Paddington

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What age is this for?

Age
0-5
5-6
7-8
8-13
13+

Classification

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What’s it about?

Paddington is a cute little bear who lives in the jungles of Peru with his Aunt and Uncle. Unfortunately an earthquake hits the area where Paddington lives and destroys his home. Paddington travels all the way to London to look for a new home. When he arrives at the station he finds himself alone and feeling quite lost but the Brown family find him and want to take him home. Mr Brown doesn’t agree but Mrs Brown and the children manage to persuade him.

Paddington gets up to all sorts of mischief in his new home but also finds himself in danger, as a wicked lady called Millicent wants him for her museum. She’s determined to find him and have Paddington in her collection of stuffed animals.

What to look out for

Paddington is often in danger and is hurt several times such as :

  • Millicent tries to shoot Paddington several times and does actually shoot him with a tranquiliser gun.
  • Millicent threatens to cut up Paddington with knives and stuff him.
  • Millicent tries to burn Paddington in a furnace but he manages to escape.  

There are also several other scenes, which could scare younger kids such as:

  • When they are on the train, Mr. Brown tells Paddington that there are “thieves, murderers and pickpockets on every platform”.
  • Paddington accidentally sets fire to the kitchen and a fireball explodes in Millicent’s face.
  • Paddington runs away from the Brown family and sleeps alone on a bench. He looks scared and frightened.

Moral of the Story

The messages of the story are that it’s ok to be different and it’s good to be kind to strangers.