Paddington Bear The Movie

[Rob McCow]

Studiocanal is teaming with "Harry Potter" producer David Heyman on "Paddington Bear," a CGI live-action movie of Michael Bond's best-selling children's books.

Brit helmer Paul King, BAFTA-nommed for British TV comedy series "Come Fly With Me" and "The Mighty Boosh," will direct. Studiocanal will finance and distribute in the U.K., France and Germany, and handle world sales elsewhere in a now tried-and-tested practice with its production partners.

"Paddington" is one of Studiocanal's most ambitious projects to date.

Drawing inspiration from the book series first published in 1958, the currently untitled movie is described as a modern take on Paddington, a talking, accident-prone young bear from Darkest Peru who's found at Paddington Station and adopted by a London family.

Paddington books have sold more than 35 million copies in 40 languages.

A Heyman passion project, a Paddington movie was first set up at Warner Bros. in 2007.

Heyman said, "Paddington Bear is a universally loved character, treasured for his optimism, his sense of fair play and his perfect manners -- and of course for his unintentional talent for comic chaos.

"Michael Bond's books offer such wit and wonder, and I am so delighted at this chance to bring Paddington to the big screen."

Studiocanal chairman-CEO Olivier Courson, added, "David Heyman has had tremendous success adapting great British literary works for cinema."

For Studiocanal, Paddington is a major step-up in its drive into family entertainment. It bought Ben Stassen's Brussels-based nWave 3D studio in 2010 and saw great success with the Stassen-helmed toon "Sammy's Adventures," which grossed $75 million worldwide.

Joann Sfar and "Rango" producer John Carls are working on English-language 3D toon feature "Little Vampire" for Studiocanal. Another toon, "Ernest and Celestine," will play Cannes' Directors' Fortnight.

According to Courson, few family features hit the indie market. In March, he described British family comedies with universal appeal as a production priority for Studiocanal.

This is a tricky one! I have fond childhood memories of Paddington Bear, so I'm hoping this won't be an absolute heartbreaking sacrilege. Not sure about the director of 'Come Fly With Me' taking it on though. A CGI Bear for a movie is surely completely different from a BBC Sitcom with a pair of prats in silly make-up?

[SiHart]

However they do it, I don't think it'll be quite as endearing as the puppet was in the 70s TV series.

That siad, it's a fairly good sign that they're doing the book, though I'm sure it'll need some updating now.

[Rob McCow]

"Sticky bears are sixpence." Wouldn't mean a thing to a modern audience.

[Nyder]

and will they keep the delightful TV theme tune??

[Philipnet]

the WHAT???!

[Nyder]

You know - dah dah dah-dah dah dah-dah daaaah dah (dah-dah dah-dah)

[Philipnet]

They're making a *************** movie of this???

[SiHart]

Yes, that's what the whole thread is about Phil

[Simon R]

It's surprising it's taken this long. Who remembers the rumours about the Mr Benn film that got cancelled?

[Philipnet]

I don't believe it!

I don't see how my memories of Paddington Bear can translate to the big screen

[Stuart Wallis]

Won't be the same without the voice of michael Hordern...

[Jon Masters]

Won't be the same without the voice of michael Hordern...

Actually, Stephen Fry does a reasonable job on the more modern audiobooks that my kids listen to in the car

[WhiteCrowNZ]

"The book series is a disgrace, because it sets out that Britain is a soft touch for illegal immigrants", said a Sun journalist ...

Mark my words, bears from around the world will be flocking here in their thousands knowing they can get their marmalade free on benefits paid for by the UK taxpayer.

[In other words, attitudes to people turning up on our country have somewhat changed]

[Rob McCow]

Mark my words, bears from around the world will be flocking here in their thousands knowing they can get their marmalade free on benefits paid for by the UK taxpayer.

Thinking about Paddington from an adult point of view is EXACTLY what would ruin a movie!

"Mr and Mrs Brown were found dead today in their house at 32 Windsor Gardens. They had been savagely mauled by a bear of their keeping. It is understood that they had been forcing the bear to dress up in a raincoat, hat and wellington boots and had been under the delusion that it could talk."

All wrong. Paddington is the sweetest, most innocent thing there is!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

"Mr and Mrs Brown were found dead today in their house at 32 Windsor Gardens. They had been savagely mauled by a bear of their keeping. It is understood that they had been forcing the bear to dress up in a raincoat, hat and wellington boots and had been under the delusion that it could talk."

That made me laugh. Though I shouldn't - people died!

[Stuart Wallis]

It's quite all right, the deceased weren't real. (Not unlike myself...)

[Rob McCow]

So Stuart, do you mean that you're not real, or that you're not deceased?

[SiHart]

[Rob McCow]

I hope the adventure extends as far as spilling marmalade on the back seat of a taxi and losing one of Mr. Brown's shoes.

"PADDINGTON!" roared Mr. Brown. "Where's my shoe?"
"Oh dear," said Paddington. It had been the perfect size to keep his marmalade sandwich safe. How was he going to tell Mr. Brown that he had left it on the 7.25 train to Bristol? Mr. Brown would need very long legs indeed if he had one shoe in London and one shoe in Bristol, thought Paddington.

Empire Magazine claimed that, in an unusual move, this film would be shot with a cast of entirely CGI humans who interact with a real live bear.... they later admitted that it would be the other way round!

[Stuart Wallis]

"From the producer of Harry Potter"... So that's platform 9 3/4 on that poster then...

[Dave Tudor]

In some ways it's so wrong, but I can't help but love that poster!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Unlock the secret of the Magic Marmalade!

[Stuart Wallis]

I don't think it's the magic marmalade you've been nibbling on...