We were not hopeful for the Paddington Bear movie. The first images of the newly made CG bear were frightening. And the initial trailer was vile. But as it turns out, Paddington the actual movie might be kind of great. Phew!


After the first trailer of Paddington showed our lovely marmalade chomping friend from Peru licking his own earwax and being generally disgusting, we were heartbroken. And our fears were only further set aflame when news broke that the voice actor for Paddington, Colin Firth had been replaced (seemingly last minute) by Ben Whishaw. But according to the reviews, this was the right move. The Hollywood Reporter said Whishaw's "gentle tenor voice has such a touching fragility to it that one wonders how they ever thought anyone else could have done it better."


The Telegraph labeled the film a "total delight." And the Guardian praised its modern message and how it painted, "a colourful portrait of London as a multicultural melting pot with a just a hint of old school Poppins charm." The love doesn't stop there:


Hooray! This is truly most welcomed news because after the last trailer, I think a part of our childhood packed up and retreated into the "do not disturb" part of our brain. And to celebrate, here are a few clips from the Paddington film. Paddington will hit US theaters on January 16th.