A family comedy adaptation of the Paddington Bear series of books, starring Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent and Ben Whishaw as the British voice of Paddington himself, held its grand Chinese premiere at Shanghai Film Museum on March 3 rd , on the occasion of HRH The Duke of Cambridge’s visit to China to open the GREAT Festival of Creativity in Shanghai.
Director Paul King (Bunny and the Bull, The Mighty Boosh) and producer David Heyman (Gravity, the Harry Potter series) walked the red carpet with celebrated Chinese actor Chen Xuedong (Tiny Times) who voices Paddington in the Chinese version of the movie. The crowd gave a very warm welcome to Paddington himself who was present for his Chinese debut, and warmer still for the Duke of Cambridge upon his arrival.
“We couldn’t be happier to bring our cinematic adaptation of Michael Bond’s Paddington to China and to share his generous spirit with Chinese audiences” said producer David Heyman on the red carpet, with director Paul King adding “Paddington is the story of a young bear who travels around the world to find a warm welcome and a friendly home. We hope Chinese audiences will greet him with open arms, as others have done around the world”.
Also in attendance on the red carpet was Rt Hon Sajid Javid, MP and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the United Kingdom, who was in Shanghai to launch the first UK-China Year of Cultural exchange: “It’s brilliant to see a much-loved British story like Paddington being celebrated and appearing on the big screen in one of China’s most prestigious film museums. Throughout this Year of Cultural Exchange we can look forward to more events such as this, showcasing UK culture in China and Chinese culture in the UK.”
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children’s literature. He first appeared on 13th October 1958 in ‘A Bear Called Paddington’ and has subsequently featured in more than twenty books written by Michael Bond within the Paddington Bear series. The friendly bear from deepest, darkest Peru — with his old hat, battered suitcase, duffle coat and love of marmalade – has become a classic character within the literary world, and one who is instantly recognizable. Paddington books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Paddington Bear’s story has also been made into animated TV series three times.
The film, a mix of family comedy, live action and CGI, has been produced by David Heyman, who brought the Harry Potter books to the screen, and was fully financed by STUDIOCANAL. The film follows the comic misadventures of a young Peruvian bear who travels to London in search of a home.
PADDINGTON was released in the UK on November 28th 2014 to a fantastic reaction from critics and audiences alike, as well as huge box office takings. The film opened in the top spot in the UK box office, grossing $8 million (£5.1 million) over the opening weekend, making it STUDIOCANAL’s highest opening ever and the second highest grossing film of 2014 in the UK. The film was released in the United States on 16th January 2015, earning $19.2 million. Globally the film has now amassed a total of over $223 million, making the film the biggest non-US Studio family film of all time.
Rotten Tomatoes sampled 119 reviews and judged 98% of them to be positive. The site states that the film works “without sacrificing his essential charm, delivering a family-friendly adventure as irresistibly cuddly as its star.” On Metacritic, the film has a score of 77 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.
PADDINGTON was joint-imported by Huaxia Film Distribution Co. LTD., Stellar Mega Films Co. LTD. and JQ Pictures, and will be released on March 5th throughout China. The film will be released in the UK on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 23rd by STUDIOCANAL.
While in China, director Paul King and producer David Heyman will also be participating in various talks about their experiences with PADDINGTON and within the UK film industry at the GREAT Festival of Creativity.
