Night at the British Museum

An Egyptian bust in the British Museum

Last year, I saw "Night at the Museum 3" in the cinema. I had looked forward to seeing the movie, as the story was set in the British Museum, which I had visited a few months previous. While the production featured a scene in the iconic atrium of the British Museum, most of the museum interiors looked completely different, as did the nature of the exhibits on display. I can only conclude the producers set the film in the British Museum for two reasons: 1) because the British Museum equates with England in viewers' minds, and 2) so they could make a statue of King Arthur come alive. 

Had I not visited the museum previously, I suspect I would have dismissed the movie as harmless fun, fueled by a passable reason for a plot, and lots of gags. Instead, it seemed odd to me that the filmmakers didn't make a movie about what's actually in the British Museum. The museum features a wealth of history which they could have built on to make a gripping, and funny movie. Instead, "Night at the Museum 3" seemed fake, unreal. It's not as if I wished to find fault with the movie. I love Ben Stiller movies. I've enjoyed most of the Ben Stiller movies I've seen. But as I watched that day in the cinema, I simply could not suspend my disbelief. 

Thus, the movie was something occasionally laughed at (or with). But it was never something I was into. But then, I suppose I should have been prepared for that, for while I had thoroughly enjoyed the original movie, the second left me dissatisfied.

Like "Night at the Museum 3," the movie "Paddington," based on the character and book series written and created by Michael Bond, was set in London. As with "Night at the Museum 3," part of the action takes place in a famous London museum. In the case of "Paddington, key scenes take place in the Natural History Museum. I've never visited the Natural History Museum, so I cannot say how much of the movie was filmed there. What I can tell you is that, unlike "Night at the Museum 3," I found "Paddington" completely gripping. It picked me up and took me along for the ride. I wasn't just watching it, I was into it. It remains one of my three favorite films released in the past two years.

What are your favorite films of the past two years? Do any of them feature destinations you would like to visit? Or are they special because you've already traveled there, and the places hold special memories for you?

Dragon Dave

Cozy & Secure with Paddington Bear: Part 2

As it turned out, my copy of Michael Bond's first novel, A Bear Called Paddington, arrived at a very appropriate time. For last weekend I fell ill with a sick tummy, even though I hadn't eaten a single marmalade sandwich that day. (In retrospect, perhaps that was the problem! For, given Paddington's admiration for marmalade, I imagine it must offer potent medicinal benefits).

That night we reversed our usual practice, and my wife read to me in bed before we turned off the lights. I following her delivery of Bond's prose, and studied the sketches by illustrator Peggy Fortnum. After a few minutes, my eyes sought out each page, and threatened to consume the text before my wife could deliver it. I had to look away, so I could relax, and let Bond's writing (and my wife's reading) ease my pain.

Paddington slips and tumbles onto his tea saucer.

Aside from the initial portion of the film, in which Paddington grows up with his aunt and uncle in Darkest Peru, the plot mirrored the basic structure of the novel. The book starts with Mr. and Mrs. Brown finding a lonely bear in Paddington station, Mr. Brown giving him a cup of tea and a bun while they wait for their daughter Judy's train to arrive, and then the family deciding to take them home with them. When the bear explains his name is unpronounceable by humans, the Browns name him after the train station in which they found him. As everything in England is new to him, Paddington has problems with his food and drink, and ends up wet and sticky. The cab driver doesn't like the idea of transporting the bear home, as he's just cleaned his upholstery, but accedes to the Browns' pleas and the bear's innate charm. Then he is welcomed into the bosom of the Browns' home, where he discovers that taking a bath is a more tricky business than he had envisioned.

Paddington leaps into his bath.

The filmmakers fine-tuned the qualities of their human characters, so Mr. Brown becomes a worrywart who initially refuses to house the bear for more than a night, and Judy seems particularly at odds with her parents. They also inflate Paddington's antics in the bathtub in spectacular fashion: instead of the floor getting covered in water, soap, and shaving foam, a tidal wave roars out when Mr. Brown opens the bathroom door. But while they played fast and loose with the particulars, apart from the origin segment in Peru, they seem to have remained true to the basic plot structure of Bond's novel. Or at least, that's what I can tell you so far, based on the first two chapters of A Bear Called Paddington. 

Even though Bond's novel exhibits none of the overall tension the filmmakers infused their story with, I can't wait for my wife to read chapters to me. Like Paddington, I look forward to bundling up into our cozy bed, and listening to more of his adventures. Far from being scared, Bond's story, Fortnum's illustrations, and my wife's readings make me feel just like Paddington after being welcomed into the Brown household: cozy, loved, and secure. 

Now, if I can just be patient, and enjoy the story in small, medicinal nightly doses, instead of giving into my desire to grab the book and consume it in one sitting. While doing so might not give me a tummy ache, I want to savor Bond's first novel for as long as possible, and as much as Paddington enjoys his marmalade sandwiches.

Dragon Dave

Cozy & Secure with Paddington Bear: Part 1

I discovered Paddington Bear twenty years ago, as a series of short animated stories broadcast on the Disney Channel. I recorded them on VHS, then later onto DVD, and have enjoyed following his comic adventures numerous times in subsequent years. Imagine my surprise when I saw a trailer for his debut on the Big Screen. I faced his entry into the cinema with a mixture of hope and dread, hopeful that the film would do well, and dreading how the filmmakers might attempt to revamp Michael Bond's classic character.

The film was cast with big name British actors, and I was impressed by the authenticity of their performances. Hugh Bonneville (of Downton Abbey fame) plays an insecure but devoted husband and father in Mr. Brown. Peter Capaldi (the current Doctor Who!) portrays the small-minded penny-pinching neighbor Mr. Curry. And Nicole Kidman, who has starred in nearly every important movie of the last two decades plays the villain Millicent Clyde who plots and schemes to capture Paddington's hide. (In case you're wondering, I particularly enjoyed her 2007 performance as the elegant Marisa Coulter in the film version of Philip Pullman's fantasy novel The Golden Compass). But enough of the human actors: let's get onto the star of the show, the magnificent bear from Darkest Peru! The computer-animated Paddington won me over with his boundless courage and determination, his depiction and capabilities a far cry from how I discovered him, as a simple stop-motion character imposed on a traditionally animated background. Even if his antics and adventures adventures seemed a little silly and over-the-top in places, I left the cinema feeling like the filmmakers had honored Paddington, and done so with considerable artistry.

The film also roused my interested in Michael Bond's original stories. I purchased a picture book from Amazon.com, and while the illustrations were well-drawn and colorful, they reminded me of the animated shorts I had fallen in love with, which I knew were based on chapters of Michael Bond's novels. So I headed to the library, where I searched the computer system for his books. Like Paddington, I nearly fell over backwards when I learned that the entire San Diego Library system held but a single copy of his introductory novel, A Bear Called Paddington.

Needless to say, I gave the computer monitor a very hard stare.

Thankfully, Amazon.com offered copies of the book for sale. I ordered A Bear Called Paddington, and waited impatiently for it to arrive. Unfortunately, then I got a sick tummy, perhaps because of all the anticipation coursing through me. But not only is that a story to finish tomorrow, it demonstrates how much like the film version of Mr. Brown I am, with all my anxieties and insecurities, and how much more brave and adventurous like Paddington I need to become. 

Dragon Dave