It’s hard to make a great movie. But it’s even harder to make a fantastic sequel. Not only do you have to come up with something unexpected that will surprise fans of the first film, but the sequel also has to further develop the characters and offer obstacles for them to overcome that feel organic to the story. And while countless sequels are made as a pure cash grab by the studios, I’m happy to reportPaddington 2isn’t one of them. Loaded with great performances, a heartwarming story, and humor that doesn’t rely on cheap gags, it’s an adventure that’s perfect for all ages. I absolutely lovedPaddington 2and strongly recommend checking it out when the film opens this weekend in North American theaters.
If youhaven’t seenthe trailers, filmmakerPaul Kingreturns to direct the sequel, which picks up with Paddington Bear (voiced byBen Whishaw) who has now settled into his life with the Brown family. When searching for the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy’s birthday, he finds an old pop-up book and decides to get a job to purchase the gift. Unfortunately, the book is stolen and Paddington is blamed which causes everyone’s favorite Bear to wind up in prison. From there it’s a race to free Paddington and clear his name before the thief gets away.Paddington 2also starsHugh Grant,Brendan Gleeson,Hugh Bonneville,Sally Hawkins,Julie Walters,Jim Broadbent,Peter Capaldi, andImelda Staunton.
Recently I sat down with director Paul King and writerSimon Farnabyfor an exclusive video interview. They talked about the challenges of making a sequel, how many of them aren’t good, how they came up with the storyline, what it was like convincing Hugh Grant to play the villain, what it was like telling the producers they wanted to do a big train sequence in the third act and film all over London, and a lot more. In addition, since Simon Farnaby played Blue Five inRogue One, I jokingly asked him how working on that film helped makePaddington 2happen.
Check out what they had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.
Paul King and Simon Farnaby:
