Paddington 2 #FilmReview #BriFri
Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!
Last week, I reviewed The Ghost Map about the 1854 cholera epidemic in London. Heather reviewed the memoir of the yeoman warder who tends the ravens at the Tower of London, The Ravenmaster. Tina reviewed the 29th book in the Agatha Raisin series, set in the Cotswolds and featuring the bell ringers at a village church, The Dead Ringer. Sim shared her memories of visiting her grandmother in Preston, near Liverpool. Gaele reviewed the audiobook version of Sheer Mischief by Jill Mansell, the romance Coming Home to Maple Cottage by Holly Martin, and the holiday story The Magic of Christmas Tree Farm by Erin Green.
As I mentioned in my review of the first Paddington movie, Paddington Bear was not a creature of my childhood. I’m surprised by how charmed I am by the film adaptations. They don’t feed a nostalgia of my youth, exactly. Although, they do portray a London that fits right in with the nostalgia that comes from a long appreciation of British literature and from my one trip to the city.
Paddington 2, starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, and Hugh Grant — plus, Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington Bear.
Paddington 2 touched on several topics that I enjoy exploring.
British theater, both the high-brow London style and the lower-brow traveling troupe style. Hugh Grant plays an aging actor who is the opening act for a traveling fair.
Antique books. The plot turns around clues hidden in an old pop-up book.
London landmarks. The pop-up book features the landmarks of London — Hugh Grant’s character visits The Tower Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral in fun scenes.
British baking. I’ve avoided becoming a fan of The British Baking Show for fear of developing an insatiable craving for cake. But I enjoyed the scenes in Paddington 2 that show the kinds of things one would love to find on the top level of a tiered tea tray.
Steam trains. The final scenes take place on a pair of steam trains that, natch, leave from Paddington Station.
Paddington Station as we passed through it on the day we went to the Steam Gala at Crofton Pumping Station
Have you seen Paddington 2? What did you think?
Haven’t seen Paddington but I have watched a ton of Great British Baking. Funny, as much as I love cake, the show doesn’t do that for me. It does cement in a love of the understated way—anxious but never boorish and competitive— these British Bakers approach their challenges. The early episodes especially made me misty-eyed. A show to be embraced, not avoided. Especially for a Brit lover like you.
I concur with this sentiment !
Watched Paddington 2 on the flight to London this summer! So sweet and charming. When we went through Paddington I couldn’t help but look for him. Our hotel was not far from Paddington.
I love both Paddington films, but think P2 was a bit better. Who can resist pink prison suits and baked treats?
I adore Paddington – and have the books from when i was a child – in fact it’s the one thing that my daughter wanted when she was small from a trip to London- the bear. He’s just so marvelous. I’ve only seen the first film – I’ll have to look up the second.
I didn’t mean to, but I have become a huge fan of the British Baking Show. Oddly, I’m mostly a bread baker, but I’ve been inspired to try other baked goods.
Strange side story: A teacher gave me a stuffed Paddington many years ago, when I was first a librarian. I literally have never had a student or parent ask for that book, even though I have displayed the book with the bear for all those years. I left Paddington behind when I retired last May. I wonder if he is now a more effective advertiser for the book.
We loved both the Paddington movies but discovered this was one of those rare cases where the second movie was even better than the first. I thought Hugh Grant was great in it and seemed to really have fun with the role. This week I even mentioned on my blog that I’m reading through the Paddington books. As a child I watched the Paddington cartoon on Nikeleodeon but only at my friend’s house because she had cable and we lived too far in the middle of nowhere to have it. As for the Bake Off – you’d be surprised how little they actually bake cakes
even my 11-year old son likes to watch that with me.
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