This film had played in the theaters back in December 2014 to celebrate Christmas. I am not sure why I did not watch this movie then, but when it finally played in cable TV, I was still not having the chance to watch it. Until last Saturday that is, when my wife was having another night of weekend complimentary staycation in a hotel and I was lucky enough that spouse was allowed to tag along. As usual I would not miss the chance to enjoy lying on bed and choosing a movie that I can watch on TV when this movie popped up. So I stopped my browsing and continue to watch it (unfortunately I missed few minutes of the beginning). Anyway, I would just proceed to the story.
Brief Story Line
When I started to watch, the movie was showing the scene where a young bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw - Q in Skyfall and Spectre) was staying in the jungles of Peru with his uncle named Pastuzo (voiced by Michael Gambon - Dumbledore in Harry Potter movies) and aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton - The Awakening, Maleficent etc). All 3 of them were quite addicted to marmalade and managed to intelligently create a "machine" that could peel the oranges and produced marmalade in jars for them to eat in the cold season. They were also practicing and learning to become a Londoner so they can go to London and live there.
One night a huge earthquake hit the jungle and they had to revise their plan where only the young bear would go to London. Aunt Lucy dropped him off to a cargo ship travelling to England. After reaching there, he went to a train station and was looking for someone who would find him a home. Unfortunately unlike what he thought about Londoners' hospitality, nobody took the slightest interest of him until Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine, Godzilla etc) a mother of two, took pity on the young bear. She promised to look for the "geographer" who could provide home for him. She offered him to stay for the night at their house, despite the reluctance from her husband, Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville - The Monuments Men, Downton Abbey TV series). Mary decided to name the bear Paddington from the train station's name.
As Paddington never stayed at a normal house before, he created many incidents in the house to the resentment of Henry. Though his son Jonathan enjoyed his company, but his daughter Judy, being a teenager did not like having a strange bear staying in their house. Things were also complicated with Browns nosy neighbor named Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi) who dislike a bear in their classy neighborhood. After the help from Mary, they found out that Paddington's hat was specifically produced for the Geographers Guild and they should look for Montgomery the Geographer who visited Peru many years ago and was the one advising the intelligent bears to come to London.
Meanwhile a taxidermist named Millicent (Nicole Kidman - Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, The Stepford Wives and many more) wanted to become famous by capturing and collecting exotic animals. She found out about the arrival of smart talking bear who loved marmalade and decided she must do whatever it takes to capture it and put into the museum.
So could Paddington find the Geographer and a suitable home for him? Could Paddington and the Browns be good friends? What would happen to Millicent's "mission" and why was she so desperate to capture Paddington? All of those could be answered till the end of the movie.
End of Brief Story Line
This movie was a family friendly movie. It was aimed to create the feel good factor during the Christmas period and I thought it was quite successful in doing so. It was entertaining and indeed provided the fun satisfaction of looking at various hilarious scenes involving Paddington and his naivety in coping with live at London in a civilized house owned by Henry, especially with his English formalities.
I enjoyed watching this movie and loved the special effect of making Paddington seemed real. I also loved Hugh Bonneville's portrayal of Henry Brown who was originally so stiff but could also become flexible when required. His character here was different compared to the English aristocrat in the British TV series Downton Abbey (which happened to be one of my wife's favorite TV shows).
If you happen to be having doubts of what to watch on your cable tv, then this one can probably be a refreshing option. Even if you have already watched it before, I am quite sure it could still provide you some good laugh. But if you do not enjoy watching movie of talking animal, then perhaps this one would not suit you.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
End of Brief Story Line
This movie was a family friendly movie. It was aimed to create the feel good factor during the Christmas period and I thought it was quite successful in doing so. It was entertaining and indeed provided the fun satisfaction of looking at various hilarious scenes involving Paddington and his naivety in coping with live at London in a civilized house owned by Henry, especially with his English formalities.
I enjoyed watching this movie and loved the special effect of making Paddington seemed real. I also loved Hugh Bonneville's portrayal of Henry Brown who was originally so stiff but could also become flexible when required. His character here was different compared to the English aristocrat in the British TV series Downton Abbey (which happened to be one of my wife's favorite TV shows).
If you happen to be having doubts of what to watch on your cable tv, then this one can probably be a refreshing option. Even if you have already watched it before, I am quite sure it could still provide you some good laugh. But if you do not enjoy watching movie of talking animal, then perhaps this one would not suit you.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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