This post might be more catered to European audiences due to the prevalance of Paddington Bear as a childhood book overseas, but think of him as a foreign Winnie The Pooh equivalent. Based off of Michael Bond's series which spawned with 1958's a A Bear Called Paddington, it seems like a hybrid CG/live action adaptation is in the works as evidenced by this initial trailer.
The problem is, whoever called the shots on the look of this film seems to have opted for the uncanny valley route- Choosing to adapt the adorable bear into an ultrarealistic CGI animal with no stylization whatsoever. As someone who grew up with the series, the design just begged to be adapted into an animated feature...Not this hybrid project with gross out humor and a creepy, dead eyed bear with a penchant for destruction.
This trend with toilet humor has been ongoing in the adaptation scene for a while, ranging from the rather terrible Alvin And The Chipmunks movies, Marmaduke and even the ill fated Hong Kong Phooey movie attempt. To think that this low brow formula will be applied to an adorable, marmalade loving bear who was always well known for his politeness makes me appreciate Disney's respect for their movie adaptations of beloved characters. The Paul King (Mighty Boosh) directed feature is expected to hit theaters in the UK and US around the holiday season of this year.
If you want to get a good idea as to how the public reacted, check out the Creepy Paddington Tumblr that's been set up in honor of this trailer.
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