Paddington 2

Paddington 2 is a 2017 live-action/CGI animated comedy film directed by Paul King and written by King and Simon Farnaby. Based on the stories of the character Paddington Bear created by Michael Bond, it is the sequel to the 2014 film Paddington and is produced by Heyday Films and StudioCanal.

The film stars Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington, and Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant in live action roles. The sequel was announced in April 2015, with Heyman confirmed as a producer. Principal photography began in October 2016, and ended in June 2017. The film was released on 10 November 2017 in the United Kingdom.

Plot
Paddington, having settled with the Brown family in London's Windsor Gardens, has become popular in his community, offering people emotional support in various ways, apart from Mr. Curry who still distrusts him. The Browns have changed in many ways. Mary Brown is training to swim the English channel; Henry Brown does not get the promotion at work he has hoped for; Judy has broken up with her boyfriend, Tony, and has started a newspaper; Jonathan has dropped his old, independent self and has become a classic teenage boy. To purchase a unique pop-up book of London in Samuel Gruber's antique shop for Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, Paddington performs several odd jobs and saves his wages over time, finding a good niche as a window-cleaner after a failed attempt as a hair dresser.

When he is just a day away from having enough money for the book, he witnesses it being stolen from the shop by a bearded thief, and is accused of the crime when the true culprit flees after a brief chase. Although Mr Gruber does not believe that Paddington stole the book, with no evidence of the thief's existence, Paddington is wrongfully convicted and jailed. The thief soon returns home, removing a disguise to be revealed as Phoenix Buchanan, an egotistical has-been actor who lives opposite the Browns and whom Paddington met at a carnival opening ceremony some days prior and had shared the existence of the pop-up book, which Buchanan had thought to have been lost.

Whilst in prison, Paddington initially has a mishap with the laundry, but soon befriends many of the initially hostile inmates, including the short-tempered chef Nuckles, who hires Paddington as his assistant when amazed by his marmalade sandwich recipe. The Browns, in the meantime, continue to try and clear Paddington's name, putting up sketches of the thief drawn by Mary based on Paddington's description. Buchanan begins using the pop-up book to locate a series of clues within London's famous landmarks (using various costumes and disguises so as to not get caught), which he believes will unveil the location of a secret treasure his grandfather had known about.

During their efforts to prove Paddington's innocence, the Browns soon encounter the carnival fortune teller who informs them that the stolen book leads to the hidden fortune of the original author who had once been the carnival's biggest star and had been killed by Phoenix Buchanan's grandfather for the treasure, but who had only found the pop up book in place of the treasure before being stopped by the rest of the carnival people. Realising that the thief is likely using the landmarks in the book to get to the treasure, the Browns visit each location for clues, each time learning someone in a costume had broken in prior.

With Paddington's efforts, the prison finds itself a much livelier and comfortable place, though he still struggles to remain positive when the Browns remain unable to prove his innocence. Soon convinced that Buchanan may indeed be the culprit after Mrs Brown speaking to him, the Browns organise a scheme to lure him out of his house and break in to locate the stolen book. Whilst inside, Henry and Mary find a secret attic where Buchanan's various costumes are stashed, as well as the book itself. Before they find the book and can act further, Buchanan returns home and suspects something is wrong. The Browns soon realise that they have missed the visiting session at prison, leaving a heartbroken Paddington convinced that they have forgotten him.

Paddington soon takes part in a prison break alongside several other inmates, including Nuckles, who promises to aid in proving his innocence but promptly abandons the idea in order to leave the country as a free man, inviting Paddington to come with him to fly out of the country. Paddington refuses and, whilst roaming the streets and avoiding the police, uses a public telephone to contact the Browns, who insist they would never forget him and that they know Buchanan is the real culprit. To catch him, they arrange to meet at Paddington Station, where the carnival train carrying the supposed location of the hidden fortune is due to leave shortly.

Paddington reaches the station and makes it onto the train just as it leaves, the Browns begin their pursuit in another steam train at the opposite platform. Buchanan finds the treasure in the carnival organ by playing the music keys he found at each landmark in order but before he can take it Paddington takes the pop-up book back. When caught up, Henry, Mrs. Bird and Judy board the Tornado and confront Buchanan, who overwhelms them and makes good his initial escape.

Paddington is left stranded in the train's rear carriage which Buchanan severs the coupling for, leaving it to crash into a nearby river. Mary tries to rescue Paddington from drowning but struggles to open the locked carriage; she is soon assisted by Nuckles and the other inmates, who have a change of heart and decide to help Paddington as promised and land their small water plane on the river. Eventually, Henry knocks out Buchanan just as he tries to access the so called treasure, and he is promptly detained.

Paddington, now declared innocent, becomes very ill after the events, slipping into a short three day coma yet recovering well once waking up on Lucy's birthday. With the book taken in as evidence by the police, Paddington is left disappointed that he was unable to get Lucy a present as promised, though soon discovers the Browns, with the help of various other people in the neighbourhood who missed Paddington, made sure Lucy could come to London and see it for herself. Paddington reunites with Lucy, Buchanan is convicted and Nuckles and the other inmates who saved Paddington are pardoned.

Buchanan is sentenced to prison for 10 years, and while in prison he performs his one man show.

Cast

 * Hugh Bonneville as Henry Brown, Mary's husband and Judy and Jonathan's father
 * Sally Hawkins as Mary Brown, Henry's wife and Judy and Jonathan's mother
 * Brendan Gleeson as Nuckles McGinty, a safecracker and prison cook
 * Julie Walters as Mrs. Bird
 * Jim Broadbent as Samuel Gruber, antique shop owner
 * Peter Capaldi as Mr. Curry
 * Hugh Grant as Phoenix Buchanan, a faded and narcissistic actor who stars in dog food commercials and the main antagonist
 * Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington Brown, Lucy and Pastuzo’s nephew
 * Madeleine Harris as Judy Brown, Mary and Henry's daughter and Jonathan's sister
 * Samuel Joslin as Jonathan Brown, Mary and Henry's son and Judy's brother
 * Simon Farnaby as Barry
 * Imelda Staunton as Aunt Lucy, Paddington's aunt
 * Michael Gambon as Uncle Pastuzo, Paddington's uncle
 * Joanna Lumley as Felicity Fanshaw
 * Ben Miller as Colonel Lancaster
 * Jessica Hynes as Miss Kitts
 * Noah Taylor as Phibs
 * Eileen Atkins as Madame Kozlova
 * Tom Conti as Judge Gerald Biggleswade
 * Sanjeev Bhaskar as Dr. Jafri
 * Richard Ayoade as a forensic investigator
 * Meera Syal as a prosecutor

Production
In April 2015, David Heyman, the producer of Paddington (2014), confirmed that he would produce a sequel to the film. It was also announced that Paul King would return to direct and co write with Simon Farnaby. Heyday Films and StudioCanal produced the film. 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 on 18 October 2016. Framestore provided the visual effects for the film. On 7 February 2017, filming featured in the CBBC documentary series All Over the Workplace. Filming in Little Venice took place for three days. Filming also took place at Shepton Mallet Prison, and Knebworth Park. Principal photography ended on 27 June 2017.

Music
The music of the film was composed by Dario Marianelli.

Release
Paddington 2 premiered in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2017, and was theatrically released there on 10 November. It was released on 6 December in France, 7 December in Germany, 21 December in Australia and New Zealand, while being scheduled to be released on 12 January 2018 in the United States. StudioCanal distributed the film in the United Kingdom, and followed suit in France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

The film was originally planned to be distributed by The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films in the United States through their sublabel, TWC-Dimension, but following the sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein Company founder Harvey Weinstein, Heyday Films and StudioCanal began looking for another American distributor for Paddington 2, because they believed that a film for children should not be associated with the Weinstein scandal. In mid-November 2017, Warner Bros. Pictures, which distributed Heyman's Harry Potter films and was already distributing Paddington 2 in Spain, acquired the film's North American distribution rights for $32 million (£24 million). The film will be released in the US on January 12, 2018.

Marketing
From 9 October 2017, five pop up installations of Paddington's pop up book featured in the film were placed around London in Peter's Hill, Tower Bridge, Paddington Station, Peninsula Square and Bankside. The event is being promoted by Visit London. The launch was attended by Hugh Bonneville and Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

On 16 October 2017, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attended a Paddington 2 charity event at Paddington Station along with some of the cast and crew of the film. A video game based on the film, Paddington Run, was released on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices on 25 October 2017.

On 26 October 2017, it was announced that Paddington would appear in the 2017 Marks & Spencer Christmas advertisement. A teaser was released on 4 November 2017, with the advertisement itself released on 7 November 2017 and had its television premiere on the Pride of Britain Awards 2017. Wishaw returns to voice Paddington, and the advertisement also features Mark Benton and Angela Rippon.

Box office
In its first weekend in the United Kingdom, Paddington 2 grossed $10.9 million (£8.3 million), more than the first film ($8 million or £6 million) and StudioCanal's highest grossing film in its opening weekend in the United Kingdom to date. In its second weekend, the film only dropped 20% and grossed a further $8.8 million (£6.6 million).

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Paddington 2 has an approval rating of 100% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Paddington 2 honors its star's rich legacy with a sweet-natured sequel whose adorable visuals are matched by a story perfectly balanced between heartwarming family fare and purely enjoyable all-ages adventure." On Metacritic, another review aggregator, the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Paddington 2 won't save the world, sadly, but its existence makes everything just that tiny bit better and more, well, bearable." Guy Lodge of Variety wrote, "Another near pawfect family entertainment, honoring the cozy, can do spirit of [Michael] Bond's stories while bringing them smoothly into a bustling, diverse 21st century London — with space for some light anti Brexit subtext to boot."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, "The film is pitched with insouciant ease and a lightness of touch at both children and adults without any self conscious shifts in irony or tone: it's humour with the citrus tang of top quality thick cut marmalade."

Sequel
In June 2016, StudioCanal CEO Didier Lupfer stated that the studio was committed to making a third Paddington film, with Warner Bros. Pictures distributing it in the USA, like the second film.