Paddington 2

photo courtesy of denofgeek.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     Quaint, wholesome, charming, and English are just some of the words that describe Paddington 2, the sequel to 2014’s movie based on the “Paddington Bear” children’s books. If it weren’t for the CGI at the center of things, it would be easy to imagine Paddington 2 as a children’s movie from another age. There’s no low-brow humor or over-the-top “be yourself” mantra, just a good old-fashioned escapade starring a character whose primary concern appears to be kindness and seeing the best in people. If that sounds out of place in the modern cinema landscape, that’s… probably because it is.

     In Paddington 2, Paddington (Ben Whishaw) is settling into life with the Brown family, finding a niche in the neighborhood community and getting a job to pay for a birthday gift (a pop-up book of London) for his Aunt Lucy. Unfortunately for Paddington, someone else has his eyes on the same book: Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), washed-up actor and attention-starved scoundrel. When Paddington is blamed for the book’s theft, it’ll be up to Paddington, the Brown family, and a collection of unlikely prison-inmate friends to clear Paddington’s name, stop Buchanan, and recover the book.

photo courtesy of collider.com

     Paddington 2’s success stems from a few distinct factors, which I’ll take one by one. The first is the attitude and tone of the movie, set by the Paddington himself and the Paddington Bear source material. It’s always nice to see a kid’s movie that doesn’t settle for the lowest common denominator (ahem, Minions, ahem), but Paddington does more, giving audiences sensible fun and characters worth rooting for. Paddington’s shtick is winning people over through kindness and understanding, and that makes for some all-around pleasant goings-on. Case in point: Nuckles McGinty, the prison chef played by Brendan Gleeson, who perfects the “criminal with a heart of gold” routine. 

     I can’t quite decide if that makes Paddington the perfect adventure hero for our times or the worst. On one hand, there’s a delightful newness—not dissimilar from Wonder Woman—in seeing a character who refuses to be jaded by the real world. On the other, it’s easy to see why audiences might not invest in such a wide-eyed, innocent character, charming and well-intentioned though he may be. Without the slapstick humor of, say, a Despicable Me movie, or the depth of emotion of a Pixar film, Paddington might not appeal to everybody. 

photo courtesy of collider.com

     Paddington also has an interesting tendency to give way to these curious artistic flourishes which, more often than not, have no relevance to the plot. There’s a jazz band, for instance, that pops up one or two times without explanation. It’s weird, but somehow it works; Paddington feels like it’s just artsy enough to pull it off without breaking the whole illusion. Much of the movie’s good-natured humor and levity stems from its willingness to be fantastical beyond reason. Realistic-adjacent, if you will. 

photo courtesy of hellomagazine.com

     The final ingredient to Paddington’s success is the casting of Hugh Grant in the role of malicious but relatively harmless lead villain. He’s wonderfully over the top, a cousin of sorts to Neil Patrick Harris’ Count Olaf. His performance is largely responsible for Paddington’s sense of adventure (treasure quests, disguises, trains going through tunnels at irresponsible speeds), and its goofy sense of humor. Moreover, he serves as the perfect counterpoint to Paddington’s quiet brand of heroism.

     FINAL VERDICT: Adorable and noble, Paddington 2 is a heartwarming moviegoing experience for adults and children, even if it might not cast everyone under its spell.

Watch the trailer here. 

photo courtesy of express.co.uk