I vaguely remember the first Paddington movie. I found it a charming family movie with a British spin, but nothing super special. Paddington 2 improves upon the story set up by the original, by shifting the focus of the story more towards the bear. It also upgrades the villain from a taxidermist (morbid) to a washed up self-important actor (MUCH more whimsical). As a result, you get a real solid family film that everyone can enjoy.
Paddington 2 introduces us to the title bear (voice of Ben Whishaw) well adjusted to life in London, going about his daily routine. Paddington lives with the Brown family who is doing their own thing (to service the plot ;).). Father Henry (Hugh Bonneville) is going through mid life crisis after a job issue, doing yoga and dying hair. Mommy Mary (Sally Hawkins) is preparing to swim across the English Channel. Mrs. Brown (Julie Walters) is dropping one liners. Daughter Judy (Madeline Harris) is going through a breakup and writing for her school paper, and youngest Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) is hiding his love of steam engines from his friends, who call him J-Dawg. The plot gets going when Paddington wants to buy a pop up book from Mr. Gruber’s (Jim Broadbent) antiques store for his Aunt Judy (voice of Imelda Staunton), who taught Paddington about London. However, the book gets stolen before Paddington can buy it by Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), who needs the book to help him jump start his acting career again. In his attempt to catch the thief, Paddington gets arrested, and sent to jail, forcing the Browns to work together to try to catch this mysterious fellow who Paddington says stole the book.
By focusing more on Paddington, the possibilities for storytelling in these movies movie past the constricted storytelling about family being important. One of the subtle themes of the books is about how a person should be judged on their actions and not on their appearance. Paddington looks distrustful from his different look from his neighbors, but the movie spends a good amount of time showing us how Paddington makes people’s lives better when he’s around, and leaves a hole when he’s gone. Peter Capaldi plays the audience surrogate who is naturally afraid of the other, but he plays him over the top, so he comes across silly, but still gets his point across. In prison, all those people look scary and awful, but perhaps when you get to know them, you’ll realize some of them have hearts of gold and could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s all very silly to keep the family friendly tone, but there’s enough of a point that it gives Paddington 2 something deeper than a kids movie.
But thankfully, the writers don’t waver from the core of the Paddington books/movies: an earnest, humorous heart. In general, I find pratfalls lazy, easy storytelling, and a way to laugh at something instead of with something. However, here, the joke is the execution. When you see Paddington want to be a window washer, you know he’s gonna fall off something. However, the way he falls off isn’t some wry British person shaking their head at him: it’s Paddington amusingly cleaning the window with his body, and the person smiling and giving him a thumbs up. The jokes don’t stop either, culminating in the best yoga joke I have ever seen in a movie, as well as Hugh Grant, sport that he is, doing an amazing song and dance number that’s so silly you just die laughing through the credits. The movie however never forgets its through line: Paddington is window washing to help give something to his Aunt Judy, who gave so much to him. Paddington is filled with empathy and love for everyone, and we see with every interaction even hardened people have with him, they start to open up and feel real happiness, especially Knuckles McGinty (Brendan Gleeson). This love that the characters have for each other pays off in the third act, when there are a couple moments where all of a sudden I just started tearing up…at PADDINGTON!! But the movie had so put me under its spell that you just embrace the movie version of a hug you just got.
I know I might seem hyperbolic in my description of a movie about a pratfall prolific bear living in London, but Paddington 2, if you open your heart, will not break it. Also, for all you London fans, there is just a stunning scope of travelogue spots for you to see how beautiful the city can be. Or if you want to laugh at Hugh Grant making fun of what a washed up Hugh Grant might end up being, you can do that too, in a silly way!