Paddington

 

Paddington 2014

• Director: Paul King
• Based on the books by Michael Bond
• Cast: Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Geoffrey Palmer, Matt Lucas, Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water, Maudie, The Hollow Crown, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Made in Degenham, Never Let Me Go, An Education, Happy-Go-Lucky, Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, Vera Drake
• Hugh Bonneville – Downton Abbey, Breathe, The Hollow Crown, Doctor Who, From Time to Time, Glorious 39, Lost in Austen, Bonekickers, Filth, Daniel Deronda, Notting Hill, Frankenstein
• Julie Walters - Secret Garden, Mamma Mia 1&2, Before You Go, The Hollow Crown Henry IV Parts One and Two, Henry V, Harry Potter 1-8, Becoming Jane, Driving Lessons, Wah-Wah, Calendar Girls, Billy Elliot, Titanic Tow, Intimate Relations, Prick Up Your Ears, Educating Rita
• Jim Broadbent - Filth, Cloud Atlas, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Another Year, The Young Victoria, Hot Fuzz, Vera Drake, Gangs of New York, Moulin Rouge, Topsy-Turvy, Little Voice, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Richard III, The Crying Game, Enchanted April, Life is Sweet, Brazil, Black Adder
• Geoffrey Palmer – The Hollow Crown, Doctor Who, As Time Goes By, Anna and the King, Tomorrow Never Dies, Mrs Brown, The Madness of King George, Black Adder, A Fish Called Wanda, Fawltey Towers, O Lucky Man, The Saint
• Matt Lucas – Doctor Who, Little Britain
• Nicole Kidman – Destroyer, Top of the Lake, Genius, Queen of the Desert, Strangerland, Before I Go to Sleep, The Railway Man, Rabbit Hole, Nine, Margo at the Wedding, Fur, The Interpreter, Birth, Cold Mountain, The Human Stain, Dogville, The Hours, Birthday Girl, The Others, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge, Practical Magic, Batman Forever, Billy Bathgate
• Peter Capaldi – David Copperfield, Doctor Who, World War Z, In the Loop, Modigliani, Shooting Fish, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Neverwhere, Local Hero
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 26 March 2023      

       You’ve probably seen this long ago, maybe even read the books when you were a kid. I’m always way behind the times. It wasn’t so very long ago that I started noticing that some great actors are in the films and even more recently discovered that they are based on books.

       Anyway, a young bear arrives in London from darkest Peru and is taken in by the kindly Mrs Brown (Hawkins) and the very reluctant Mr Brown (Bonneville). He takes the name Paddington after the station because his bear name is impossible for humans to pronounce.

       Adventures, misadventures, misunderstandings, dangers, and wonders abound and as you can see from the cast there are marvellous supporting roles.

       It’s quite marvellous altogether. Better late than never. 

4* of 5