PADDINGTON

I had been working on a thoughtful piece about prayer, but it remained unfinished when I went off to the Synod Assembly. I could write a blog on the fiasco of depending on online electronic equipment to run a meeting, but I’ll forgo that pleasure. After a week of dealing with credit card fraud (my card got skimmed at a gas station) and then getting a fake phone call threatening me with a law suit by the IRS and having to deal with an insurance company to get my car repaired after it was rear-ended for the second time in a year (in between it was also sideswiped in a parking lot), I decided I needed a break.

One advantage of being retired is that I can go to the summer kid’s movies at the local theaters. So for $1 I saw “Paddington.” I had wanted to see this because I found the trailer so inviting, but I didn’t want to pay $8 or $9 when it was first released. (Yes, I am a skinflint.) 

I hadn’t read any of the Paddington stories, but I have a soft-spot for Teddy Bears. I understand that the film takes some liberties with the Paddington story, but is well within the spirit. The character of Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is a computer-generated figure who interacts flawlessly with the live actors. (I probably should mention that Paddinton’s voice was originally to have been done by Collin Firth, but his voice never quite worked right so he stepped aside.  I don’t think he really needed the work anyway.)

The cast was amazing. The British have so many great actors who can perform anything. It’s almost like a giant repertory company. You get big-name actors playing relatively minor roles. Mr. Brown was played by Hugh Bonneville. That’s right, the Earl of Grantham himself not only performing comedy, but doing one scene in drag. His wife, Mrs. Brown, was portrayed by Sally Hawkins. I had not seen her before, but she is a very talented actress, the winner of a Golden Globe award for her role as Poppy Cross in “Happy-Go-Lucky.” 

There is Nicole Kidman playing an over-the-top villain assisted by Peter Capaldi (the latest Dr. Who) as a cranky neighbor.  For the Harry Potter crowd there was Michael Gambon (Professor Dumbledore) voicing Paddington’s Uncle Pastuzo, Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) providing the voice for Aunt Lucy, Jim Broadbent (Professor Slughorn) as an eccentric shop owner Samuel Gruber, and an almost unrecognizable Julie Walters (Mollie Weasely) as Mrs. Bird, the Brown’s live-in housekeeper and nanny. The casting is not surprising when you realize that David Heyman, the producer if Harry Potter, also produced Paddington.

The film takes place in London, and all the exterior shots seem to look quite normal to my eye. The interiors are something else. The Brown’s house has a touch of whimsy to it, not what you’d expect from someone like Mr. Brown who is a straight-laced risks analyst. A multi-storey tree is painted behind the spiral stair case. The Geographer’s Guild headquarters combines dated computers with and elaborate vacuum tube system that could have found a home in the Ministry of Magic. At Mr. Gruber’s shop, tea is delivered in a toy train. These are the fantasy touches that make the film even more enjoyable.

Mike Reyes wrote of Paddington in CinemaBlend “Paddington is an impossibly charming affair, going down as one of the best family films since Hugo.” I  agree with that. Like Hugo, this is great family entertainment and the sort of thing an old curmudgeon like me can enjoy immensely. 

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival. 

Wayne