PADDINGTON [Paul King, 2015]

[tabuno]

Welcome to the digital age. The use of digital animation is clearly
apparent or not apparent in this case that sweeps the audience into an
almost seamless fantasy tinged world of live action Britain. Nicole
Kidman quite bravely portrays a consistently cold, serious villain that
seems almost unnecessarily too cold a character and perhaps a technical blip with the changing of the guard. What makes this movie
brilliant is the slightly underplayed stereotypical characters so that
the zany edge is taken off and allows the audience to more readily
identify with these characters as their own. Underlying this movie is a
simple, but potent message about family and differences which make for
a tender, emotional appeal. The is hilarious, funny, and charming. The
inclusion of brief animated bits makes for a superlative tribute to old
animation and keeping the movie fresh and alive. What this movie
represents is an superior achievement of high quality of what
computers, animation, and live actors can display. This is what true
movie-making is all about. The movie finally is continues the
progression of the technical and acting skills fusing animation and
live performances such as Ghostbusters (1984), Jumanji (1985), Jack
Frost (1998).

[Chris Knipp]

I want to see this, it sounds like fun.
For a previous triumph of animals in digitally generated imagery see LIFE OF PI.