Fans of a certain marmalade -eating ursine phenomenon were alarmed when, last year, a creepy-looking teaser-trailer suggested that the makers of the new Paddington film had turned the planet’s favourite wellington-wearer into a dead-eyed generic beast.
There were further ripples of concern when Colin Firth, who had been cast as the voice of Paddington, pulled out of the role last July. Last month, the British Board of Film Classification slapped the film with a PG rating, citing “sexual references”, and Nicole Kidman, who plays the bear’s primary antagonist, said Paddington was too scary for her children. Yikes.
Keep calm, everyone. As it happens, the new Paddington, now charmingly voiced by Ben Whishaw, isn't nearly as terrifying as all that. Perhaps the Kidman kids are more cosseted than the average child, but it's hard to see how the new Paddington could be bettered as an all-ages caper.
In keeping with Michael Bond’s classic books, the bear arrives in London at the behest of his aunt, who met a British geographer many years before. She has a recollection that in the geographer’s country “there was once a war” and that people there could be relied upon to take a bear in.
Sadly, London is no longer the polite, weather-obsessed place of Paddington’s ancient language tapes. But he does eventually find refuge with the Browns, a delightful middle- class family that includes buttoned-up dad (Bonneville), soft- hearted mummy (Hawkins), inventive young Jonathan (Joslin), perennially embarrassed Judy (Harris), and wisecracking domestic Mrs Bird (Walters).
The plot is commendably simple: Paddington is pursued by a wicked Cruella de Vil-style taxidermist (Kidman), who, initially, is in cahoots with nosy neighbour Mr Curry (Capaldi).
Fans of the Harry Potter brand of Englishness will find plenty to savour. But the film equally seeks to celebrate inclusivity with a five-piece calypso band acting as a Greek chorus and a heartwarming moral that London is for everyone. Smaller people, in particular, will love the mayhem.
