What’s With the Grown-Up Fanbase for the Movie Version of Paddington?

Paddington Bear (Ben Whishaw) is back for Paddington in Peru. The third entry in the live-action Paddington movie series, this feature comes on the heels of Paddington 2 establishing a much larger fanbase than usual for a 2010s family movie. This Paul King directorial effort becoming one of the best-reviewed movies ever on Rotten Tomatoes is now the stuff of cinematic legends. Meanwhile, adults across the world happily wield social media banners consisting of images from the Paddington motion pictures. Though aimed at families and youngsters (the target demo of the Paddington books), it’s clear this kindly British ursine has taken on a whole new life of his own.

What’s going on with that? Why has this particular incarnation of Paddington taken on such an unexpected adult fanbase?

The obvious culprits here would be nostalgia for the Paddington books and simply that more adults these days are open to enjoying media made for youngsters. This latter phenomenon has been going on for most of the 21st century now, as pop culture has encouraged folks over 30 to get stoked for new installments connected to The Karate Kid, The Lion King, Animaniacs, and other properties once considered exclusively for kids. However, that doesn’t quite explain why Whishaw’s Paddington Bear has become an icon for so many folks 18 and older. After all, if it was just nostalgia, why wouldn’t the live-action/CGI versions of Garfield, The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Peter Rabbit, and other properties garner similar devoted fanbases?

Part of it is simply Paddington Bear, in CG form, is so much cuter than his contemporaries. The Smurfs looked eerie when they were rubbing shoulders with New York landmarks and Neil Patrick Harris. Those wretched Chipmunks didn’t look much better. The less said about the eerie grizzlies that anchored 2010’s Yogi Bear (what was going on with their eyes???), the better. The character designs of those projects never could figure out an effective way to blend realism and cartoony visuals. Paddington, meanwhile, found success in simplicity. Rather than overthinking this character in bringing him to flesh-and-blood London, Paddington simply looks like an adorable bear cub just stuffed into a blue jacket and red hat.

The folks who designed Paddington Bear for the live-action world found a way to balance the realism with something discernibly cute, not to mention recognizably Paddington. Part of that comes down to the eyes, which don’t suffer from Yogi Bear syndrome of transplanting human eyeballs onto a cartoony bear. Paddington has smaller pupils mirroring the black dots he had for eyes in his literary days. Unlike James Corden’s Peter Rabbit, this iteration of Paddington Bear doesn’t have a permanent smug look on his face. There’s a docile helpful aura from his expressions that’s much more endearing. Oh, and he’s also got a wardrobe that’s to die for! His Paddington 2 attire of a pink-colored prison jumpsuit is unspeakably precious. And to think, such an endearing-looking figure emerged from a franchise that initially spawned “Creepy Paddington” memes!

Good endearing character design is already hard to beat, especially when it involves a cute and cuddly animal. That alone suggests why Paddington’s appeal reaches all ages. But there’s also a purity to this character that’s proven incredibly useful in the last ten years of global history. When somebody like Peter Rabbit came to the big screen, he was suddenly “making it rain” with shreds of lettuce in an attempt to seem “edgy”. Paddington Bear, meanwhile, had all his cuddly, optimistic, and well-mannered habits from his children’s book days. This critter wasn’t about seeming “edgy” to seem relevant. Instead, Paddington’s exploits were about showing that kindness is needed in this world and that nobody (not even the roughest toughest prisoner) is devoid of humanity.

Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, modern technology has ensured we’re all just a few clicks away (if even that) from normalized monstrousness. Antisemitism, bigotry toward immigrants and Palestinians, transphobia, rhetoric that’s always existed is now something powerful and working-class folks alike joyfully revel in. There are many balms to these horrors. One instantaneous way to feel a little bit better about the darkness in the world, for many, is to gaze upon clips and quotes from the ultra-sincere Paddington Bear. “If we’re kind and polite, the world will be right” is a little simplistic for adults navigating the world, sure. But this advice Aunt Lucy imparted to Paddington has become a rallying cry for many just trying to find crumbs of joy to make everyday existence a little more bearable.

Those tweets and assorted social media posts about how adults can “only filter political events through Hunger Games/Harry Potter references” is incredibly true. Too often, modern-day grown-ups respond to weighty tragedies with shallow comparisons to events or characters from books aimed at children. We should lean more on referencing quotes from Marsha P. Johnson or Angela Davis rather than immediately leaping to compare Washington D.C. to The Capital. Even within this status quo, though, adults turning to Paddington Bear quotes for joy or reminders of kindness’s importance feel more innocent and wholesome. Who can blame people finding any reaffirmation of the value of treating others well, even if it’s through a character not crafted for their age range?

Paddington’s ascent in popularity among adults hasn’t been hurt by another external real-world problem that’s cropped up in the last decade. Paddington debuted in American theaters in 2015, the last year big-screen comedies were really prevalent. Just three years later, when Paddington 2 debuted, these titles were already growing scarce. Save for Game Night, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, Bottoms, and Hundreds of Beavers, it’s no exaggeration to say Paddington 2was the “last” big screen Western comedy classic to date.

Since 2018, there haven’t been a deluge of other comedies to come around and inspire inescapable memes or T-shirts plastered with especially memorable quotes. That’s allowed the two Paddington installments to really stick with people and fill a void in the marketplace. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. In this case, a bear has emerged victorious in a landscape devoid of countless other memorable visual-oriented comedies. The greatest Paddington gags have helped to make this titular critter even more of an icon to modern-day moviegoers starved for new comedy movie legends.

Breaking down these reasons, it’s funny to realize how Paddington in Peru’s titular lead has secured such a notable grown-up fanbase through qualities that have always been attached to this character. A cuddly design, hysterical sight gags, a sincere approach to kindness…these are all elements that have been ingrained into Paddington Bear from his earliest children’s book exploits. Ironically, those classical elements have made Paddington more relevant than ever to adults all over the world.

The Smurfs tried and failed to make those miniature blue monstrosities “hip” by having them play Guitar Hero. The mind shudders recalling Alvin and the Chipmunks belting out late-2000s pop hits to seem “fresh” to kids. Ben Whishaw’s Paddington Bear, meanwhile, has stuck to the hits and reaffirmed the kind-hearted qualities that made him so popular to begin with. Those age-old facets have turned Paddington Bear into an unexpectedly and ferociously popular character for adults all over the globe. Then again, maybe adult audiences just have a subconscious hankering for marmalade that these Paddington movies tap into…