Paddington’s latest adventure soon reveals itself: he needs money to pay for a special birthday gift for Aunt Lucy, a dazzling “popping book” that illustrates the London he loves and that she’s yet to see. Let’s hope that never changes.Īs it turns out, things in London are great, and “Paddington 2” quickly updates the audience on what’s happened since the first film ended, zipping through the Brown family’s current happenings (via snappy stop-motion, adorable animation, and the odd newsreel or two, “Paddington 2” is awash in clever visual aids) and making it clear just how wonderfully their young bear fits in with the family and the rest of their neighborhood. The lessons that Paddington happily imparts wherever he goes - including Aunt Lucy’s lovely old chestnut “If you’re kind and polite, the world will be right” - can all be traced back to “darkest Peru,” and that Paddington never wavers from what’s most important to him is both the backbone and the heart of the franchise. It’s an important reminder of where the cub came from, and also why he remains so dedicated to both Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo, even now that he lives so very far away in London with the dedicated Brown family. Opening with a flashback - “many bear years ago” - King’s film reintroduces us to both a very young Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) and the kindly older bears that raised him after a heart-pounding adventure left him in their care. The rare sequel that improves upon the original, and in turn makes the still rarer case for a franchise to continue on as long as it possibly can, “ Paddington 2” is about as clever and sweet a crowdpleasing as any movie - not just one primarily aimed at the younger set and their families. Surely there will be others, but for now, Paul King’s charming followup to his charming 2014 original feature, based on the beloved children’s stories penned by author Michael Bond, is as good as it gets among new releases. Less than a week into the new year, and it’s already here: the best film of 2018.
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