On January 12, director Paul King struck again with the film sequel Paddington 2. The movie stands on its own; I actually had never seen the original Paddington movie but the plot was easy to understand and follow regardless.
Paul King intended to direct this movie since the start of production of the first movie, once saying, “We always hoped there would be a sequel. There’s lots of Paddington stories and loads of source material. We wanted him to be a recurring character rather than a sort of one-off.” After Paddington received immense positive ratings and feedback, King thought it was the right move to create another. Both films have earned scores of higher than 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, leading critics to believe that we can expect a third or even fourth movie. Paddington 2 immediately received high praise, and is the fourth film to hold a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes with over 100 reviews.
Here’s a quick summary of the movie (I’ll try my best to avoid spoilers). Paddington 2 is about a small brown bear who was saved by a bear couple in a whirlpool. He grows up with the bear parents and they soon become his aunt and uncle. After some time, he is sent to London where he is adopted by a human family. He is treated like another kid in the family and is loved by everyone in the neighborhood. Paddington’s aunt’s birthday soon comes around, and he goes searching for the best gift. Upon finding the perfect one, a pop-up book, Paddington starts saving up money to purchase it by picking up odd jobs, such as haircutting and window washing. However, the day before he finally can buy the book—it goes missing. From this point onwards, the movie takes a funny, sad, and adventurous turn.
The beginning of the movie was captivating, but quite cliché. A small cub drowning and struggling to breathe under a strong current is a scene that is common throughout multiple cartoon films. When the movie starts, Paddington spews out a quick biography of each human family member. I understand that this information is crucial to understanding the movie later on, but the rapid words were overwhelming. In fact, they went in one ear and out the other.
The plot of Paddington 2 is very engaging, but predictable. I saw the movie with my friend, and every prediction that we whispered to each other throughout the film proved to be correct. Additionally, there are many unrealistic aspects of the movie that are just too good to be true. That being said, the film is a cartoon movie meant for a younger audience. This fact renders all the previous criticisms obsolete, as the plotline had to be constructed so that kids could understand and walk away happy.
Overall, I loved the film. I thought it covered a wide range of emotions; there were parts that had me tearing up from sadness and from laughter. Although the movie is classified as a family film and one for younger kids, my friend and I both loved it. If I could use one word to describe the movie, it would be cute. The bear was adorable and I found all the other characters to be very charismatic, even the villain. The plot was both easy to follow and creative, and the ending wrapped up the film in a satisfying and nice way. My final rating of Paddington 2 would be 4 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it!