Random Movie Review - Paddington

So for a while, I've been trying to avoid all the films based on our childhood icons as I've felt that a good majority of them, are made by the wrong people. But in the case of Paddington, this is not the case at all. Reason is because this film is made by the people who did Gravity and the Harry Potter films and all those films were great so we're in safe hands here. For those of you who don't know, Paddington is a character seen in children literature who made his debut in 1958 and has since been in over 20 books by Michael Bond (who makes a somewhat cameo in the film) and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum. Since then, he has been regarded as a childhood icon in the UK and some parts of the world. So having been absent for quite some time, does this film stay true to the character? Well let's find out:

So our story begins in deepest darkest Peru where an explorer of sorts called Montgomery Clyde (played by Tim Downie) comes across a rare breed of bear and spends time with these friendly bears where he teaches them how to speak, learn manners and control their undeniable love for marmalade. Monty then leaves them, saying that they will always be welcome in Britain, should they ever choose to go there. The bears, called Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) and Pastuzo (voiced by Dumbledore himself, Michael Gambon) live in harmony with their nephew. That is until an earthquake strikes their home and their nephew is forced to leave for Britain, where he arrives in London and is taken in by the Brown family who call him Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw). The family, consisting of Henry Brown (played by Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey), Mary Brown (played by Sally Hawkins who you may have seen in Godzilla last year), Judy Brown (played by Madeleine Harris), Jonathan Brown (played by Samuel Joslin) and presumably their lodger or nanny or caretaker Mrs Bird (played by the dominant female in the Weasley family, Julie Walters), all take a liking to him (for the most part anyway), but it isn't long before Paddington unwillingly starts causing mayhem and must find Monty before things get awry.

In my honest opinion, I thought this film was really good. It stays true and faithful to the source material, the CGI is great and doesn't look cheap or overused which is good, the acting is great and it seems that everyone clearly had a good time making this film which is always good to see. Its a great family film and if you're trying to introduce your children to Paddington Bear, this film will be able to do just that. Plenty of fun to be had here. 9/10