Paddington
TWC-Dimension | Release Date: January 16, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
35
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Nov 24, 2014
Marmaladen 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. Read full review
91
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJan 15, 2015
There are plenty of laughs — and nothing that goes over a kid’s head to an adult funny bone is smutty or smarmy — and the sentiment never feels strained or artificial. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyJason ClarkJan 14, 2015
Paddington is fast-paced yet unhurried, serving up surprisingly subtle ideas on melting-pot urban diversity—Paddington is a stranger in a strange land, after all—and rich visual tableaux, including a gorgeous recurring shot of the Brown home as a living dollhouse. Read full review
91
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonNov 29, 2014
Paddington is totally delightful. Read full review
90
SlateDan KoisFeb 1, 2015
Paddington is a wonder: warm, gentle, well-acted, funny without being stupid. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJan 15, 2015
Artfully and cleverly, the sweet spirit of that young bear from darkest Peru and his many London misadventures materializes brilliantly on screen in the very good hands of writer-director-conjurer Paul King. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 15, 2015
This comic chronicle of a Peruvian bear’s adventures in London turns out to be a total charmer, made with panache, élan and generous dollops of marmalade. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJan 15, 2015
There are so many terrific things going on in the film – rapid-fire wordplay, split-second visual gags, and some veddy, veddy British punning – that, frankly, Paddington deserves more than one viewing. Huzzah Paddington, and marmalade forever! Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniFeb 2, 2015
Paddington is perfect for today's audiences, so long overfed on comic-book fodder. The bear's impeccable manners, perfect diction, and earnestness make him the ultimate anti-Bart Simpson. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJan 15, 2015
This is not only a dandy, playful movie about a talking bear, but one that gives pause for thought, too. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanJan 15, 2015
The filmmakers behind Paddington successfully bring the lovable bear into the future and strike a balance between honoring the spirit of the original books and updating the story for today’s young audiences. This is a charming film whose underlying message of tolerance and acceptance strikes a palpable chord in today’s world — both for children and adults. Read full review
83
HitfixDrew McWeenyJan 15, 2015
It's an excellent showcase for Paul King, for the tremendous character animation by Framestore, and for Ben Whishaw's delicate, inquisitive work as the title character, and it is one of those rare family films that actually seems to think of children as smart and full of empathy. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 19, 2015
Paddington is decidedly, proudly unhip. It’s a lovely, endearing chocolate-box of a movie. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJan 13, 2015
The scale of the occasional mayhem is heightened, but its spirit and ingenuity doesn't feel wholly at odds with the books. Read full review
80
CineVueJoe WalshNov 29, 2014
Devoid of cash-in cynicism, and full of belly-shaking humour, Paddington proves to be not just a wonderful contemporary rendition of the bear, but a polite hat-tip to the man who created him, paying homage in the best way possible: by bringing a gentle, slightly reserved, smile to audience faces. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonDave CalhounNov 29, 2014
It’s charmingly simple. But it also offers a sharp modern spin on Michael Bond’s London-set stories without being cynical. Read full review
80
Total FilmEmma MorganNov 29, 2014
Where family films so often falter, choking on their own contrived sentimentality and/or cool, Paddington is sweet and silly and, at times, edge-of-the-seat stuff. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 19, 2014
Serious as Paddington is about meaning something, it’s even more serious about the business of having fun. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJan 16, 2015
It’s charmingly funny and shamelessly punny. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle SmithJan 15, 2015
How English is this movie? As English as a cold, rainy day at the beach. As English as the politeness that masks hostility, as English as a pie that contains meat, as English as secretly wishing you lived in some other country. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughJan 15, 2015
True, a lot of marmalade gets spread around, and at times the zaniness gets a bit too slap-sticky, but it’s all good clean fun. Read full review
75
Washington PostSandie Angulo ChenJan 15, 2015
Because of its adorable protagonist, laugh-out-loud gags and touching premise, Paddington succeeds in a way most CGI/live-action hybrids do not. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoJan 15, 2015
Suffice it to say that this is good family fare with plenty of decent gags (visual and otherwise), and it’s nicely acted by all the principals. In addition, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi and Jim Broadbent turn up in smaller but still lively roles. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigJan 15, 2015
Whishaw, Hawkins and Downton Abbey's Bonneville strike just the right notes. Imaginative production design, which occasionally brings to mind Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," adds to the story's appeal. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 15, 2015
It's funny. So is Nicole Kidman, very Cruella De Vil as Millicent Clyde, a taxidermist with an eye on adding Paddington to her stuffed collection. It's an excuse for some chase scenes and physical comedy (Paddington gets his head stuck in a toilet bowl) that manage to suggest both the Marx brothers and Wes Anderson. I mean that as a good thing. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 15, 2015
Any movie that manages to work in a dig at the National Theatre's heavier pretensions — in a subway sequence, Paddington trots by a National poster for a (fake) play with the amusingly dour title "Damned by Despair" — is OK with me. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedJan 14, 2015
Paddington is a harmless delight that blends live action with animated technology in the manner of "Ted," but without the raunch. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 14, 2015
Bonneville, who did mostly comedy, pre-“Downton,” rediscovers his funny bone. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJan 13, 2015
If the film seems head-and-shoulders above the average effects-driven family-matinee flick, it’s because it never gives the impression that it’s trying to be anything more (or less) than good-natured and fun to watch. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaJan 12, 2015
The film recalls its stylistic forbears at their best: flowing with whimsy, but never at the expense of the beating heart of its human (and animal) characters. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJan 15, 2015
Paddington is a mostly smart update loaded with charm, and it preserves enough of the fuzzy feelings for purists to walk away with a smile. Read full review
70
The DissolveKeith PhippsJan 14, 2015
Paddington is a charmer, portrayed as a little guy whose unflagging goodness makes it easy to forgive his clumsiness. That’s the one detail from Bond’s book any adaptation has to get right, and this one nails it. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJan 12, 2015
The writer and director, Paul King, scatters the tale with handfuls of eccentric charm, first in the forest and then in the home of the Browns. At one point, borrowing freely from Wes Anderson, he frames it as a living doll’s house, with each member of the family hard at work or play in a different room. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinNov 19, 2014
It’s a relief to report that the final film is actually quite charming, thoughtful and as cuddly as a plush toy, albeit one with a few modern gizmos thrown in. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeNov 19, 2014
Affectionately honoring the everyday quirks of Bond’s stories, while subtly updating their middle-class London milieu, King’s film may divide loyal Paddingtophiles with its high-stakes caper plot, but their enraptured kids won’t care a whit. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJan 15, 2015
In stark contrast to their furry, blundering star, the makers of Paddington have colored so carefully inside the lines that any possibility of surprise or subversion is effectively throttled. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJan 15, 2015
Cute, mostly well-mannered and just a bit off-center. Read full review
60
The GuardianXan BrooksNov 19, 2014
Full credit to the film-makers, who manage to map their digital bear against his human co-stars and marry Bond’s antique conceit to a high-concept story. Read full review
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