Story
Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is a special bear who loves marmalade sandwiches and lives in deepest darkest Peru with his aunt (Imelda Staunton) and uncle (Michael Gambon). When an earthquake destroys their home, Paddington is forced to relocate to London to find a new family to live with.
The Brown family find Paddington alone at Paddington Station and reluctantly let him come home with them. Much to the horror of Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville), Mrs Brown (Sally Hawkins) promises to help Paddington find his explorer friend. Paddington hopes this friend might give him a home.
Meanwhile, Millicent (Nicole Kidman), an evil museum taxidermist, finds out about Paddington. She wants to find him so she can stuff him and put him in her museum. When Paddington is kidnapped, the Brown family realise how much they love him. They must try to save him.
Themes
Kidnapping; loss of a family member; cruelty to animals; natural disasters
Violence
Paddington has some violence. For example:
Sexual references
Paddington has some sexual references, including when Mr Brown disguises himself as a cleaning lady. A security guard leers at him and calls him ‘sexy’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Paddington shows some use of substances, including when Mrs Bird gets the security guard drunk with shots of whisky. They drink one shot and, when the scene comes back to them, they’re drunk, with two empty bottles.
Nudity and sexual activity
Paddington has some mild sexual activity, including when Mr and Mrs Brown share a passionate kiss.
Product placement
There is no product placement of concern in the movie, but plenty of associated merchandise is being marketed to children.
Coarse language
Paddington has some coarse language that children might copy.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The movie Paddington is based on the well-known children’s books by Michael Bond. It’s a funny and heart-warming movie about being kind to strangers and learning that it’s OK to be different.
Paddington is ideal for children aged over seven years. Despite its G rating, this movie isn’t recommended for children aged under five years, and we recommend parental guidance for children aged 5-7 years. This is because of the violent and scary elements in the movie. Our reviewer reports that several young children were scared at the preview she attended.
These are the main messages from Paddington:
- It’s OK to be different, and it’s important to accept others who are different.
- Families should stick together.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include kindness and politeness.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the treatment of animals and the real-life consequences of poaching.