Paddington (2014)

PADDINGTON  (2014)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Paul King
    Ben Whishaw, Nicole Kidman, Sally Hawkins,
    Hugh Bonneville, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon,
    Peter Capaldi, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent
When an earthquake destroys his home in Peru, a bear stows away on a ship bound for England, subsisting on marmalade and hiding out in a covered lifeboat. He makes it to London with one marmalade sandwich to spare, but now he's without a home in a strange city and an evil taxidermist collecting specimens for the Natural History Museum is determined to see him stuffed. A funny, charming family movie that combines live action and animation in a way that allows a top-of-the-line cast to share the screen with the world's most endearing homeless bear. Ben Whishaw does the voice of Paddington. Nicole Kidman's the cold-blooded taxidermist. Favorite yucky bit: the part where Paddington, dispatched to the loo to "freshen up," finds a novel use for toothbrushes.