Watching “Paddington 2” reminds me a lot to “Book of Life” experience. Not the story line, but the warm feeling I got afterwards. The pleasant surprise from almost no expectation at first, to genuinely charmed and delighted multiple times throughout the viewing, to the deep breath of relish and beam I must had in my face at the very end.
Here is my take about what makes “Paddington 2” a splendid picture.
P for “Presenting a Good Story”
Probably the most crucial element, this is ultimately what we long for when we go to watch a movie. Paddington and The Brown Family are pursuing a thief who stole a pop up book the bear wants for his aunt’s birthday. But wait—it is not simply a story about hunting down a thief–the pop up book turns out to be a a treasure map with coded clues.
The clues in the map are revealed delightfully in the villain’s own hilarious adventure, while The Browns are trying to trace him down. At the same time, Paddington struggles to stay brave in prison. All of these without missing a beat or seems jarring in one cohesive, entertaining story.
A for “Adorning All Characters in a Wholesome Way”
I’m not even talking about The Browns or Paddington’s prison mates, for their stories are also substantial parts of this movie, but about how a love story in Windsor Gardens could bloom between Colonel Lancaster and Miss Kitts, the Newsagent Lady, from an act as simple as Paddington becomes a window cleaner.
That is a thread cleverly woven, among many. Just how the creator managed to add in so many cuts, but make them add the shines to this gem instead of messing it up? Truly, hats off for that.
D for “Delivering the Funny Pawfectly”
“Paddington 2” has plenty of funny moments, appealing both to children and adults alike. My favorite funny scene is when Knuckles bossed Paddington around to make marmalade for the first time. I whispered to my sister that Knuckles is abusive to Paddington just like she is to me (which sister didn’t find amusing at all—but she always has a warped sense of humor). When Knuckles told Paddinton to carry the oranges “one by one”, which he did literally, I just cracked like a mad witch. It’s so simple, yet it lightens your heart along with the soaring of Paddington’s spirit after the gloom situation he faced in the prison.
D for “Delighting Your Eyes”
It’s a colorful London, a dream city I always envision in my mind when I think about my favorite children books.
“Paddington” makes some smooth transition between full animation in pop up book scene to live action with lovely townscape for the rest of the story.
Some of the breath taking pictures include the night city view from the air balloon used by Paddington and his mates when escaping the prison, but even everyday life scene looks like they really jump alive from children story book pages they originally were.
I for “Introducing London’s Beautiful Landmarks”
The pop up book as a treasure map leads us to some of the most famous London’s landmarks, such as St. Paul Cathedral or London Tower Bridge.
Previously, I always romanticized Paris more, but after “Paddington 2”, London seriously climbed higher on my “want to visit” list.
N for “Nailing Down the Details”
Small details like Mr. Brown used to be “Bull’s Eye Brown” is brought back at the end to be an important point.
This scene of Mr. Brown performing a split between two steam trains is perfectly funny on its own, but it’s made even more heartfelt with the backstory about his middle age crisis and him joining a yoga class as an attempt to cope with it.
G for “Girlpower!”
Mrs. Brown is the one who led the investigation and eventually figured out who was the real villain.
In the movie, she’s an adventure story writer who longs for an adventure in her real life, and really goes for it.
Wow, she’s a lady after my own dream!
T for “True to Originals”
The creator managed to give marmalade, Paddington’s notable favorite jam from the original story, a prominent role on this movie. Marmalade is one of what makes Paddington, Paddington; so a million kudos for that.
O for “Offering the Moral in a Fun Way”
Nobody like to be taught morals in patronizing way. Paddington repeats Aunt Lucy’s message all the time for himself: “If you’re kind and polite, everything will come right”, and the audience watches with him that his world always indeed turned alright. I love the optimism and inspiration it entails, effortlessly without seeming to mean to.
N for “Need I say more?” XD
I tried several angles in penning out a review for “Paddington 2”, because I like it so much.
But then I found a perfect review in Empire Online, which I think capture all essences of why “Paddington 2” is so universally heartwarming.
This is the part that really hits home:
“The world of Paddington is much as we left it. It’s London, but a version far removed from reality, where even newsagents live in multimillion-pound Georgian villas — as fantastical a notion as a talking bear. It’s now, but not. People use cassette tapes, steam trains pootle past in the background, everyone has a landline, yet kids wear Kanye-esque shutter shades and T-shirts with LCD panels, and a main character works in The Shard. It’s a time that’s never been; a very subtle form of fantasy.”
Why, but that’s just like “Harry Potter”!
Now I understand a lot better why I like it so much. Many movies may have a good plot, lovable characters or beautiful cinematography; but a good dose of imagination, so close to reality but not, always multiple the effect for me.
I found my self clapping spontaneously when the film ended as appreciation, and I wasn’t the only one who did! The whole theater were celebrating this movie, and I’m glad we did.
Score: 9 of 10
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