Film Preview: Paddington (2015)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

January 16, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A young Peruvian bear with a passion for all things British travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined – until he meets the kindly Brown family, who read the label around his neck (‘Please look after this bear. Thank you.’) and offer him a temporary haven. It looks as though his luck has changed until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist…”

Poster: B+ / D / D+ / B- / B / B- / B / C / C+ / B (6) / B+ / C / C+

Review: The posters are sorted in reverse chronological order. There’s no way design #2 would have come out second. That design is utterly vacant, even if that was the goal. The first displayed poster is a much better teaser. It doesn’t completely give away the protagonist, but it has a rich, warm color scheme that feels very inviting.

(#3-#4) Sure, you get more of our titular hero, but the third design is just too overbearing and lacks any real fun details. The fourth design is a better exemplification of the film’s plot, which will help audiences connect better.

(#5-#9) Of the five individual posters that provide brief glimpses into the character of Paddington Bear, poster #5 is the most interesting and probably the most recognizable to those who’ve read the books. Poster #6 is too sparse, though poster #8 is worse. Posters #7 & #9 play on the humorous bathroom scene displayed in the second trailer, which prove slightly more effective.

(#10-#15) The six character designs leave out the children in the film, which might not seem like such a bad thing, but when you want to appeal to families, such information may be crucial. Still, each design is character-driven, making them more fascinating than what normally gets produced these days. However, they also feel very posed and inauthentic.

(#16) A more well rounded design than any other seen to date, this one is fairly traditional, but most appealing. (#17) The pun is entirely lost on the intended audience and those who do get it will just groan. (#18) A little more detailed than the prior design, but it still isn’t one that anyone will immediately care about.

Trailer: B / B+ / C+

Review: Some teasers are too vague. This one may be utterly straight forward, but at least it suggests the film has a bit of a heart and a playful demeanor, which will support interest in the film until another trailer can be released.

(#2) This is a largely predictable trifle featuring one small segment of the film, but it’s a cute, humorous one, which should make it a much easier sell to young audiences and skeptical parents who grew up with the Paddington Bear character.

(#3) As funny as the second trailer, the third trailer isn’t. Making the film seem like a throw-away holiday film that children will love, but will ultimately be devoid of anything adults could find interesting, the third trailer is slow, methodical and notably lacking in amusement value.

Oscar Prospects:

It could be a Visual Effects contender, but I don’t think this will have quite the appeal as Hugo, which had a similar look, but was directed by a much more prominent filmmaker.

Revisions:

(May 25, 2014) Original
(Jun. 15, 2014) New Release Date (changed from 12/12/14)
(September 21, 2014) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#3-#4)
(November 30, 2014) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#5-#15)
(January 11, 2015) New Posters (#16-#18) / Updated Release Date (changed from 12/25/14)