Paddington 2

When people first saw the trailers for the 2014 CG/live-action hybrid family comedy Paddington, It honestly felt like they were witnessing a joke idea. While no one seemed to hold any animosity against the character, the tone, presentation, and attitude of the advertising just seemed dated, stupid, and incredibly childish, with most expecting another soulless cash-grab that banked on the popularity of its source material rather than its own components. However, once people witnessed the surprise genius of the first film directed by Paul King and written by Simon Farnaby, the unexpected became the truth and everybody was memorized by the charming little film, enough so that its sequel film released in 2017, was more positively anticipated despite still having better but still poor advertising. Through whatever sorcery they pull off behind the scenes, that unique magic was able to work a second time around as well. Now living comfortably with the Brown family in London, Paddington (voiced again by Ben Whishaw) wishes to get a present for his Aunt Lucy’s (voiced by Imelda Staunton) 100^th birthday. Setting his eyes on an expensive antique pop-up book that showcases several landmarks of London, Paddington works his way to earning the correct amount, but gets more than he bargained for when he is framed for stealing the book and is thrown in prison. The real culprit of the theft is Phoenix Buchanan (played by Hugh Grant), a now faded actor who is trying to discover the lost treasure of the original author of the book. While the Brown family do what they can on the outside to try and find the one who stole the book, Paddington makes friends on the inside with the fellow inmates and prison guards, livening up the place for both parties in the process. However, with Buchanan closer to finding the treasure and with the Brown’s still being unable to prove Paddington’s innocence, how will he be able to escape prison and retrieve the book in order to give it to Aunt Lucy as a present. Much like its predecessor, this film is presented as an overly cutesy picture with an outdated plot and dialogue that could very easily be pandering and dated, but also just so happens to be considered one of the best kid’s films of the 2010s, even managing to get an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for a period of time (before a single negative review bumped it down in 2021). If the first Paddington won you over with its heart and charm, this sequel will do just that all over again.

The first Paddington film didn’t earn its success for being a wildly creative and unique film, if anything it’s a narrative that’s incredibly formulaic and has failed miserably in the past in movies that have taken a similar direction in the past. The idea of a popular character from a well-known source material being showcased in a cinematic format through a story about finding family and interacting with everyday life in the most ‘’wackiest of hi jinks’’ is a tired cliched that wouldn’t hold much merit in today’s mainstream and was one of the components turning people off to the first film, but it doesn’t feel like its bound to those moments or even that tone, but rather evolves it to become something more engrossing due to just how charming and quaint everything is in this universe. An overly sappy mood can come across as cheesy and demeaning sometimes, but with the correct handling, it achieves the exact feeling you want it to and this film manages that just right with a correct balance between earnestness and wit to provide something heart-warming and effective but also incredibly simple and quick to grasp. This premise of an innocent character being placed in jail for a framed crime while the criminal does their own deeds on the outside as a supporting cast does their part to help is also a very by-the-numbers narrative, and even the manner in which this film tells this story is nothing different from that basic outline, following it to a tea from beginning to completion without any deviations or unique qualities whatsoever, but what should normally be a huge hindrance isn’t too bothersome as nothing about this franchise runs on its plot, but rather on its characters and the way they interact off of each other and those around them. Paul King as the director and Simon Farnaby as a joint writer really are the main reasons these films are as well structured as they are, because without a stable guiding hand behind the scenes, this whole project could easily crumble, but with great care put into the pacing, acting, writing and atmosphere for both these films, it has just that right amount of sweetness and counterbalancing bite to make for a truly endearing experience.

The cast from the first film return and while they definitely don’t play the same level of relevance as they did previously, most are still given time to shine. While Paddington is and should be the focus, the Brown family is a really great element of these films and how much he has become part of the family adds to the likability of every lead character, so seeing most of them sidelined in this film and relegated to just the support is a little saddening, but not too much of an issue as its still a bunch of characters you like being around portrayed by very likeable actors like Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville. The film still pushes forward how much both parties mean to each other and how neither truly believes the other has given up on them and seeing them reunited at the end and how they help Paddington achieve his big wish is honestly very touching. Paddington as a lead has all the kind qualities a simple character like himself needs; he’s caring, attentive, polite to a fault in some moments and always wants to help out others even when it puts himself in harms way. The character could get on people’s nerves very easily, but through the story, writing and Ben Whishaw’s great performance, its someone you always are willing to root for, even if what he wants is very simple. All the smaller roles also carry with them that same adorably pleasant attitude that makes everybody just so likeable; it’s an air of almost childish innocence that makes even the bad people come across as comically imposing rather than actually threatening but nothing feels lost with this direction, it just sucks you into this unique world even more and impressed you with how you are so engaged with something that in all respects, doesn’t have that grand consequences or stakes. Probably the only people that don’t work in the movie as strongly are the antagonists. Brendan Gleeson originally plays one as a rough-and-gruff chef of the prison, but he quickly turns around and Gleeson (as usual) is giving 110% so he works out in the long run, but people like Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant don’t really come across that well here and feel bizarrely bland for a world where even minor roles get a hint of a distinct identity. Grant as the main baddie is harmless enough and has a few moments that are memorable through his theatrical nature and choice of disguises, but in comparison to Nicole Kidman’s psycho hunter from the last film, he is a definite downgrade.

The aesthetics of this film seem to match the more reserved, personable, and inoffensive vibe that the character and therefore the books themselves were going for. London has this very retro, unpolished look to it that truly makes it feel like a liveable environment which comes through the production design by Gary Williamson, but through the quirky people portrayed by passionate actors, the intricate and memorable sets decorated by Cathy Cosgrove, the color palette, which uses a good heaping of saturated colors to provide for some great visuals even when it’s used in contrast (the prison’s original lack of color makes it look really cool when its given color later in the film) and the score, it builds a strong atmosphere that feels distinctly its own. The musical composition by Dario Marianelli is preppy, light, and always active with how it punches up certain moments, but never gets too obnoxious or in your face, it always feels like its in service of the film and his past experience with scoring films like Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Anna Karenina, means he’s got a good grasp on how to make his music feel timely and atmospheric to the environment he’s capturing. The movie does still sadly have some of those instances that feel forced in for comedies sake where there’s some needless slapstick that’s pretty slow and very much like something out of a 90s kids’ film, but thankfully there aren’t too many of them and when they are included, they aren’t very long.

By all accounts, Paddington shouldn’t have worked as a movie and should’ve been one of the worst films of the year, and instead it provided one of the better ones. Then with the sequel, you’d expect the ball to finally drop out and now this one would be the movie that would be awful, but yet again, it provided an incredibly entertaining film that despite being basic and run off of simple emotions, is effortlessly charming, likeable, colorful, and full of endearing people. Maybe the third film coming out without Paul King at the helm as the director could be the one where the scales finally tip over (even though it is impossible to tell so early on without seeing the new director’s vision), but until then, we have an outstandingly strong duo of movies that blew expectations out of the water. If you want something that will just provide good wholesome fun with likeable characters, pleasant visuals and quaint writing, this movie is perfect for that (as well as the previous). There are definitely nit-picks to pick up on and maybe this type of film just won’t work for certain people who are looking for something a little more, but otherwise, Paddington continues to be a surprise gem (or surprise golden jar of marmalade) of a franchise.