents and other adults can appreciate and think about the concepts that it introduces. The most interesting theme that plays out in Paddington (for me anyway) is the lost art of hospitality in Britain (and implicitly most Western cultures). Paddington’s aunt and uncle were told by Montgomery Clyde that should they ever visit London, they would be welcomed, and Paddington enters the city with that in mind. He immediately discovers that such hospitality is hard to come by – perhaps even nonexistent – in the London of today. Over the course of the film, the Browns (and the audience) learn how beneficial it can be to give strangers a roof over their heads and food to eat – first through a line about how Paddington was as good for the Browns as they were for him and later through the sentiment that the family echoes of every family needing a “marmalade day” (Paddington tradition) and a bear. It’s beautiful, challenging, and encouraging about how good the world could be if we were a bit less suspicious.

                Paddington’s wholesome story, comedy, and message help its audience see past a brief moment of questionable comedy to a film of true greatness. While surpassed by its successor, the first Paddington film is a welcome addition to the list of Great Films and should become a welcome addition to your regular watch rotation – it’s that good.