Film Review: "Paddington" (2014).

"A little bear will make a big splash" in Paddington. This fantasy comedy film adapted and directed by Paul King, and based on the stories of the character Paddington Bear created by Michael Bond. The film follows a young Peruvian bear with a passion for all things British who travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined - until he meets the kind Brown family. They offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist.

On Christmas Eve 1956, Bond noticed a lone teddy bear on a shelf in a London store near Paddington Station. Bond bought it as a present for his wife, and was eventually inspired to write a story. The outline of the lonely bear at Paddington Station was inspired by old newsreels showing train-loads of child evacuees leaving London during World War II, with labels around their necks and their possessions in small suitcases. Since its publication in 1958, the books have gone on to be translated into thirty languages across seventy titles and sold more than thirty million copies worldwide. In September 2007, a film adaptation of Bond's stories of the titular bear was first announced with Hamish McColl penning the adaptation, and David Heyman producing. Originally, author Bond was nervous about the project of turning his character into a live-action movie. However, he was convinced after seeing half a minute of test footage. By September 2013, Colin Firth was cast in the title role, with Nicole Kidman, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin rounding out the film's cast. At the same time, with a budget of €38.5 million ($50–55 million), principal photography commenced, and wrapped in June 2014. Filming took place at Elstree Studios and London, England. Firth voluntarily dropped out of the film, after the studio decided his voice was not suitable for Paddington. The role was recast the following month, with Ben Whishaw signing on to voice the title role.

The cast, especially Kidman, Hawkins, Broadbent, Staunton, and Whishaw, to name but a few, all put in an appearance and it is these talented hands who are the best aspect of the film.

Paddington adapts its source material faithfully while condensing the novel's overstuffed narrative into an involving – and often downright exciting – big-screen magical caper. The script is faithful in spirit, the actors are just right, the sets, costumes, makeup and effects match and sometimes exceed anything one could imagine. It is a good film directed for a young audience in which not only is magic taught but also how stereotypes affect it while the film itself recreates some British stereotypes. It isn't perfect, but for me it's a nice supplement to a book series that I love.

Simon says Paddington receives: