Paddington. Rated G. 95 minutes. Directed by Paul King. Screenplay by Paul King and Hamish McColl.
Verdict: A near-perfect big screen debut for our refugee from Peru, Paddington Bear.
As you luxuriate in the company of the ever polite but calamity-prone Paddington Bear (voiced by a perfectly British Ben Wishaw), you may find yourself wondering why he hasn’t managed to find his way onto the big screen before this marvellously imaginative incarnation.
Since Michael Bond’s A Bear Called Paddington was first published in 1958, his creator has been reluctant to sell the film rights to anyone who might not meet his exacting standards and expectations for what the end result might end up looking like.
It is fascinating to consider just how much a film of its time Paddington’s debut adventure is. When an earthquake destroys the home he shares with his Uncle and Aunty in the jungles of Peru, his Aunt stows him away on board a ship bound for London. Arriving at Paddington Station as a refugee from a far away land, our homeless bear is welcomed by the Brown family – Henry (Hugh Bonneville), Mary (Sally Hawkins) and their children Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin). But when an evil taxidermist, played with vigour by a blonde-bob-wearing Nicole Kidman, wants to have this particular bear in her museum’s collection, the race is on to save Paddington from being well and truly stuffed.
In King (The Mighty Boosh), and the picture-book perfect production design from Gary Williamson, Paddington finds himself in splendid company. The creative excellence on show rewards close attention, especially the painted tree mural that adorns the hallway of the Brown's family home.
And if the shrieks and squeals of delight from the youngest (and the not so young) audience members are anything to go by, then the little, lost bear from ‘Darkest Peru’ has found himself a most suitable new home.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
Paddington. Rated G. 95 minutes. Directed by Paul King. Screenplay by Paul King and Hamish McColl.
Verdict: A near-perfect big screen debut for our refugee from Peru, Paddington Bear.
As you luxuriate in the company of the ever polite but calamity-prone Paddington Bear (voiced by a perfectly British Ben Wishaw), you may find yourself wondering why he hasn’t managed to find his way onto the big screen before this marvellously imaginative incarnation.
Since Michael Bond’s A Bear Called Paddington was first published in 1958, his creator has been reluctant to sell the film rights to anyone who might not meet his exacting standards and expectations for what the end result might end up looking like.
It is fascinating to consider just how much a film of its time Paddington’s debut adventure is. When an earthquake destroys the home he shares with his Uncle and Aunty in the jungles of Peru, his Aunt stows him away on board a ship bound for London. Arriving at Paddington Station as a refugee from a far away land, our homeless bear is welcomed by the Brown family – Henry (Hugh Bonneville), Mary (Sally Hawkins) and their children Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin). But when an evil taxidermist, played with vigour by a blonde-bob-wearing Nicole Kidman, wants to have this particular bear in her museum’s collection, the race is on to save Paddington from being well and truly stuffed.
In King (The Mighty Boosh), and the picture-book perfect production design from Gary Williamson, Paddington finds himself in splendid company. The creative excellence on show rewards close attention, especially the painted tree mural that adorns the hallway of the Brown's family home.
And if the shrieks and squeals of delight from the youngest (and the not so young) audience members are anything to go by, then the little, lost bear from ‘Darkest Peru’ has found himself a most suitable new home.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment