Spoilers
Sunday afternoons without sport are starting to get really dull now. I will remember this when i moan that there is too much sport on tv one day. But its time for the three of us to sit with a cuppa tea & to cry our eyes out at the most perfect british family friendly film ever made. Paddington 2. & if you dont agree with this then you arent British or you have no heart.
Im going to say it now these are some of the greatest British films in the UK, they really are. They just make your soul dance & wish for even more films to be made with this much love & joy & perfection. They really are stunning.
Ben is the perfect voice for that bear, he really is. It so sweet & positive & just beautiful. Whenever he opens his mouth you really will do anything for this little bear & you do just want to take him home. Its perfect casting & its just everything.
Hugh Grant, everyone’s favourite quintessentially british actor, gives the performance of his carer in this film. Okay hes basically playing an exaggerated version of himself, but oh my god its brilliant. You can tell he had so much fun being the baddie & just ruining Paddington’s life. Its proper acting & is amazing. Also huge kudos to whoever decided to have all of his old 90s head shots in his house that was brilliant.
Its an epic supporting cast too. People just want to be in a Paddington film & you can see on all there faces that they are loving being in it just as much as you are smiling watching it.
I always cry at this film. I cry at a lot of films i know, but i cry a lot at this one in particular (this will probably be repeated in my next film review too by the way). When hes on the Phone & they dont answer & hes like all hope is lost that makes me cry when they call back. When hes drowning but the convicts come to help him when Mrs Brown cant save him & then when hes okay & (im welling up typing about this now) Aunt Lucy arrives in London & they are finally reunited & thats all he ever really wanted… okay im now full crying like i do when i watch the film. Im blaming the pandemic & not being able to see anyone & just given them a hug & tell them i love them. Its just been so shitty hasnt it & a little bit of kindness & happiness or something emotional just pushes you over the edge doesnt it. Right im just going to stop typing about that now. I dont want to cry anymore into my mug of tea.
right ive recovered now.
Every single scene in the prison is just brilliant. From arrival to washing to cooking to team building its all perfect. Even the break out. There are two stand out bits tho. The first is when the Browns go to visit Paddington & all his criminal friends are there including an MP & they are all just as mad but lovely as you would imagine. It is one of the funniest scenes in a kids film in years. I actually do watch just that one scene from time to time to make me smile, its wonderful. & then there is the mid credit scene where Hugh Grant has finally been found guilty of steeling & framing Paddington & hes in prison & they put on a musical number. When he stands there & go this is my crowning achievement it is.
All of the disguises used are amazing they really are, to get the fortune from the picture book, its amazing. Especially the Nun at St Pauls. I love that someones actually edited that with Mission Impossible Fall Out its amazing (have a search for it people). But yea what a clever ides.
Paddington cutting hair inspirational.
Paddington cleaning windows inspirational.
Paddington just being him & helping out everyone in the street is fabulous.
Basically hug that bloody Bear.
The use of winter wonderland is amazing. I’ve never been but ive walked past it & not paid & it really is something magical & special. As a brit from the south its always something you say your going to do but then never actually do, but you know enough about it to feel like you have been to it.
I always love how everything in these films always resolves himself. The kids & what they are doing at school & how Paddington helps to shape there lives. Okay the kids are now older so its not as good for morals but its good for the teenagers to be like its okay not let go of all your childhood. & how Mr & Mrs Browns skills that they have been trying to do all film end up helping them save the day. Its a proper resolution film.
It has the correct amount of peril for a kids film too. When you watch it as an adult when hes drowning you do genuinely sit there & think no he cant die its a kids film but your still not sure about it are you. Thats what makes a fabulous film. That bear was in no danger & yet you sit there desperately cheering him on, like it matters what you think.
The Popup book is so beautiful, it really really is. You just look at it & how they animate it & think oh wow. Someone spent a very long time animating that & its worth every single penny they spent.
Paddington upgrading to electric tooth brushes to get the wax out of his ears is gross, but brilliant & the perfect example of what the film had to do.
Ohh im going to stop & tell you all to go to the iPlayer right now & watch it.
The Paddington films arent in my top film list, but they are bloody close. They are just perfect for a Sunday afternoon with a cuppa tea & a blankie knowing your roast is in the oven & that everything is going to be okay with the world, because he has told you it will be.
Its not often sequels are better then the original but this one really really is.
Thank you little bear, for making me cry & making me just want a big comfort hug.