Paddington Revisit: Children's Book Adaptation Excels by Being a Warm Hug
Copyright © StudioCanal, Heyday Films, TF1 Films ProductionTitle: Paddington
Director: Paul King
Based on: Paddington Bear by Michael Bond
Release Date: November 28, 2014 (United Kingdom), January 16, 2015 (United States)
Since Paddington in Peru is now released this year, let's take a look at the past films of the series. When a film with a cheap budget succeeds so well in the public, it gives the question on how they even did that. This movie would be a good example of the pack. For today's revisit, we will be discussing Paddington, the live-action film based on the books by Michael Bond. With a budget of a cheap €38.5 million (approximately $50.37), it grossed an astounding $318.7 million worldwide. The movie gained praise from both critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, it is no wonder how this movie got a 96% Tomatometer, along with an 80% Popcornmeter. What's even more surprising is that it received two BAFTA nominations for Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. So, what's the verdict? Paddington is a heartwarming family hug that spends its budget wisely to make a simply well-done adaptation.
Summary
Leaving the jungles of Peru, a young bear, Paddington (Ben Wishaw), winds up alone in Paddington Station in London. Out there, he searches for a home, until the Brown family takes him to their household.
Reasons
The best souvenirs of Paddington would be the cute story, visual creativity, and family-friendly appeal. Even though it has a cheap budget, the team did what they can to make a simple movie about Paddington. The movie stays true to the source material because of how simple the books are to adapt. It even has cute messages of found family and tolerating others, which are what some other family movies, most especially Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, are trying to tell in their own way. To make the movie more fun to watch, the team was not afraid to sprinkle in some visual creativity. For the most part, it is to get kids interested to keep knowing more about what is going to happen to the characters. The visuals team can find something in the house and just use their imagination to symbolize what happened. Moving on to the last one of the best bunch, there is the family-friendly appeal. Yes, this movie is not really epic or exciting. However, it's Paddington after all! It really works to appeal to kids of all ages as well as adults!
Some other souvenirs to look out for in Paddington are the characters, humor, and soundtrack. The cast did a great job of bringing these characters to life. Paddington himself would be the spotlight for this because it's not just Ben Wishaw's voice that does it. He also has an interesting character arc about being accepted in London. Unlike other live-action/CGI hybrids from the time, the jokes are actually funny. No toilet humor or pop culture references are involved in making the film hip or trendy. It's just innocent gags and pieces of dialogue that can make both children and adults laugh. As an extra, the soundtrack is spectacular. Sure, there are some hit songs here and there, but they are just for certain little parts of the movie. The real thing of the soundtrack is the Latin beats by these musicians appearing in the city. Family movies with foreign characters should do this more often.
Paddington is mostly a cute and well-told story about the titular bear, but let's look for some flaws in the story or whatnot. Honestly, the villain, Millicent Clyde, could have been more developed. Well, she is a femme-fatale taxidermist who wants to track down Paddington, and that's not bad. However, she would have had more to do, especially in the climax. Even though this movie allows younger children to watch it, the movie should have been more emotional. In the saddest scene, it is not enough to make anyone cry. Children would cry, but not even adults would.
Conclusion
Although it did have a cheap budget, Paddington was able to spend it on a cute adaptation that tells the story of well...Paddington! It is no wonder that something so cheap would be a wholesome movie that made a huge success. The team was able to spend wisely on how interesting the story would be, unlike The Electric State which spent its big budget on what's trendy for its kind. In this one, there is 0 nonsense, pop culture references, recent songs, or anything else to be hip. It is just a heartwarming tale of how a bear became part of a human family. The budget may be cheap, but the story and characters will surprise you. Watching this would be even better if you have young siblings by your side.
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