A beary good story

Paddington bear (ben Whishaw) is back to warm your heart and offer a marmalade sandwich.

Having settled in with the human Brown family, the young bear has become a beloved member of the Windsor Gardens community.

With his Aunt Lucy’s (Imelda Stauton) birthday approaching, Paddington seeks to earn enough money doing odd jobs to buy her a pop-up book of London.

However, things go awry when the book is stolen and Paddington is framed for the crime.

Now, Paddington, his family and a few of his new prison mates must prove his innocence by finding the true culprit.

Charming, absolutely charming is what this film is. When watching, you can’t help but fall in love with Paddington for his politeness and well-meaning nature. His clumsy antics lead to some entertaining laughs and when he’s in danger, you start to worry for him. It’s sometimes easy to forget that he’s an animated bear.

The human cast members were all good in their own right, with Hugh Bonneville, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters and others, each giving a wonderful performance.

Hugh Grant was also entertaining as the film’s villain: the egotistical, faded actor, Phoenix Buchanan. He had the right balance of deviousness mixed in with being silly and over-the-top.

Nearly every scene was enjoyable, even the prison scenes (which I typically dislike in movies).

Though the plot and events aren’t entirely realistic, the film is able to suspend your expectations of reality to present a beautiful message about the importance of friendship, kindness and family. And, with all the bad stuff out there in the world, that’s something worth remembering.

In the end, this was a gorgeous film that children and adults alike can enjoy. I would recommend going to see it come the Christmas holidays.