Paddington

The kids will love this. A small talking bear in a red hat wandering around London causing mayhem and chaos and narrowly escaping murder – what’s not to love? To be fair most grown-up critics loved it, too.

That I don’t entirely share their adoration may be down to the lingering pre-Christmas Scrooge in me or the fact that Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear never impinged on our family life when my daughters were young.

So when I say that I watched Paul King’s admittedly colourful and vibrant movie with interest and often amusement but without really understanding what all the enthusiasm was about, the fault probably lies in me rather than the movie.

But enough of that. The computer-generated bear (sweetly voiced by Ben Whishaw), his residence in darkest Peru having been destroyed by an earthquake, turns up at Paddington Station – whence his name – seeking the explorer who had promised him a home. This, you feel, is a bit optimistic of him since he doesn’t even know the explorer’s name, let alone his address.

The Brown family – Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins plus their children Samuel Joslin and Madeleine Harris – take him in, ostensibly just for the night, although much to Mr Brown’s disapproval. I was with him; I wouldn’t have given Paddington houseroom.

On day one he floods their home and later inadvertently causes a fire, neither of which events causes any apparent damage to the premises. But, hey, suspension of disbelief is essential in a film that relies heavily on farce and slapstick. One, come to that, in which nobody shows any surprise at the sight of a bear mooching around and engaging them in conversation.

Peril for Paddington takes the shape of a mad, blonde taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) who, for reasons made clear later, kidnaps him with the intention of killing and stuffing him. It’s up to the Browns to rescue him from the depths of the Natural History Museum.

All this is mostly for the kids but there are some good moments for adults, too. As Kidman remarks to her smitten henchman, Peter Capaldi, who lives next door to the Browns, when one bear moves in there goes the neighbourhood. Nigel Farage would approve of that.

Yet, sadly, despite Whishaw’s splendid efforts I didn’t grow to be particularly enamoured of Paddington himself, though I don’t wish to put you off.

It looks very good, the action is pretty well non-stop and there’s a strong supporting cast in which Capaldi, Julie Walters as the Browns’ housekeeper and Jim Broadbent as an antiques dealer all make an agreeable mark.

Bonneville and Hawkins are excellent, he in particular making Mr Brown’s conversion from anti- to pro-Paddington entirely convincing. And Kidman hurls herself into the villainess role like a cross between Cruella De Vil and the Wicked Witch of the West. But like I said, I reckon the kids will enjoy the film most.