Paddington (film series)

Paddington is a media franchise based on the character Paddington Bear, created by British author Michael Bond. The franchise began with the 2014 film of the same name. A sequel was released in 2017 and a third film went into production in 2023. The films have also spawned a TV series, and a short film. All films and TV series feature Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington.

Paddington
Created by	Michael Bond
Original work	Paddington Bear
Owner	The Paddington Company (StudioCanal)
Years	2014–present
Films and television
Film(s)	Paddington (2014) Paddington 2 (2017) Paddington in Peru (2024)
Short film(s)	🥪 👜 Ma’amalade sandwich Your Majesty? (2022)
Animated series	The Adventures of Paddington (2019—present)
Official website
https://www.paddington.com/gb

Films

Paddington (2014)

Main article: Paddington (film)

This is the first and only film to be distributed by The Weinstein Company in the US, as the rights to the film series originally were sold to Warner Bros. Pictures, and then to Columbia Pictures following the Weinstein scandal in October 2017.^[1]

Paddington 2 (2017)

Main article: Paddington 2

In April 2015, David Heyman confirmed that he would produce the second film in the franchise.^[2] It was also announced that Paul King would direct and co-write with Simon Farnaby.^[3] By October 2016, the cast of Paddington – Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton – were confirmed to be returning for the sequel, joined by new cast members Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson. Principal photography began in the same month.^[4] Framestore provided the visual effects for the film.^[5] Filming in Little Venice took place for three days.^[6] Filming also took place at Shepton Mallet Prison.^[7][8]

Paddington in Peru (2024)

Main article: Paddington in Peru

In June 2016, StudioCanal CEO Didier Lupfer stated that the studio was committed to making a third Paddington film.^[9] In November 2017, David Heyman told Digital Spy that though the script for a third Paddington film had not developed, discussions about locations, ideas and scenes had already begun. In November 2018, Heyman noted that a third film was still likely to happen, but that Paul King would not be back to direct, though he would still be involved in a prominent creative capacity.^[10] The films' previous director Paul King will not be directing the film as he is helming the film Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet. King is set to executive produce the film and has written a story alongside Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton with a screenplay by Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont.^[11][12]

On June 13, 2022, it was announced that the title of the film will be Paddington in Peru and will be directed by Dougal Wilson, with principal photography now set to begin in 2023, with some of the cast returning.^[13] In February 2023 Whishaw stated that he had yet to read a script and was unsure whether development was continuing.^[14]

In April 2023, it was confirmed Paddington in Peru (aka Paddington 3) would start filming on 24 July,^[15] which it did,^[16] despite reports that it was suspended due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.^[17] Olivia Colman will appear in the film along with Rachel Zegler. However, since the SAG-AFTRA strikes are affecting her as a Hollywood Actress in the film, it is unknown whether she will make her appearance or not. At the same time, Sally Hawkins quit her role as Mary Brown.^[18][19]

Television series

Main article: The Adventures of Paddington (2019 TV series)

In October 2017, it was announced that StudioCanal was producing an animated series based on the films, set to launch in either late 2018 or early 2019. It was announced in February 2019, that the series will launch worldwide in 2020 on Nickelodeon, with Whishaw reprising his voice of Paddington.^[20][21]

On 20 November 2019, it was announced that the series will premiere on 20 January 2020 after a sneak preview which aired on 20 December 2019.^[22]

Short film

Main article: Platinum Party at the Palace § Opening

For the "Platinum Party at the Palace" music concert that would open the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the Queen acted in a short film Directed By Mark Burton to open the concert in which the Queen hosts Paddington Bear (with Whishaw reprising his role) for tea in honour of the Jubilee.^[23] The Queen is seen patiently tolerating a tea-slurping Paddington who, upon realising his mistake, attempts to pour tea for her. However, he stomps over a pastry on the table and ends up covering a footman (played by Simon Farnaby) in cream.^[24] As the bear offers the Queen a marmalade sandwich, and tells her that he always keeps one for emergencies, the Queen confides "So do I" and, prising open her handbag, tells him: "I keep mine in here".^[25] Later, the bear congratulates the Queen on her reign, exclaiming: "Happy Jubilee Ma'am. And thank you for everything". The sequence ends with both the Queen and Paddington using a spoon to tap out the beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You" on teacup.^[26]

The Queen spent around half a day filming the sketch at Windsor Castle, and had since kept it a secret from some of her family members. A Buckingham Palace spokesman stated: "While the Queen may not be attending the concert in person, she was very keen that people understood how much it meant to her and that all those watching had a great time. [...] Her Majesty is well known for her sense of humour, so it should be no surprise that she decided to take part in tonight's sketch."^[25]

Recurring cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the Paddington franchise.

• An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
•  ^C indicates a cameo role.
•  ^V indicates a voice-only role.

Characters	Films			Television series	Short film
	Paddington	Paddington 2	Paddington in Peru	The Adventures of Paddington	Platinum Party at the Palace
	2014	2017	2024	2019—Present	2022
Paddington Brown	Ben Whishaw^V
Henry Brown	Hugh Bonneville			Darren Boyd^V
Mary Brown	Sally Hawkins		Emily Mortimer	Morwenna Banks^V
Jonathan "J-Dog" Brown	Samuel Joslin			Bobby Beynon^V
Judy Brown	Madeleine Harris			Sabrina Newton-Fisher^V
Mrs. Bird	Julie Walters			Phyllis Logan^V
Samuel Gruber	Jim Broadbent			David Schofield^V
Aunt Lucy	Imelda Staunton^V
Mr. Curry	Peter Capaldi			Reece Shearsmith^V
Uncle Pastuzo	Michael Gambon^V
Barry	Simon Farnaby

Production

The first film of the series was announced in September 2007, with David Heyman producing and Hamish McColl writing the screenplay.^[27] When filming began, Heyman announced the casting of Colin Firth as the voice of Paddington. Paddington is the most expensive film produced by the French production company StudioCanal.^[28][29][30]

In June 2014, after principal photography had wrapped, Firth voluntarily dropped out of the film, after the studio decided his voice was not suitable for Paddington.^[31] The role was recast the following month, with Ben Whishaw signing on to voice the title role. Paddington was created using a combination of computer-generated imagery (by the British company Framestore)^[32] and animatronics.

The creator of the Paddington character, Michael Bond, also appeared in a cameo in the first film, playing the role of the Kindly Gentleman.^[33]

When the two films were dubbed into Ukrainian, Paddington was voiced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.^[34]

Crew

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Producer	Writers		Composer	Editor(s)	Cinematographer
				Screenplay by	Story by
Paddington	16 January 2015	Paul King	David Heyman	Paul King	Paul King and Hamish McColl	Nick Urata	Mark Everson	Erik Wilson
Paddington 2	12 January 2018			Paul King and Simon Farnaby		Dario Marianelli	Mark Everson and Jonathan Amos
Paddington in Peru	17 January 2025	Dougal Wilson		Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont	Paul King, Simon Farnaby, and Mark Burton	TBA

Reception

Box office performance

Film	US release date	Box office gross			Budget
		US and Canada	Other territories	Worldwide
Paddington^[35]	16 January 2015	$76,271,832	$191,775,976	$268,047,808	$55 million
Paddington 2^[36]	12 January 2018	$40,442,052	$186,426,520	$226,868,572	$42 million^[failed verification]

Critical reception

Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.

Critical and public response of Paddington films

Film	Critical		Public
	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Paddington	97% (164 reviews)^[37]	77 (38 critics)^[38]	A^[39]
Paddington 2	99% (250 reviews)^[40]	88 (38 critics)^[41]	A^[39]

BAFTA Awards

Film	Category	Result
Paddington^[42]	Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film	Nominated
	Best Adapted Screenplay
Paddington 2^[43]	Best British Film
	Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hugh Grant)
	Best Adapted Screenplay

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paddington (film series).

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