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This website earns a commission from online advertising. The advertising
model used is called affiliate marketing and enables websites to earn
money for promoting products or services. Amazon USA Associate In the first story, Paddington is found at Paddington railway station in
London by the Brown family, sitting on his suitcase with a note attached
to his coat that reads "Please look after this bear. Thank you." Bond
has said that his memories of newsreels showing trainloads of child
evacuees leaving London during World War II, with labels around their
necks and their possessions in small suitcases, prompted him to do the
same for Paddington.
Paddington arrives as a stowaway coming from "Darkest Peru", sent by his
Aunt Lucy (one of only a few known relatives aside from an Uncle Pastuzo
who gave Paddington his hat), who has gone to live in the Home for
Retired Bears in Lima. He claims, "I came all the way in a lifeboat, and
ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade." He tells them that no-one can
understand his Peruvian name, so the Browns decide to call him
Paddington after the railway station in which he was found. Paddington's
Peruvian name is ultimately revealed to be "Pastuso" (not to be confused
with his "Uncle Pastuzo"). Bond originally wanted Paddington to have
"travelled all the way from darkest Africa", but his agent advised him
that there were no bears in Africa, and thus it was amended to Peru,
home of the spectacled bear. They take him home to 32 Windsor Gardens
near Notting Hill. While there is a real Windsor Gardens off Harrow Road
between Notting Hill and Maida Vale (close to the location as described
in the books) the Windsor Gardens in the book is fictitious and does not
resemble the real road.
Paddington frequents the nearby Portobello Road market, where he is
respected by the shopkeepers for driving a hard bargain. When he gets
annoyed with someone, he often gives them one of his special "hard
stares" (taught to him by Aunt Lucy), which causes them to become
flushed and embarrassed. Paddington's adventures usually arise from him
misunderstanding something and trying to right (what he perceives to be)
unfair or unjust situations. This typically ends with him messing things
up in some way. But in all his adventures, he ends up on top and
everyone involved can laugh about it. (A notable exception to this rule
is the Browns' next-door neighbour Mr Curry, who, in every adventure,
ends up in trouble.)
The stories follow Paddington's adventures and mishaps in England,
along with some snippets of information about his past. For instance, in
one story, we learn that Paddington was orphaned in an earthquake,
before being taken in and raised by his Aunt Lucy.
The BBC television
series Paddington, produced by Michael Bond and London-based animation
company FilmFair, was first broadcast in 1975. The storylines were based
on comedic incidents from the books, chosen to appeal to the TV audience
which included much younger children than those the books were written
for. This series had an extremely distinctive appearance: Paddington was
a stop-motion puppet moving in a three-dimensional space in front of
two-dimensional backgrounds (which were frequently sparse
black-and-white line drawings), while all other characters were 2D
drawings. In one scene, Mr Brown is seen to hand Paddington a jar of
marmalade that becomes 3D when Paddington touches it. Animator Ivor Wood
also worked on The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles and Postman Pat. The
series was narrated by Michael Hordern. In the United States, episodes
aired on PBS, on the syndicated series Romper Room, on Nickelodeon as a
segment on the programme Pinwheel and on USA Network as a segment on the
Calliope (TV series) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as in
between preschool programming on The Disney Channel as a segment on the
program Lunch Box from the late 1980s into the 1990s.[33][34] The series
also aired on HBO in between features, usually when they were airing
children's programmes. The series won a silver medal at the New York
Film and Television Festival in 1979; the first British animated series
to do so. |
