Delayed Reaction: Paddington 2

The Pitch: More Paddington. You know you want it.
 

Paddington goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit and his family works to clear his name. 
This movie has received one of the more perplexing responses of any movie this year. 2015's Paddington was a charming, overachieving winter release. I can't say it stuck with me all that long. It's a nice alternative to the standard family films out there. I heard about the sequel and figured it was a case of the first movie doing just well enough to green-light another. Or maybe it did super well in England. 

Then, reviews started coming in for Paddington 2. They were all positive. All of Them! In fact, Paddington 2 is currently the highest rated movie of the year on Rotten Tomatoes. That doesn't mean it's the best movie, mind you. It means that it received more uniformly positive ratings than any movie this year. There's been a stealth Oscar campaign for Hugh Grant ("He'll never get nominated, but I want to through his name out there" is something I keep hearing). And I haven't even heard a sarcastic comment made about the movie all year.

You won't be getting a contrarian take from me. Paddington 2 is the gentlest, sweetest movie I've seen this year. It was a pleasure to watch this, and it's hard to pinpoint exactly why. It's silly without overselling it. It's touching without getting saccharine. It manages to communicate at a child's level without dumbing it down too much.
 
I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that it features a lot of very fine actors being  playful while still taking their roles seriously. Hugh Grant really is very good as the villain. He's self-depreciating, a little crazy, and with just enough menace to register as antagonistic. Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, and Julie Walters contribute to a wildly overqualified cast. I really like Brendan Gleeson as the prison cook who befriends Paddington. Of course, Ben Wishaw really nails the voice for Paddington. You believe that bear is the eternally nice guy who brightens everyone's day.

You know, I think I figured it out. Paddington 2 is like if you asked a five year old to write the story of a dramatic movie, then had a really good screenwriter adapt it into the screenplay. So, Paddington goes to jail, but it looks more like a jail in a cartoon than anything in real life. The jokes are familiar, but earnest enough to work. None of it is more serious than it needs to be.

I have no desire to say anything bad about this movie. It's not the best thing I've seen this year, although it might be the hardest one to dislike.
 
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend