There are plenty of well-meaning movies made for children that convey the message that every group of people, no matter their make-up, if they just love one another, constitute a “family.”
On one hand, in a society where the traditional, nuclear family is often splintered by divorce, remarriage and other factors, this can be a positive, affirming message to children in need of security and acceptance.
On the other hand, when certain forces in society are trying to redefine both “family” and “marriage” to suit an anti-biblical agenda, the near steady barrage of children’s films preaching the same message seems suspiciously like an attempt to bolster said agenda.
Thankfully, “Paddington” gives audiences the affirming messages without the agenda-driven ones and does so with color, creativity and charm.
The film, based on the classic book series about an accident-prone but kindly and persistently polite bear named Paddington, does a surprisingly good job of sticking to the books, keeping many of the same characters and characteristics that made the stories so popular.
The moviegoers also bring the latest in computerized animation technology to bring Paddington to life in a visually delightful and quirky film that many audiences are sure to enjoy.
Unfortunately, my biggest criticism is that the moviegoers added a character, a villain played by Nicole Kidman, who is so plastic and obnoxiously melodramatic as to spoil this film for adults and relegate it to the kind of fare only kids can truly enjoy. And while children will enjoy it, I couldn’t help but groan inwardly at the movie that could have been had the director created a film for everyone and not try to dumb it down for children. Kidman truly deserves a “Raspberry” nomination for a horrendous acting job in this role.
The messages in the movie, however, are as positive as the film is pretty.
“Give your parents a chance,” the doubtful youngsters are told, for example, “they may just surprise you.”
And while the Brown family is a nuclear family in the traditional sense of the word – a mom, a dad, daughter and son – when they bring in Paddington, they essentially adopt the bear, and the messages, I imagine, could not help but resound in the hearts of real-life families that also make the decision to adopt and the children who enter those homes.
“It doesn’t matter that he comes from the other side of the world,” the Browns say at one point. “We love Paddington and that makes him family.”
“Don’t you get it?” Mr. Brown is challenged when he doesn’t know if chasing after Paddington is worth the trouble of keeping up with the bear’s shenanigans. “This family needs that bear every bit as much as that bear needs this family.”
And finally, the words of Paddington himself: “Though I don’t look like anyone else, that’s all right. I really am at home.”
Kudos to “Paddington” for a creative and positive movie. I just wish it was made for the whole family to enjoy and not just the kiddos.
Content advisory:
- “Paddington,” rated PG, contains no obscenities and only one profanity.
- The film has only minor sexuality, like a shirtless man, a husband and wife kissing passionately and a neighbor who is attracted to the villainess, calling her “honeypot.” There is a reference to the mother in the family jumping into a pond naked sometime in the past and an extended scene where the father dresses in disguise as a cleaning lady. During that sequence a man comically hits on the father, calling him a “sexy woman,” and there’s a line about men in jail finding him attractive dressed like that.
- The movie has several instances of slapstick, comedic violence, though it doesn’t really revel in fighting. There is, however, a traumatic scene of an earthquake that leaves a parental figure dead, which may be troubling to some younger viewers, and the villainess in a few scenes fires darts from a tranquilizer gun at Paddington.
- The film’s only religious reference comes when a character is awoken from sleep by a voice and calls out, “Is that you, God?”
