Paddington 2

Everyone's favorite literary bear from darkest Peru is back in Paddington 2. It's easily the best film of the year so far. Did I give away too much? Perhaps, but let's continue.

Paddington (Ben Whishaw) lives a happy life with the Browns in London. He's also chums with the neighbors except for grumpy, paranoid Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi). Meanwhile, Paddington's Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) is about to turn 100 and he doesn't have a gift. Paddington finds an antique pop-up book of London in kindly Mr. Gruber's (Jim Broadbent) shop. Aunt Lucy always wanted to go to London and this book is the next best thing. Paddington decides to do odd jobs around town to buy it.

The pop-up book has the clues to a hidden treasure. That is why a has-been actor named Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) wants it too. So he breaks into Mr. Gruber's shop and takes it. Paddington is accidentally pegged as the thief and thrown into prison. He annoys the prisoners by dying their uniforms pink while on laundry duty. He earns their respect when he befriends the hardened cook Knuckles (Brendan Gleason). Soon, the whole prison is bright and cheerful.

Meanwhile, the Browns set off to investigate the theft and exonerate Paddington. Paddington waits for them to set everything right. But the other prisoners want Paddington to join them on their escape attempt. What's a bear to do?

Director Paul King co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby. It continues the adventures of Michael Bond's best bear with the same charm as the first one. It's an optimistic world where Paddington can charm even the most hardened criminal. In this movie, the most irredeemable people are grumps like Curry and Judge Biggleswade (Tom Conti). Its messages about friendship and acceptance are as relevant just as they were three years ago. If only this world was the real one.

What about Paddington's supporting cast? The Browns, including Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary (Sally Hawkins), are still a nice bunch. They each get a moment in the train chase climax. The prisoners, especially Knuckles, are gruff yet lovable chaps. Buchanan makes for a delightfully hammy villain who proves himself formidable in the climax. If not for his hubris, he might have gotten away with it. Paddington's neighbors are a nice bunch of characters and their unwavering support of him was nice. Curry and Biggleswade were capably mean folks.

The first film's visual style is maintained here. It seamlessly transitions between locales and time periods through great editing (by Mark Everson and Jonathan Amos), cinematography (Erik Wilson) and visual effects. The imagine spot where Paddington sees himself and Aunt Lucy explore the pop-up book is a highlight. Paddington himself is still a great creation of CGI. The jailbreak sequence is  perfectly visualized just like the doll house scene in the first film. The prison changing from gloomy to bright was a great feet of production design.

Paddington 2 came out in November in the UK last year. It's now a welcome diversion from the January slowness in the States. It's an amiable movie that kids and adults will love together. It's funny and meaningful and all around good natured. Let's hope there are more great family films on the way.