First Take Classics: Paddington- the perfect family film

SYNOPSIS- A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.

Back at the start of 2014, the hype surrounding this film was non-existent, as adapting Michael Bond’s beloved character had been done thousands of times before. But now that I’ve actually seen the film, I can safely say that this version will become a classic in years to come- they absolutely nailed it.

Paul King does a cracking job directing the film, it’s paced perfectly for audiences both young and old, and at just 1 hour 35 minutes, he’s able to deliver a story that is able to resonate with the entire audience, a very rare aspect to master. King’s script (which was co-written with Hamish McColl) is great too, staying faithful to the books while also delivering enough humour to satisfy the 6 laugh test easily, and with the combination of Erik Wilson’s cinematography and Nick Urata’s score, all the technical details of the film are spot on.

Then there’s the cast. Incredible. Just incredible. From Hugh Bonneville, to Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman, everyone is perfectly cast, and they certainly make magic happen on screen- but of course, the real star is Ben Whishaw, who provides the voice of Paddington. Considering the fact that he had to replace Colin Firth in the role, he does an incredible job making the UK’s favourite bear come to life- and that’s the reason why this film will do big things.

THE VERDICT

With laughs throughout, a charming plot, a great script and some brilliant performances, Paddington is a film that will go down as one of the great family films of the last few years, and if they can get the sequel right, this could be a franchise to behold on the big screen.

RATING: 5/5