‘Paddington 2’ Is Even Better Than the Original

Michael Amundsen

Paddington, the Peruvian bear with the British accent, benefits from a well-defined persona. So well defined that he matches up with the very best of Cinema’s great comics in that he can make anything worth watching, whether bad, mediocre or excellent. Fortunately, the first “Paddington” was wonderfully entertaining, but “Paddington 2” is even better. Practically perfect for a children’s film about a talking bear.

Paddington is an orphaned bear saved from a ferocious Peruvian waterfall by his adoptive aunt and uncle. In hopes for a better life, he is sent to London where he endears himself to the middle class Brown family, played with enthusiasm by Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville with Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin as the children. They are joined by Julie Walters as their fierce cook Mrs. Bird.

Paddington’s unintentional troubles begin when he is imprisoned for the theft of an antique pop-up book, a pop-up tour of London that Paddington was determined to purchase for his Aunt Lucy’s Birthday present.

There is the saying that wherever you go, you take yourself with you. Paddington’s worst enemy is his own tendency to be a good-hearted disaster. From the hilarious Rube Goldberg influenced destruction of a barber shop to Paddington’s dismantling of the intimidating prison chef, Paddington believes only in the best of people, even when his mistakes can seriously try that notion.

The director Paul King states that before beginning each of the Paddington installments, he watched all of Charlie Chaplin’s films. “There is such a pleasure is seeing your clown in what most people would find a really miserable situation, and the way Paddington innocently gets himself into trouble is really perfect.” Throughout the film, the Chaplin influence can be seen, including the homage to the famous machine scene in Chaplin’s “Modern Times.”

Paddington 2 is tightly scripted and quickly paced. Practically every scene is a moment of great visual wonder. A sense of nostalgia for Victorian England defines the milieu. The cars and the clothes are contemporary, but no one uses a cell phone and the TV’s are tube. The trains resemble the late 1800’s while the train station is modern. The Kozlova Steam Carnival recalls steam punk art in its inventiveness.  It creates a world of wonder and nostalgia where no one seems much concerned about a bear that talks.

There are a number of breathtaking visual sequences. When kind Mr. Gruber (Jim Broadbent) first shows Paddington the vintage pop-up book, the scenery effortlessly transitions from the actual book to animation of Paddington escorting his Aunt Lucy on a tour through the book pages. Another memorable moment is the tribute to Busby Berkley musicals that occupies the end credits.

Visually and narratively, Paddington 2 is a seamless delight from beginning to end. Paddington’s touching determination to think only the best of everyone never becomes overly sentimental. Thanks to the appealing voice talent of Ben Whishaw as Paddington and the animation of the bear itself, it is easy to forget Paddington is not real.

The supporting cast is perfection. Sally Hawkins is a gift to this film as she is to everything she does. Hugh Bonneville is charming as her foil. But it is Hugh Grant that steals his scenes as a washed-up ham actor. His performance shines with the fun he must have had playing that role.

What makes it all succeed is the consistency of Paddington’s characterization. His role as a good hearted bear who unintentionally creates chaos drives the narrative of both films. As long as the filmmakers continue to be true to that which is Paddington the Peruvian bear, this franchise could be with us for years to come.

“Paddington 2“ opens Jan. 12 nationwide.