What you need to know
The film adaptation of Michael Bond's children's classic, Paddington, has opened in UK cinemas. The comedy, co-written and directed by Paul King (The Mighty Boosh), stars Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington bear, with Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman.
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What the critics like
The film is "a total delight, as warm and welcome as a hot pair of socks on a winter morning" and also enormously funny in an unmistakably British way, says Robbie Collin in the Daily Telegraph. The instruction "please look after this bear" has been heeded.
This live-action revamp of Paddington's exploits has been jazzed up with action set-pieces, a generous helping of peril and "the kind of irreverent comedy that charms children and adults", says Wende Ide in The Times. The heart of this sweet-natured ursine klutz beats strong and true in a film, which is also sticky, furry love letter to London.
"Marma-laden with gloriously silly jokes, pitch-perfect performances and incidental detail, this is a warm, witty and wondrously inventive great big bear-hug of a movie," says Chris Hewitt Empire. Consistently funny, surprising and with a heart as big as its hero's appetite, it deserves to be the start of a new franchise
What they don't like
It's a film of considerable charm but "undermined by a very bitty and flimsy screenplay", says Geoffrey MacNab in The Independent. Writer-director Paul King has more flair for comic set-pieces than he does for sustained narrative, and if Paddington is to turn into a movie franchise, far more attention will need to be paid to the storytelling.
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