Originally published October 29, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
Just a few months ago it was revealed that the original choice for Paddington Bear, Colin Firth, had a conscious uncoupling with the filmmakers of the upcoming big screen adaptation. They both felt that he was wrong for the role in the upcoming movie and Firth graciously dropped out of the project, with Ben Whishaw then announced as taking over the role of the marmalade loving bear. Now we’ve got a new international trailer for the film, which features Whishaw voicing the character; check it out below…
Paddington has grown up deep in the Peruvian jungle with his Aunt Lucy who, inspired by a chance encounter with an English explorer, has raised her nephew to cook marmalade, listen to the BBC World Service, and dream of an exciting life in London. When an earthquake destroys their home, Aunt Lucy decides the time has come to smuggle her young nephew on board a boat bound for England, in search of a better life. Trusting of the kindness of strangers, she ties a label round his neck which simply reads ‘Please look after this bear. Thank you.’
Lost and alone at Paddington Station, Paddington soon finds that London is not the welcoming, well-mannered land of his dreams, but a rather busy, bustling metropolis where nobody even notices him. Luckily, he meets the Brown family who feel unable to abandon this homeless young bear to his fate. They name him after the station where they found him and offer him a place to stay while he searches for the only person he knows in London: the explorer who impressed Aunt Lucy years before.
But little do the Browns realize just how much comic mayhem one young bear will bring to their family life, and when this rarest of bears catches the eye of a sinister, seductive taxidermist, it isn’t long before his home – and very existence – is under threat…
Paddington is set for release on November 28th and sees Ben Whishaw joined in the cast by Nicole Kidman (Grace of Monaco), Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Sally Hawkins (Godzilla), Julie Walters (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Jim Broadbent (Cloud Atlas).
Let us know what you think of the trailer in the comments…
