Movie – Paddington

I don’t recall being a big fan of Paddington when I was little, or of bears generally. I did have a pink and white bear from Father Christmas and loved Rupert the Bear, probably where I really got my checked trousers fascination from, not Bay City Rollers at all.Of course, I’m a huge of fan of certain bears now; the big bear and little bear that have added to my Christmas traditions.So now I know that Paddington came from Peru, where he got into marmalade and how he turned up in London with an oh so English accent. Turns out an English explorer went, well exploring, but having befriended a rare, talking bear family, he refused to bring back a (dead) specimen. He did leave them with some jars of marmalade and a promise that there’ll always be a welcome for them in London.

‘Please look after this bear. Thank you.’

After a natural disaster in Peru, Paddington (that’s his English name, I can’t spell his bear name), his elderly Aunt and guardian insists he makes good this promise. Well times change, London is no longer welcoming and on arrival in rainy Paddington station and all our bear has is one marmalade sandwich and the ignorance that we have grown to recognise from Londoners. Except one. Played by the ever-delightful Sally Hawkins, the illustrator wife of a risk analyst who insists the bear should go home with their two bored children, until he finds his explorer friend.Oh and a wicked taxidermist is after him.It’s a thoroughly traditional story, based in very modern but fairy tale surroundings – you know, where everyone in London lives in beautiful town houses on wide crescents where it always snows at Christmas.A gorgeous film worth seeing at least once a week till Christmas.8½/10Smile factor 10/10