Paddington

The film takes us back to the beginning of Paddington’s journey. We start in Darkest Peru, which was only alluded to in the TV series. We witness the Brown family’s first encounter with him at Paddington Station, inspiring his name; his introduction to the lovely Mr. Gruber, the sneaky neighbour Mr. Curry and resourceful housekeeper Mrs. Bird; and his first steps into this strange world. A new element is also added to the mix, in the form of Nicole Kidman’s mean Millicent, the Cruella De Vil of taxidermy.

Paddington’s London fits the pleasant image of the city that has proven popular in films dating back to Mary Poppins (1964) and, more recently, in Richard Curtis’ comedies. It is a wonderful, almost magical place although disturbingly, like the hugely popular 2001 French film Amélie, it is almost entirely white. (By contrast, it would be impossible to walk along any street in London today and not see someone of colour, or hear an accent that wasn’t British or a language that wasn’t English.) Likewise, the representation of the Browns bears close comparison with the Banks family in Mary Poppins. Both films tell the story of a father who needs to reconnect with his family and an ‘outsider’ who becomes the catalyst for that. But to suggest that Paul King’s film is too stuck in a past that never really existed, or fuels an image of Britain that is at odds with reality, is to miss the subtlety of what the film achieves.

Throughout Paddington, we catch glimpses of the Calypso band, D Lime, featuring Tabago Crusoe. The first track they play is ‘London is the Place for Me’. It was originally recorded by Lord Kitchener aka Aldwyn Roberts, a Trinidadian musician who was one of the passengers of the famous Empire Windrush, which brought hundreds of Caribbean immigrants to the UK in 1948. That culture would blend with Britain's and that music would help redefine British pop, rock and even punk over the course of the next 40 years. The song, along with the other tracks the band play throughout the film, is key. It reminds us that Paddington, even if he is voiced by the dulcet tones of Ben Whishaw, is an immigrant and his presence in London, a few hiccups excepted, makes life better for everyone. Everyone except Millicent, that is.

Adapting the classic children’s story could have been a disaster, amazingly the story of the titular bear from darkest Peru gets everything right.  From the cast (both the human characters and the voice of Paddington) to the animation of the bear.  Most importantly the comedy is just the right side of silly to make it charming and enchanting.