Movie Adaptation Review: Paddington

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image source: here. here. edited by me.

MOVIE ADAPTATION of Paddington

I watched this movie in the theater about a week ago with my friends, and I just found out that it was adapted from a children's literature! It's the perfect Christmas movie because it's heartwarming, cute, and you can watch it with all your family members or friends. The movie is pretty short, around one-and-a-half hour, but it's a pretty good movie. It's very visually pleasing. (and as you can see in the posters, it's from the producer of Harry Potter!) Okay, so here's my non-spoiling review for the movie adaptation of Paddington!

The movie starts of with a documentary clip of a geographical explorer who goes through Darkest Peru, where he met two bears and befriended them. He named the two bears Pastuzo and Lucy; and he even taught them his culture, how to speak English, and also introduced the bears to marmalade—which became their favorite food. Years later, we meet a smaller bear who lived with Uncle Pastuzo and Lucy; but an earthquake destroyed their house and he was sent to London on a boat. He waited for someone to welcome him at the station, but not many people paid attention to him. Until he met the Brown family, who named him according to the station where he's found: Paddington. And Paddington's arrival in the Brown family brings adventure and experiences they've never been through before.

If you watched plenty family movies that included animals in it, you can probably guess what the conflict is going to be in this movie—or you can even predict the ending! Because to be honest, movies like this can be very predictable and the plot is really simple. But I can't deny that I enjoyed watching it as well :)) Since I only just found out this movie is based from children books, I cannot give any comparison between the original story and the movie adaptation. But from what I read on the internet, the basic story about how Paddington came to London is more or less the same. But I do think the conflict in the movie adaptation is an additional to make the movie a little bit more exciting :))

 

Now Paddington's character is just REALLY cute, whose voice is dubbed by Ben Whishaw. He's a troublemaker, but also very adorable. And I also love the Brown family; especially Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Mr. Brown (played by Hugh Bonneville) wasn't very fond of Paddington at first, because he predicted that Paddington will bring danger to his family. However, Mrs. Brown (played by Sally Hawkins) is totally the opposite; she loved Paddington at first sight and feels that Paddington brings happiness to their family. And I also really love Nicole Kidman as the villain :D But I won't really spoil what she did in the movie, I guess you'll just have to see it for yourself ;D

Some of my favorite scenes are:

• Marmalade Day! When the three bears still live in their tree house in Darkest Peru, they have this 'machine' they made from bamboos and stuffs to process citrus into marmalade. I think it's just brilliant.

• When Paddington tried riding the escalator. Oh, you cute little thing, Paddington. He was a bit hesitant when he's about to ride the escalator. And then he saw the sign that said 'Dogs must be carried'. Paddington thought that meant he must have a dog to ride the escalator! So he grabbed a random dog and ride the escalator proudly. LOL. You can also see this scene from the GIFs below ;))

• The National Geographical Institution. This place is like the place for geographical archives of expeditions, and it's a really beautiful building. And when a person searched something on the computer, there's this piping system that will send you the file that you want through a tube near you. Just amazing.

• I also love it when Paddington was given Mr. Brown's old coat! He looks sooo adorably cute in that blue coat and red hat. I think I like him better with the coat :)))

I think I have more scenes that I liked from the movie, but so far that's all I could remember :))

As I've said earlier, this movie is heartwarming, sweet, and pleasantly enjoyable. I absolutely love the amazing visuals and the mood of it. I also love the detail on Paddington, that fur seriously looks real. And he blends in very naturally with the other characters. I want to appreciate David Heyman, who also produced Harry Potter movies, for his fantastic work in this movie. I love these kinds of movies as a child, and it turns out I still love watching them even now when I'm older. However, I'm not really planning on reading the original books. I can enjoy a children's movies, but I think not so much with children's books.

After doing a bit of research of Paddington, it turns out this cutie bear became a bit of a trend in London! On November 4th until December 30th, there are 50 Paddington statues that will be placed at landmarks across London, calling it the Paddington Trail. Celebrities, artists, and even designers took part in recreating the bear, as shown in the picture above. The designs are all wonderful, I wish I was there to take a look at all 50 of them. Because Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch even took part as well! And in the end, the statues will be auctioned in aid of NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) (source). I think it'll be great to have Paddington as the mascot of London :D

Have you watched the movie? What'd you think about it? Do you still enjoy it despite your age? ;)

Here are some of the original book covers, written by Michael Bond.
I think the original illustration of Paddington is also super cute ♥♥♥

by.stefaniesugia♥ .