Paddington 2 - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Paddington 2

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
2014’s Paddington was a film that really shouldn’t have been as good as it was. I remember seeing the trailers for it in theaters over 4 years ago, and naturally shaking it off as just another “animated cartoon in the real world”, similar to the abominations that were the Smurfs films of recent years. However, I ended up being gifted the Blu-ray by a friend and ended up being shocked at how sweet it was! I had originally grown up with Michael Bond and Peggy Fortnum’s children’s novels as a child, so I am well versed in the lore, but never truly expected the transformation to film to be as successful as it was. Paddington made a whopping $268 million off of a measly $55 million budget, which was astonishing at the time. Also, it pretty much guaranteed a sequel, because no film makes that much profits without the bean counters capitalizing on said popularity and trying once again to replicate the success. Well, Paddington 2 comes along and does it again. This time making $224 million (a bit less) on a $40 million budget (also a bit less, which offsets some of the loss on profit), and ends up being BETTER than the original!

Director Paul King is back, and so is Paddington bear (Ben Wishaw, who you might recognize as the new Q in the Daniel Craig Bond films). Paddington was a young bear from Peru who moved in with the Brown family in Jolly old England. He’s a sweet and mild mannered bear (taught by his Aunt Lucy and uncle Pastuzo) who is polite and charmingly naive to everyone, with a love for good old English orange marmalade (who can blame him, marmalade is delicious). Now that Paddington is normalized as a talking bear in the human world, he has finally found a home. The Brown’s have accepted him into their family, and Paddington is joy to be around for everyone in their neighborhood. His Aunt Lucy’s birthday is coming up in just a few weeks, so Paddington wants to get her something truly special. Luckily he finds the perfect gift, a popup book of London from a legendary circus performer, but it costs way more money than the young bear can afford. Working his tail off (quite literally I might add), Paddington strives to make the thousand coins needed to purchase it, only to have the book stolen from the antique shop, and Paddington seen at the scene of the crime.

With no one able to see any other villain, the judge has no choice to lock up the bear for his “crime”. Mrs. Brown (Sally Hawkins), Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville) and the rest of the Brown family REFUSE to give up hope for Paddington’s release, and go on a mission to find out who the real burglar really is. A burglar who actually is under their nose the whole time in the form of disgraced actor Phoenix Buchanon (Hugh Grant). A charming neighbor to the Brown’s who tries his BEST to help out the case (even though he’s the villain all along), while using the stolen book to unlock the path to a hidden treasure that will finally get himself rich enough again to get back into high society.

Simultaneously, Paddington spreads his joy and good manners to everyone around him, which means a bunch of burly men in federal prison. It may seem impossible, but the good mannered bear is so lovable as to even win over the vicious Nuckles McGinty (Brendan Gleeson), no matter where he goes, a love of marmalade is sure to follow. As the Brown’s investigation comes to a close with no hope, and a seeming lack of interest in the bear, Paddington finally decides to follow the guidance a few inmates and break himself out so the he can clear his good name.

As I said in my opening paragraph, Paddington should never have worked. 99% of all of these child’s adaptations to big screen have flopped miserably. Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, The Smurfs, the list goes on and on. These children’s novels from the 1950s and before rely on a sense of morality and simplistic good manners in their lessons that they’re usually either entirely too kiddy, or they just swing and a miss horribly (think The Smurfs). However, Paddington skates a delicate line between children’s storytelling, and sweetly heartfelt adventures that tug at the heart strings in such a w way that it is accessible to people of all ages. Paddington 2 not only follows in the footsteps of the first film, but Paul King actually crafts it into a BETTER move than it’s predecessor (something very rare indeed). Paddington 2 is heart warming, cheerful, joyful, and completely fun in its mild mannered adventures. Ben Wishaw gives the character a whimsical nature that is compelling and sweet, while the rest of the cast really mesh well with the animated character. Nothing comes across as too childishly cheesy or goofy, and the antics are kept to a minimum so the humor doesn’t bowl you over with goofy hijinks. It doesn’t hurt the film in the slightest to have legendary actors like Sally Hawkings, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson, Peter Capaldi, Ben Wishaw and Michael Gambon (otherwise known as Dumbledore) lending their talents to the product. The film ends up being spot on perfect and a real treat to watch if you’re child, and almost as much of a treat to watch if you’re an adult (or at least a kid at heart, I won’t judge).




Rating:

Rated PG for some action and mild rude humor




Video:

Shot with the ever popular Arri Alexa cameras and finished with a 2K digital intermediate, Paddington 2 just looks stunning on Blu-ray. The digitally shot film is crisp and clean, with razor sharp details and a good handle on blending the CGI of Paddington himself with the real world. The bear naturally looks a bit goofy, but I think they kind of ran with it and just used the obviously CGI character design as part of his charm and appeal rather than try to make him photo realistic. There are some soft edges around the bear, and this softens the image JUST a tad, but when you stop focusing on him the picture really is amazingly sharp. You can see every bit of fur on Paddinton’s chubby little figure, and the intricate designs and details of Phoenix Buchanon’s wardrobe are immaculate. The colors are bright and cheerful, with great color saturation for primaries (such as Mrs. Brown’s sweater, or the orange marmalade that Paddington loves so much), and the overall grading is a bit on the honey colored end of the spectrum with some overly hot white levels. Blacks are deep and inky, with great shadow detail, rendering this an appropriately awesome encode from Warner Brothers.





Audio:

Warner has given us the treat of another Atmos track and Paddington 2 makes effective use of the next generation audio experience. The adventures of Paddington are never too wild or crazy, but the there is more than enough activity to give the surrounds a full workout, ranging from Hugh Grant running around stealing clues from the book, as well as the raging train chase at the very end of the film, complete with a roaring Mission Impossible style pursuit. Overheads are a bit light, but they do contain some information during the chase sequences and the prison escape. LFE is punchy and tight, and the vocals are above reproach, anchored firmly in the front center of the room.








Extras:

• Paddington: The Bear Truth
• How to Make A Marmalade Sandwich
• Music Video with Phoenix Buchanan
• The Magical Mystery of Paddington's Pop-Up Book
• The Browns and Paddington: The Special Bond
• Knuckles: A Fistful of Marmalade
• The (Once) Famous Faces of Phoenix Buchanan
• Audio Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Paul King

Final Score: ​

Paddington 2 is a wonderfully charming little film, with lots to offer people of all ages. Paddington himself is such a lovable character thanks to Ben Wishaw whimsical voice acting and a healthy dose of heart from Writer/Director Paul King. Warner Brothers has done a fantastic technical job with the Blu-ray, giving it a great Atmos track as well as a very capable looking video encode and solid extras (something becoming more and more rare on home video). Definitely a highly recommended home theater experience on all fronts from this reviewer.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ben Wishaw, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville
Directed by: Paul King
Written by: Paul King, Simon Farnaby
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish, English DVS DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG
Runtime: 104 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: Own Paddington 2 on Blu-ray combo pack DVD on April 24, or Own It Early on Digital on March 27!

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will have to watch the first one first.

 

[Asere]

The first one was great and I will get this one for my kids as well. Thank you for the review!

 

[Asere]

The kids and I saw it today. Very enjoyable and funny.

 

[Michael Scott]

glad you liked it Asere. It's a really cute movie IMO