Paul King returned to the world of the marmalade-loving bear, Paddington, as director and writer, and spun a tale that’s just as enchanting as the first live-action take on Michael Bond’s conscientious and kind-hearted character. This time, Paddington (Ben Whishaw voicing) is part-detective/part-convict as he tracks the nefarious actor and thief, Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), through London. It’s pleasant fun for the whole family, available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download.
On Warner Bros.’ combo pack, the special features take us behind the scenes of this story surrounding a pop-up book (which you can also buy) that reveals the keys to a treasure map, dearly desired by Buchanan. While Paddington wants to buy the book (and hilariously works hard to earn it) to give to Aunt Lucy for her one-hundredth birthday, Buchanan’s desires are solely to get rich (and famous, again).
There’s “The Magical Mystery of Paddington’s Pop-Up Book,” “How to Make a Marmalade Sandwich,” and a music video with Grant (in character as Buchanan) that will keep the entertainment value up after the movie is over. But the heart of the story (and much of the humor) finds itself at the padded feet of Paddington, who joins his human family (Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins) and inmates like Knuckles (the always awesome Brendan Gleason) in the reminder that honesty and kindness are always the best policy.
