FILM 1605: PADDINGTON
TRIVIA: The character of Paddington Bear is based on a lone teddy bear,
noticed by author Michael Bond
on a shelf in a London store near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve 1956.
Bond bought it as a present for his wife, and was eventually inspired to write
a story. The outline of the lonely bear at Paddington Station was inspired by
old newsreels showing train-loads of child evacuees leaving London during the
Second World War, with labels around their necks and their possessions in small
suitcases.
Karen Jankel, daughter of
Paddington's creator Michael Bond,
was almost moved to tears after the first screening she saw. "For me, it
was bringing to life the bear that was so real to me. And I think they got it
absolutely right".
Hugh Bonneville considers
the Paddington character to be "a part of the DNA of the UK" and
therefore he was nervous about joining the project: "I was very nervous
when I first picked it up because I thought, 'I don't want my childhood being
messed with'. He's such a vivid character for so many people, certainly in
Britain. So I was very nervous when I started reading but within a page I was
laughing out loud and was reminded of all the charming innocence and the warmth
that Michael Bond put on the
page."
According to director Paul King,
Colin Firth was replaced
as the voice of Paddington because, "It slowly just became clear that
Paddington does not have the voice of a very handsome older man, who has the
most beautiful voice on the planet". Firth had visited the set and worked
with his live-action co-stars long before he began recording his lines, in
order to help his co-stars and improve on his voice performance.
Nicole Kidman's childhood
wish was to have Paddington Bear live at her home. She says that to participate
in this film is the closest she will ever come to realize it.
Emma Thompson did an
uncredited polishing of the script; she received a general thank-you in the end
credits.
Although Paddington railway station was used for interior shots, the
exterior establishing shot of 'Paddington' station is Marylebone, a few miles
down the road. It was probably chosen as it is more aesthetically pleasing.
Jeremy Clarkson owns the
very first produced Paddington Bear toy, since it was created by his mother
Shirley Clarkson's company, Gabrielle Designs, which was the first Paddington
licensee to create official Paddington toys.
A life-size bronze sculpture of the fictional Paddington Bear by Marcus
Cornish was placed in Paddington Station, London, in 2000.
