We know that is a big statement to make, but let us explain why we said it.
The 2010’s have been pretty jammed with great family-friendly movies: Toy Story 3, How To Train Your Dragon, The LEGO Movie, Inside Out, Zootopia, Frozen, Kung Fu Panda 2, even this year’s Beauty & The Beast.
However, when it came to Paddington, expectations were set pretty low.
The character felt so fundamentally old-school, and far too upper-class twee to really appeal to the masses. Really, in an age when Pixar are animating why it is okay to feel depressed, or Disney are using talking animals to address some serious race issues, how could a movie about a humanised bear who loves marmalade sandwiches really compare?
However, it was exactly that kind of unique charm that ended up winning us over completely.
The comparison can be made to the superhero genre, and the race that was made to see which one could get to be the darkest, the grimiest, the most adult-skewering. And then along comes Wonder Woman, a breath of fresh-air, and BAM! Everyone realises that not all super-hero movies need to be dark, and similarly, not all family-friendly movies need to have big cultural statements to make. Sometimes all you need is a bear in a hat getting into hijinks.
Plot-wise, it is simple enough: a Peruvian bear (voiced to friendly perfection by Ben Whishaw, who replaced original voice actor Colin Firth), heads to London in search of a new home. Getting lost in Paddington station, he crosses paths with the Brown family (headed by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, and instant tear-duct activator Sally Hawkins), take him in.
However, an evil taxidermist (Nicole Kidman, creeping out an entire generation of kids) spots him, and decides that she simply must have him for her collection.
And that’s your lot. There is not much in the way of complications here, but there is more than enough for the viewer to get behind and get totally caught up in Paddington’s new life journey.
Equal parts hilarious and heart-felt, it is no surprised the $55 million movie became a little bit of a hit ($268 million worldwide), as well as completely winning over the critics (98% on Rotten Tomatoes) and has spawned a sequel which is due to arrive in Irish cinemas on Friday 10 November.
So before then, by sure to check it out on RTE One tonight at 6.35pm.
