Paddington 2 without the visual effects (or the bear) is very unnerving

Turns out there’s a lot of work to make Ben Whishaw’s ursine hero come to life

Paddington in a pink prison jumpsuit, carrying a tray with a plate and mug — StudioCanal

Huw Fullerton

Published: Sunday, 4 March 2018 at 0:35 pm

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While Paddington 2 may have missed out on any Oscar nominations this year (it came out in January in the US, while only films from 2017 can compete), it’s still been a huge critical and commercial success around the world, charming international audiences with the further adventures of the titular furry hero.

Paddington cuts Hugh Grant's smarmy celebrity down to size in exclusive scene from Paddington 2
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And of course, a great part of that success has to be down to the cute depiction of Paddington himself, a testament to the work of both voice actor Ben Whishaw and the visual effects artists bringing the character to life.

But what if all that work was removed? What if we saw the “before” picture to Paddington’s “after”? What, in other words, did it actually look like on set before Paddington Brown was digitally added to the footage?

Well, thanks to this new behind-the-scenes video our question has finally been answered, with the resounding reply of “it’s pretty weird”. Paddington’s interactions with the world around him were achieved by crew members poking Brendan Gleeson with sticks, small actors standing in and the film’s major stars wrestling with thin air, all with the promise that one day a little fuzzy bear would be added in to make them look less ridiculous.

Honestly, it’s fascinating, and a good reminder of exactly how much work the visual effects supervisors had to go through. Marmalade sandwiches all round.