Paddington (movie) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Paddington |
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UK theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Paul King |
| Produced by | David Heyman |
| Screenplay by | Paul King |
| Story by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Nick Urata |
| Cinematography | Erik Wilson |
| Editing by | Mark Everson |
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| Distributed by | StudioCanal |
| Release date(s) | 28 November 2014 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
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| Language | English |
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| Money made | $268 million |
Paddington is a 2014 live-action animated comedy film written and directed by Paul King from a story by King and Hamish McColl and produced by David Heyman. Based on the stories of the character Paddington Bear created by Michael Bond, the film stars Ben Whishaw as the voice of the title character, with Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, and Nicole Kidman in live-action roles. The film tells the story of the eponymous character Paddington, an anthropomorphic bear who migrates from the jungles of Peru to the streets of London, where he is adopted by the Brown family. Kidman plays the role of a taxidermist, who attempts to add him to her collection.
Plot
In the deep jungles of Darkest Peru, British geographer Montgomery Clyde happens upon a previously unknown species of bear. He is about to shoot it to take back a specimen to the United Kingdom when a second bear playfully takes his gun away. He learns that this family of bears is intelligent and can learn English, and that they have a deep appetite for marmalade. He names them Lucy and Pastuzo. As he departs, he throws his hat to Pastuzo and tells the bears that they are always welcome should they wish to go to London.
About 40 years later, the two bears are living in harmony with their orphaned nephew, until a sudden earthquake destroys their home, forcing them to seek shelter underground. After saving Aunt Lucy from being trapped by a falling tree, Uncle Pastuzo is distracted and heartbroken at the loss of his home. As a result, he is unable to reach the shelter in time and dies from his injuries. The next morning, Uncle Pastuzo's hat is found by his nephew. Aunt Lucy encourages her nephew to go and find solace in London, and stows him away on a cargo ship, after which she says she will move into the Home for Retired Bears.
The young bear reaches London's Paddington Station, where he meets the Brown family, who take him home temporarily and name him after the station. Henry Brown, the father and a devoted risk analyst, does not believe a word of why he's here and is adamant that Paddington stay only one night while they find a place for him to live permanently, but his wife Mary - a story illustrator - and their two children find him endearing, as does family relative and housekeeper Mrs. Bird.
Paddington thinks he can find a home with the explorer who found Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo, but does not know his name. Since there seems to be no word of his expedition anywhere on the Internet, Mary takes Paddington to Mr. Gruber, an antique shop owner who discovers that the hat bears the stamp of the Geographers Guild, but the Guild says that they never sent a member to explore Darkest Peru. With the help of Henry, Paddington infiltrates the Guild's archive and discovers an expedition to Peru was undertaken by Montgomery Clyde. He uses the city's phone books to track the addresses of all the "M. Clydes" in London.
Meanwhile, the hateful museum taxidermist Director Millicent Clyde captures, kills, and stuffs exotic animals to house in the Natural History Museum. When she becomes aware of Paddington, she immediately sets out to hunt him down. The Brown family departs for the day, leaving Paddington home alone. Scheming with the Browns nosy next-door neighbor Mr. Curry, Millicent sneaks in and attempts to capture Paddington; he manages to defend himself, but inadvertently starts a fire in the kitchen in the process. Disbelieving Paddington's statement of Millicent's capture attempt, Henry states that he must move into a new home as soon as possible and Mary reluctantly agrees.
Feeling unwanted at the Browns, Paddington leaves and attempts to track down Montgomery Clyde himself. He finally locates the house, only to learn that Clyde died years ago, and that Millicent is Clyde's daughter. She resents her father for losing his job and membership of the Guild; out of a change of heart, he refused to bring a valuable Peruvian bear specimen home, even though it would have made his family wealthy. Millicent is determined to succeed where her father failed and capture a Peruvian bear so she can become rich and famous herself. She tranquilizes Paddington and prepares to stuff him, but when Mr. Curry discovers her true intentions, he informs the Brown family and they rush to save Paddington. They rescue him, and Paddington subdues Millicent by throwing a marmalade sandwich at her which Uncle Pastuzo left in his hat for emergencies. This attracts a huge flock of pigeons, distracting her, as Mrs. Bird opens a roof hatch and pushes her off the roof, trapping her on a flagpole.
In the aftermath, the Browns allow Paddington to move in with their family and Millicent is arrested and sentenced to community service at the petting zoo her father opened after he lost his job. Paddington writes to Aunt Lucy saying he is happy and has finally found a home.
Cast
- Ben Whishaw as Paddington Bear
- Hugh Bonneville as Henry Brown
- Sally Hawkins as Mary Brown
- Nicole Kidman as Millicent Clyde
- Theresa Willson as Young Millicent
- Madeleine Harris as Judy Brown
- Samuel Joslin as Jonathan Brown
- Julie Walters as Mrs. Bird
- Jim Broadbent as Samuel Gruber
- Peter Capaldi as Mr. Curry
- Imelda Staunton as Aunt Lucy
- Michael Gambon as Uncle Pastuzo
- Tim Downie as Montgomery Clyde
- Simon Farnaby as Barry
- Matt Lucas as Joe
- Matt King as Andre the Thief
- Geoffrey Palmer as Head geographer
- Michael Bond as the Kindly Gentleman
