PADDINGTON [2014 / 2015] [Limited Edition SteelBook] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Small Bear! Big Adventure! Magical . . . A Delight From Start To Finish!
Adapted from Michael Bond's beloved books, “PADDINGTON” and follows the comic and magical adventures of a polite young Peruvian bear with a passion for all things British, who travels to London in search of a home.
Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he begins to realise that city life is not all he had imagined, until he meets the kind Brown family, who read the label around his neck, “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” and offer him a temporary haven. But little do the Brown’s family realise just how much comic mayhem one young bear will bring to their family life, and when this rarest of bears catches the eye of a sinister, seductive taxidermist, it isn't long before his home and very existence is under threat.
Produced by David Heyman and ‘PADDINGTON’ is a timeless and universal story written and directed by Paul King. With Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington Bear, the film's all-star cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi and Julie Walters.
FILM FACT No1: Awards and Nominations: 2015 BAFTA® Awards: Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for David Heyman and Paul King. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award: Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul King. 2015 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films: Nominated: Best Fantasy Film. 2015 Behind the Voice Actors Awards: Nominated: Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Feature Film for Ben Whishaw. 2015 Empire Awards: Win: Best Comedy. Nominated: Best British Film. 2015 Golden Trailer Awards: Nominated: Best Voice Over TV Spot for StudioCanal. Nominated: Best Animation/Family Poster for Ignition Print and The Weinstein Company. 2015 Writers Guild of Great Britain: Win: Best Screenplay for Paul King.
FILM FACT No2: In June 2014, after principal photography had wrapped, Colin Firth voluntarily dropped out of the film, after the studio decided his voice was not suitable for Paddington. The role was recast the following month, with Ben Whishaw signing on to voice the title role. Paddington was created using a combination of computer-generated imagery by the British company Framestore and animatronics.
Cast: Tim Downie, Madeleine Worrall, Lottie Steer, Geoffrey Palmer, Theresa Watson, Imelda Staunton (voice), Michael Gambon (voice), Ben Whishaw (Paddington voice), Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Michael Bond, Matt Lucas, Julie Walters, Jude Wright, Kayvan Novak, Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi, Eddie Nestor, Iain Mitchell, Jim Broadbent, Johnny Derbyshire, Mary Roscoe, Matt King, Dominic Coleman, Llewella Gideon, Tarik Blake, Ross Boatman, Steve Oram, Tom Meeten, Alice Lowe, Simon Farnaby, Will Smith, Toby Williams, Catherine Shepherd, Javier Marzan, Sean Bridgeman, Justin Edwards, Cleo Sylvestre, Gus Brown, Rufus Jones, Kenneth Hadley, David McKail, James Bachman, Steve Edge, Barry Ashton, Hamish McColl, Lauren Barrand (voice/uncredited), Alexander Bracq (uncredited), Ancuta Breaban (uncredited), Asim Chaudhry (uncredited), Bern Collaço (uncredited), Gary Douglas (uncredited), Guinevere Edwards (uncredited), Faith Elizabeth (uncredited), Nigel Genis (uncredited), Kornelia Horvath (uncredited), Denis Khoroshko (uncredited), Shaz Lancaster (uncredited), Jim Lawrence (uncredited), Elyas M'Barek (uncredited), Barrie Martin (uncredited), Stuart Matthews (uncredited), Matthew David McCarthy (uncredited), George Newton (uncredited), Jack Philips (uncredited), Fabio Vollono (uncredited), Julie Vollono (uncredited), Vic Waghorn (voice/uncredited) and Daniel Westwood (uncredited)
Director: Paul King
Producers: Alexandra Ferguson-Derbyshire, Ben Irving, Bob Weinstein, David Heyman, Harvey Weinstein, James Joseph, Manohar Tahilramani, McDonald Jeffery Clifford, Olivier Courson, Ron Halpern and Rosie Alison
Screenplay: Hamish McColl (screen story), Paul King (written/screen story) and Michael Bond ("Paddington Bear" creator)
Composer: Nick Urata
Cinematography: Erik Wilson (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio,
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo [Audio Description]
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 95 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: TFI Films Production / STUDIOCANAL
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: When I originally heard and read that there plans for a big-screen version for the wonderful Paddington Bear I was worried. I grew up watching the BBC TV’s version of ‘Paddington’ and I took the little bear to my heart and wondered what if the modern-day CGI computer generated film version of ‘PADDINGTON’ might of ruined Michael Bond’s beautiful creation? But of course I need not have worried, because the 21st-century version of the ‘PADDINGTON’ film is a joy to behold. Director Paul King and producer David Heyman have brought us the joyous fun and beautiful spirit of both the books and the TV series to create a brilliant and very funny film, into a totally magical experience.
The story begins in Darkest Peru where Paddington’s Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo are discovered by “the explorer.” From him they develop a love of the English, London and of course Marmalade. Cut to 40 years later and Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo have adopted their orphaned nephew. Theirs is an idyllic life of marmalade making and dreaming of a trip to London. But when disaster strikes, Aunt Lucy decides to move into a home for retired bears and Paddington stows away on a ship to London because, as Aunt Lucy informs Paddington, Londoners “will not have forgotten how to treat a stranger.”
Paddington’s ship finally docks in London and the passage of time is illustrated by how many jars of marmalade Paddington has eaten, and through a series of events the young bear finds himself at Paddington station where he hopes to make friends and find a new home. Of course this is London and Londoners don’t talk to anyone, except for Mrs. Brown who takes pity on Paddington and watch out for the lovely Lost And Found moment, and much to the annoyance of her risk assessor husband Mr. Brown and daughter Judy, who finds everything so embarrassing.
After supplying her new friend with a name, Mrs. Brown offers him a bed for the night and Paddington hopes he’s found his new home. But that may not be the case after he manages to destroy the family’s bathroom almost immediately. After Paddington tells the Brown’s family the story of ‘the explorer’, Mrs. Brown sets out to help the young bear to track him down and maybe find his new home. The plot also involves Natural History taxidermist Millicent [Nicole Kidman] at her most wicked best and who has her own reasons for getting to know Paddington in her own evil determination.
As to the film itself, it features a great cast with Hugh Bonneville who is the stand out Mr. Brown. I also loved Peter Capaldi’s turn as the Brown’s neighbour Mr. Curry who develops something of a crush on Millicent. One thing I would have liked is to have seen Peter Capaldi do a bit more action, but I thought his accent was a bit off. Julie Walters as the Brown’s housekeeper Mrs. Bird gets a big thumbs up from me and especially in one of her big scene that is well worth waiting for and there are also cameos from the likes of Matt Lucas, Matt King and Jim Broadbent as the kindly Mr. Gruber who tells Paddington “a home is more than just a roof over your head.”
But the real star of the film of course is the film’s CGI computer generated effects and it is not just the work done on the Paddington bear, there are so many scenes that will take your breath away, like the jungle in Peru, and of course Paddington’s scenes at the Geographers’ Guild were filmed at The Reform Club on Pall Mall, which of course is an exclusive private club so unless you are a club member or a guest of a member then you won’t be able to go inside the building. The nearest tube station is Piccadilly Circus. Even the painted tree on the wall in the Brown’s hallway, you get some brilliant and beautiful effects work that is just astonishing, Paddington himself is realised with such care, with love and affection and every strand of his fur is beautifully rendered, and the animators have him flying through the air, skateboarding behind a bus and even having to go on an impossible Mission. I truly forgot I was watching a CGI computer generated Paddington bear and Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington is totally pitch perfect and suits the role perfect and the little bear from Peru makes you laugh out loud, but also pulls at your heartstrings at the same time. But look out for a really hilarious slapstick humour when Mr. Brown and Paddington enters the natural History Museum to check for the long lost explorer who discovered the rare bears in their natural habitat, and especially when Hugh Bonneville has to dress in drag, and does make the scene a totally hilarious laugh out loud experience and Hugh Bonneville really pulls of the stunt with great aplomb, in other words, Hugh Bonneville gives total self-confidence and assurance, especially when in a demanding and hilarious situation and somehow gets away with his disguise to great effect.
So all in all, right from the opening black-and-white newsreel footage of an English explorer bravely traipsing through darkest Peru to a climactic rooftop confrontation, and the film ‘PADDINGTON’ is chock-full of big belly-laughs. It is also totally sweet, beautiful, beguiling, genuinely touching and utterly charming, and is full of innocence and especially with a massive heart at its core. The magical film ‘PADDINGTON’ is easily one of the best family films to grace the big screen in the past decade, and very possibly the best British film to be ever released in 2014.
PADDINGTON MUSIC TRACK LIST
IMPERIAL ECHOES [1913] (Composed by George Arnold Haynes Safroni-Middleton) [Arranged by Natalie Holt]
LONDON IS THE PLACE FOR ME [1951] (Words and Music by Dennis Preston, Aldwin Roberts and Edmundo Ros) [Performed by D Lime featuring Tobago Crusoe]
BORN TO BE WILD (Written by Mars Bonfire) [Performed by Steppenwolf]
HELLO (Written by Lionel Richie) [Performed by Lionel Richie]
BLOW WIND BLOW (Written and Composed by Lionel Belasco) [Performed by D Lime featuring Tobago Crusoe]
POMP AND MARMELADE (Written by Natalie Holt)
SAVITO (Written by Sonia Pottinger) [Performed by D Lime featuring Tobago Crusoe]
I GOT YOU (I FEEL GOOD) (Written by James Brown) [Performed by James Brown]
RUSTED WALTZ (Written by Theodore Shapiro) [Performed by Chris Bacon]
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE THEME (Written by Lalo Schifrin)
GERRARD STREET (Written by Albon Timothy) [Performed by D Lime featuring Tobago Crusoe]
Blu-ray Image Quality – STUDIOCANAL presents us this wonderful Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray with a stunning 1080p image transfer, with an equally impressive 2.39:1 aspect ratio and is one of STUDIOCANAL's strongest image presentations to date. Detailing is absolutely exquisite, particularly with the numerous close-ups of the film's CGI computer generated imagery, blacks are rock-solid and there is an authentic crispness to the image and all of which work together to give it a brilliant sense of depth. Most striking of all is the way the CGI computer generated image presentation handles the film's rich-saturated colours. Sequences such as the interior of Gruber's Antiques store in Notting Hill around the Chapter 5 mark are dominated with fantastic vibrant reds and awesome yellows abound. But unlike some of STUDIOCANAL's earlier high profile Blu-ray releases, there is no trace of colour banding to be seen. The film is rich and alive with bold, striking colours and pinpoint real world and digital details alike. Paddington's red hat and blue coat and other assorted hues around London are likewise impressively reproduced. Details are exacting, with individual digital fur looking particularly strong. Clarity is precise, sharpness comes naturally and only infrequently gives way to smudgy edges, and there is an overall robust sense of vitality and textural imagery. So all in all this is a totally and delightful magical film from start to finish. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – STUDIOCANAL presents us with this amazing Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray with a really lovely and very pleasant 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. While there are special effects appearing throughout, you won’t be dodging the effects from split-surround audio as there wasn’t anything particular standing out in that field. What is present, however, sounds perfectly fine. Music is smoothly delivered and features precise instrumental detail, effortless front speaker spacing, light surround support, and a natural bottom end heft. The subwoofer cranks out some excellent scene and event-specific bass, notably the rattle earthquake that ultimately sends Paddington to London; there's a real sense of sonic chaos, volume, and depth to the event. Train station PA announcements reverberate naturally through the stage and light environmental din brings several locations to life, including a beautifully detailed sound of wind blowing through a draftee, creaky attic. Dialogue is delivered clearly and naturally from the centre.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Meet The Characters [2015] [1080p] [2.39:1 / 1.78:1] [2:22] This special feature is very deceptive and we get a quick introduction to the primary cast and characters, cast chemistry and energy, and performances. The director and cast speak highly about working with one another and we also get to see a nice selection of clips from the film and so all in all this is a very nice short special feature. Contributors include: David Heyman [Producer], Paul King [Director], Jim Broadbent [Mr. Gruber], Hugh Bonneville [Mr. Brown], Sally Hawkins [Mrs. Brown], Julie Walters [Mrs. Bird], Nicole Kidman [Millicent] and Peter Capaldi [Mr. Curry].
Special Feature: From Page To Screen [2015] [1080p] [2.39:1 / 1.78:1] [3:04] With this special feature examines story origins, character details, creating the digital Paddington, and the voice work. Michael Bond's Paddington character is a piece of pop culture in the United Kingdom, so ensuring that they brought a real world travelled bear to life for the film in a very loveable way. We again get some more clips from the film and also some nice illustrations. We are informed that the style of Paddington in the Michael Bond children’s books had to be portrayed differently in the film to reflect the look of a real bear. Contributors include: David Heyman [Producer], Nicole Kidman [Millicent], Hugh Bonneville [Mr. Brown], Paul King [Director], Pablo Grillo [Animation Director], Karen Jankel [Michael Bond’s Daughter] and Julie Walters [Mrs. Bird].
Special Feature: When A Bear Comes To Stay [2015] [1080p] [2.39:1 / 1.78:1] [1:53] Here we get a brief look at Paddington’s innocent, mischievous high jinks. We also learn how the director applied the "silent comedy" approach to his fish-out-of-water family in the film. We also get again some nice clips from the film and also behind-the-scene filming, but what a shame it was a very short special feature. Contributors include: Paul King [Director], Ben Whishaw [The Voice of Paddington], Sally Hawkins [Mrs. Brown] and Pablo Grillo [Animation Director].
Special Feature: Gallery [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] With this special feature we get to view 25 stills, that consist of lots of images of Film Posters and Film Promotional Stills. To view all of what you view, you have to use your remote control to press the ENTER button to move onto the next image.
Finally, ‘PADDINGTON’ is a bear that is hug-able and also a totally beautiful film, that is based on an old favourite book franchise by Michael Bond entitled "Paddington Bear" and moves through a series of comical ups, downs, adventures, conflicts, and burgeoning family ties, but it's honest, heartfelt, and it is a totally brilliant family entertainment. ‘PADDINGTON’ has all the right elements for a classic family film for years to come but the memorable moments for me are when they blend animation with the reality. The creative juices here really flow and it’s quite beautiful to behold. King’s combination with the emotions in the house via the tree in the stairwell and the dollhouse in the attic that plays out the story of what’s happening are captivating, and the one that stands out for me was the truly emotive walk by Paddington into the silver screen. All things merge together to embody the hopefulness and dream-like world that they inhabit but also manages to keep it on steady ground with reflection and honesty. It’s all very British and quite jolly and especially marvellous and this Blu-ray is well worth repeat viewings. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
