Paddington 2

  When we last saw our little illegal immigrant bear from Darkest Peru (voiced by Ben Whishaw), he had successfully gained asylum with the London browns without ever going through the proper channels. This is what we're teaching our children these days...

 Little Paddington's having a grand old time, and he's made a number of new friends around the neighborhood. But he's sad because his beloved aunt's birthday is coming and he wants to send her the perfect gift. It's not long until he finds one, with a little help from an antiquarian friend (Jim Broadbent, returning -as almost everyone else- from the first film.) The gift is a pop-up book detailing a number of London landmarks. Paddington immediately realizes it's perfect because his aunt's dearest wish is, wouldn't you know it, to go to London, and we soon get a prime example of the weapons-grade charm these movies deploy as Paddington imagines taking his aunt on a tour of old Blighty tourist attractions made in the medium of, well, pop-up books, and the scenery folds out and back into place in place of scene transitions. It's a lovely, imaginative idea, beautifully realized by (returning) director Paul King.

 Paddington immediately sets out to make money to buy the book (on the one hand, he's not immediately sending it out of the country, but he does intend to ship out a one-of a kind pop-up book. Hmmm.) Unfortunately, he happens to mention the book to a new character Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant). Mr. Buchanan is a fading theatrical star (now reduced to doing dog food commercials in costume) - a ripe old ham, of course, and Grant has a huge amount of fun chewing on any scenery within reach.

 And of course the book is a McGuffin - Or a treasure map, I should say, which leads to a dead circus performer's treasure. Buchanan steals the book and frames Paddington, so the film then splits between Paddington's prison time, and his adoptive family trying to solve the crime and clear the bear's name.

 It's a similar setup to the leadup to the third act of the first movie, except here their separate adventures comprise the entirety of the second act - which is fine, because Paddington's stay in prison is a delight. It gives the series' themes of winning people over and bringing them together a workout, as a ton of inmates and wardens enter the yarn, with pride of place going to the prisoner cook Knuckles (played with gruff charm by the great Brendan Gleeson).

 It will all lead up to some wacky adventures as the main plot is resolved, but the considerable charms of the movie are found elsewhere - In the goofy humor of its many many jokes, the technical attention to detail and imaginative transitions (again, the influence of Wes Anderson is not hard to see), or in the little flourishes and links in the script. It's not without its convolutions and clunky bits, but it's hard to be down on a movie when it sets things up so that you know where the coin the bear takes out of his ear to make a payphone call came from. Or one that hides a (very funny) full blown musical number with a ton of extras as a mid-credits stinger.

 Rewatching these films, I think maybe I've been a bit more down on the first one than I should have, and maybe thought better of the second one than it really is. They're on a pretty even keel, all things considered, even though I still like the second one better. But they're both an absolute joy to watch - funny, clever and lovingly made. What more can you ask for out of a kid's movie?

 Well, maybe a bit more rectitude in their messaging. By the end of 2 (spoilers!) you've got two bears living illegally with the browns. And we all know where this road leads: people brazenly talking bear in the streets, marmalade and salmon bones in the pavement... for shame. Keep Britain Ursine Free!

Paddington

 Of course I think it's great. I'm not that dead inside yet; give it a few more Zach Snyder movies.

 Paddington is a ridiculously British, ridiculously cute, and very very funny 2014 adaptation of a popular series of extremely British picture books that go all the way back to the '50s. The titular character (voice courtesy of Ben Whishaw, and image courtesy of a bunch of talented computer artists) is a bear from Darkest Peru who sneaks illegally into the country by boat, and... well, that's as far as I can stretch that joke, because the movie has a pretty un-British-like sympathy for illegal immigrants. At least a couple of characters do put on a stony front for a while, but they can't keep it up for long because Paddington is obviously an exception, one of the good immigrants, not like all those others, you know, some of my best friends are immigrants, etc. etc.

 Ahem.

 How does a bear find his way to old Blighty from Darkest Peru? That's explained in a spiffy prologue that's filmed in the style of an old adventure documentary and contains some of the film's best jokes; that's not a slam on the rest of the film, which is chock full of great gags and very funny lines.
 Turns out a daring British explorer (Tim Downie) met Paddington's uncles during a geographical survey, way back when. He befriended them, taught them to speak when he learnt that they could mimic him ('LON-DOHN,' says the bear; 'Good Lord!' replies the overwhelmed explorer. Then, without missing a beat, conversationally: 'Now try Stratford-Upon-Avon'...), and regaled them with  tales about the wonders of the empire. Finally, when it was time to go, he promised them that they would always be welcome at his home in London.

 Many years later, the bear couple who the adventurer befriended have become proper posh British wannabes, voiced by Imelda Staunton and Michael Gambon, no less. When an earthquake strikes and leaves them with nothing, they decide to send their nephew back to London, thinking that he'll receive a warm welcome there (the tales they tell him of refugee children left at train stations don't really match up with the prologue's time frame, but it's a cute detail.)
 So begin the adventures of young Paddington, asylum seeker. So named because his bear name is unpronounceable to most humans, and he was found in Paddington Station. After some misadventure, he's taken home by the Brown family. The mother (the always welcome Sally Hawkins) is quite taken by the soft-spoken, extremely well-mannered young bear, but the father (Hugh Bonneville) is much more of a... well, let's say he's a Daily Mail reader.

 From there on you get bear-out-of-jungle incidents as the amiable ursine explores human contraptions, and cutesy bits as he slowly but surely starts winning his new family over, even as the patriarch tries to get rid of him. And as Paddington searches for information on the explorer who invited his uncles to London so long ago, he comes to the attention of a shady taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) who wants our protagonist stuffed for an exhibit at the London Museum of Natural History.

 Most of it goes as you'd expect. Paddington is a very sweet movie, and it's much funnier and more inventive than it needs to be, but it is still a kid's movie, so it does point its sights down a little as a result. It's at its weakest as the plot finally kicks into gear in the final third, but even before that it's perfectly willing to dip into dreary panto territory. It's never not fun, but it's so good when it's good that it's a bit of a shame when it goes for low-hanging fruit.

 Thank goodness, then, that it's got an ace up its sleeve in director (and co-writer) Paul King. This is an extremely good-looking movie, one that pays a lot of attention to frame composition, inventive shots and interesting set design. That's rare these days even in films for grown-ups. King is a veteran of the very psychedelic, extremely acid tinged show The Mighty Boosh; Here he understandably tones down the show's more out there sensibilities, but keeps all the exuberance, resulting in a film that's often a joy to watch:

Trust me, these look much better in motion...

 There are a lot of side-on shots, both static and with lateral movement (a la Wes Anderson,) and carefully composed visual gags. Add to that some lovely flourishes, some magical realism, and a salsa band providing diegetic music at appropriate moments, and you've got yourself something pretty special.

 Want more good news? OK: the sequel is even better.