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Paddington (Christmas 2014)


JonoD

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Y'know, that stuff happened in the original book. (The bathroom stuff, anyway)

 

Since you mentioned this, I dug up a Google Books preview of the chapter this sequence seems to have been based on; you can read it here, by the way, and here's the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCPnsqxDKf4.  The essential element is "Paddington makes a mess of the bathroom," I agree, but the nuance is rather altered.  I think that the differences are significant in terms of the elements people found objectionable in the trailer.

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Eeuuuugh at that first part. Awww that's quite funny at the last part.

Yeah I don't know what to think of this yet. The bathroom bit I wasn't so keen on but I did like the bit with him carrying the dog. That's exactly what the Paddington from the books and tv series would do. I guess I'll wait until we get a full trailer for this, but I don't want them to ruin this since I love Paddington.

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Since you mentioned this, I dug up a Google Books preview of the chapter this sequence seems to have been based on; you can read it here, by the way, and here's the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCPnsqxDKf4.  The essential element is "Paddington makes a mess of the bathroom," I agree, but the nuance is rather altered.  I think that the differences are significant in terms of the elements people found objectionable in the trailer.

 

That's a fair point, and it explains a lot. And yeah, it is a lot different. Paddington just plays with shaving foam and then think's he's drowning in the bath. I guess that is the excess of modern cinema.

 

If they ever try to do this to the moomins I will go there in person and write the script for them to make sure they do it properly.

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In retrospect, I have to admit that that the rest of Paddington's anctics/events in the trailer isn't exactly something I can't see him doing the original book.

 

I guess the toothbrush-as-cottonswabs bit just seemed way too Smurfs-esque (the whole live-action/CG Sonic movie news stuff definitely pushed me to that conclusion, I won't lie) to me to not immediately write off. The way the entire toothbrush scene was played (especially with the comical large tufts of bear earwax coming out and him tasting it), it seemed the writers made him do something for the sake of grossout laughs a la post-movie SpongeBob, rather than show him doing it out of curiosity like in the books. Though to the movie's credit, he even hesitates -"Should I do this or not?"- for a bit in both instances-the earwax tasting bit even has him looking around -"Well, if nobody's watching, then I guess it wouldn't hurt...?"-.

 

It also makes him look like an idiot rather than a curious/naive everyman new to Western life, which is exemplified by him tasting his own earwax and sticking his head -and thus getting stuck- in the toilet so he can rinse out the taste of mouthwash. Paddington's a bit clueless, but he's not stupid-he could had easily turned on the faucets if he desperately needed water. As for how he gets stuck up the toilet segment, just have him trip/slip on something (ideally, a towel on the floor) and have him grab the toilet lever in order to keep himself from falling over.

 

Aside from the toilet segment, I guess another thing I'm bothered by is the design. It reeks of generic "realistic" CG bear. On top of that, he has an adult voice actor (despite being portrayed as, what I'm pretty sure is, a child or pre-teen of sorts in the books/cartoon. The trailer even describes him as "a young explorer!") and he doesn't have his trademark raincoat (understandable concerning the bathroom location, but why not during the escalator scene? You rarely see him not wearing it whenever he's out of the house).

 

So yeah, bear design, voice, and Smurfs-antics of bathroom scene aside, I guess I'm still interested about the film. Weary, but interested all the same.

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The main problem I had, wasn't so much the earwax thing but the voice acting.

 

The first time I watched it, I had the sound off (fiancee was watching tv) and I thought the animation looked great. Trailer didn't sell me on the film much I must admit, though I did chuckle at him taking the dog on the escalator. The animation though, was spot on. Paddington's little look around before licking the earwax and his little "oh no" glance when the cistern started to collapse.

He looked adorable. The animations were spot on for the curiousity of a little kid.

 

Then I rewatched it with sound...and....he's an adult? I know he spoke with an adult voice in the show, not sure how old he's meant to be in the original books, but in that trailer...he's clearly meant to be a little kid. Maybe four or five.

The result was a change from a cute little kid looking around to make sure he wouldn't get in trouble then making the mistake licking something gross, to an adult who clearly should know what he's doing. It went from something cute but gross to something weird and gross and that's no good....

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I assume the rationale behind giving Paddington an adult voice is that his iconic voice is the one from the TV show, which is adult and male.  But from the clips I've seen it's essentially the same as the narratorial voice, so it's not as jarring - I'd have to look again but probably everyone was done by the same person, like in Thomas the Tank Engine, and what's more, they got away with that in the show because Paddington in the show actually looks a lot like a child.  He has very child-like proportions, which are especially emphasised by the large hat and duffel coat that give him a kind of child humanoid shape; what you see of him as a bear is basically a bear's face on a child's body, but more than that, it's a teddy bear's face, so it's cute and huggable.  What we're seeing in the CGI film is that Paddington doesn't look like a teddy bear, he looks like an actual bear, and we get to see more of his actual bear-like body, and there aren't really any other "child" cues to give you the impression of his younger age.  So the film pretty much totally fluffs the presentation of Paddington as a cute child-aged figure, on the material presented so far.  And if you look at the full render with the duffel coat in the link Shadzter posted above, the problem persists even with the clothing, because Paddington's proportions are actually quite tall; he could be adult-sized, which is why the recontextualisation of him into all this scary movie stuff works so well.

 

Conclusion: He just doesn't look like a kid any more.

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Trouble at 't mill.  Colin Firth's bailed and will no longer be voicing Paddington.  It's probably no coincidence that it's been less than a week since the widely-disliked trailer, in which Colin Firth's voice is responsible for grunts only and not a single word.

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  • 4 years later...

I beg your pardon for bumping a thread that hasn't had a comment in 4.5 years, but I've been a big Paddington movie fan lately, both this and its sequel.

Late January, I watched Paddington for the first time, and I loved it. Despite all the praise for it, I was legitimately surprised by how good it was. From the first minute, it became crystal clear how this wasn't your stereotypical live-action "kids' film" with a CGI animal lead. It subverts that "noble savage" trope by making the bears curious, clever, quick learners, and super intelligent. If that wasn't enough, little details later on helped shape its quality, including:

  1. Using Paddington's empty jars of marmalade to indicate passage of time.
  2. How in thirty seconds, the dynamic of the Brown family was established.
  3. When Mary Brown meets Paddington, the word "Found" in the "Lost & Found" sign lights up.
  4. As Paddington writes to Aunt Lucy in his first night at the Brown residence, the family dynamic is shown in a series of rooms inside a dollhouse.

Paul King didn't simply want to create any normal "kids' film." He wanted to create something fun for the whole family while creating such a unique presentation and atmosphere. With how well CGI can be presented realistically, he had an extra advantage.

This film can be divided in two C's: charming and creative. To go over them one by one.

Charming: Dozens of bear years ago, Lucy taught Paddington her lifelong philosophy: "If you are kind and polite, the world will be right." This movie succinctly sticks to his moral. Paddington Bear is one of the kindest character you'll ever meet. No matter how rough the person may be, he sees the good in the people and the community they live in. While his naivety can get him into really sticky situations, the film never shoots him down for it. Being the fish out of water, he struggles to adapt in London, but maintains his optimism. When he makes a mistake, he tries to make it better. Even though he sometimes struggles with vaguenss and idioms, the film doesn't treat him (and us, by association) like he's dumb.

But it isn't simply him. The Brown family has its quirks, most of their antics funny. Henry Brown as overprotective, Mary Brown as open-minded, Jonathan Brown as creative, Judy Brown as defensive, Mrs. Bird as quirky. No, it's not a dysfunctional family. Disagreeable may be the better adjective. But the more they get to know him, the more thy like him, and the more developed they become as characters. Even Henry, the last to trust him, began to grow fond of him.

That night when the Browns handed Paddington their generational trench coat began the film's biggest quality: its heart. This film is full of heartwarming moments, all the way till the snowball fight to end it.

Creative: This movie is inspired by the late Michael Bond's books, and the way the movie's constructed makes it feel like you're watching his kid-like imagination. And with that imagination, King goes through liberties to make it feel storybook-ish. The dollhouse is merely one element. His updates, the old-timed black-and-white film exploring Darkest Peru, Paddington watching people leave the shop owner's toy train, Paddington walking into the old film (reminding himself of home), the quirky design of the Geogropher's Guild entrance hall, and the tree's loss and gaining of leaves depending on the home's mood.

But the creativity doesn't end there. The script is super tight and wastes nothing, not even small gags. On the surface, thy looked miniscule and merely funny, yet impact the film later. The taxi driver driving Paddington around became Millicent Clyde's hostage later. Paddington's struggles with the Brown family's portable vacuum resulted in him using those in the museum to climb up the furnace. Judy's quick learning of the Bear language helps her locate his whereabouts and where to rescue him. Paddington's struggle with a toy apple early is soon called back when he ate a real apple off the family table. Millicent Clyde was sentenced to community service at a petting zoo (the same one her father founded), and the monkey she tried to kill watched her getting humiliated. The reoccurring pigeon gag directly contributing to Clyde's disgrace. There's too many to list.

Beyond the script, the camerawork is breathtaking! Paddington takes full advantage of not the types of angles available, but wen to use them. Spinning the camera so we see the whole family at the table or the camera zooming down through the middle of the spiral or the Dutch angles so we see the family and Mr. Curry in the same shot. King's camera work was extremely creative and really stands out amongst the others.

After all of this, I still haven't talked about Millicent Clyde. Apparently, actress Nicole Kidman had a world of fun as the film's villain. She's crafty, spunky, and absolutely hilarious. Her interaction with Mr. Curry rally makes her stand out as a credible threat to Paddington. Her character oozes confidence, and that confidence and spunk bleed in every shot she's in.

All in all, Paddington is a wonderful film. Creative, charming, witty, heartwarming, and intelligent. I only saw this for the first time several weeks ago, and I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. (And after watching Paddington 2, one of the best family-friendly films this decade, for the first time earlier this week, I can't apologize enough.)

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