I am quite the fan of Colin Firth's work, but I think him dropping out might well have been a boon for the film. Ben Whishaw's voice suits and embodies the little bear instantly - utterly ready for anything, perfectly toned and instantly recognizably and definitively Paddington Bear.
As the film shows the little bear's journey from Peru to London, finding a new home, a family and identity on the way, Ben Whishaw is perfect during every single second we hear Paddington speak. And even when we don't, the combination of Whishaw's talented vocals plus the superb CGI and animations of Paddington render him superbly detailed, characteristically solid and utterly captivating throughout - a perfect leading character.
The human cast list isn't bad at all either. The very cartoonish but still brilliant villain of the piece is portrayed by the deliciously dazzling Nicole Kidman. The Browns (Paddington's adopted family) include the likes of Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins; two giant acting talents of the age. Plus we get supporting roles and cameos from the likes of Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Imelda Staunton and Sir Michael Gambon.
The cast list is stunning - and mostly all the performances are stunning in that they only add to the quality and charming feel of the film. However, I will say, as I have sometimes previously said with ensemble films - the great cast sometimes feels underused and just there for the sake of it. All the performances are good as I say, great even; but they are often seemingly quite shallow and one-dimensional. I know this film is all about Paddington and I know it is quite simple and light-hearted and to work it doesn't need to be much else - I just wish the great acting talent surrounding the bear had just a tad more to do.
Other than that - Paddington is glorious. The bear and the film. I was a touch nervous when I heard they were going to bring this one to the big screen, but in the event I am mightily glad they did.
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