Stories from the set

The film is based on Michael Bond's series of books about the little bear Paddington.

Paddington Bear was originally going to be voiced by Hugh Laurie or Colin Firth.

The character named Paddington was created by the English writer Michael Bond (he is credited as the screenwriter). One day in a shop in London on Christmas Eve 1956, Bond saw a lonely teddy bear. Bond bought it as a gift for his wife and decided to write a book (it was published in 1958). The plot of the story about a lonely bear at Paddington Station was inspired by old newsreel footage of children being evacuated from London during World War II.

While preparing for the role, Nicole Kidman (who played Millicent) learned to throw knives. She later said that during filming she was told not to show off her skill with bladed weapons so openly, since the film was, after all, intended for children. In the end, those scenes were cut from the film entirely.

The prospect of making a feature film about Paddington initially frightened Michael Bond, but all his fears about whether the project was worthwhile were dispelled as soon as he began watching the test footage.

Nicole Kidman's agent initially did not even want to tell the actress about the opportunity to play Millicent. He mentioned it in passing, clearly expecting Kidman to reject it outright, but the actress reacted to the news with enthusiasm and stated that she wanted to be in the film. It turned out that she had loved Bond's books since childhood and that as a child she had dreamed of having Paddington Bear live in her home.

During pre-production, director and screenwriter Paul King visited cinemas several times to watch children's films and see what exactly children find funny. He usually took his wife with him to the cinema so as not to look like a "suspicious loner."

In the film, Paddington is shown in his traditional blue coat and red hat. Producer David Heyman ordered that the red boots be left out, because the original Paddington did not have them; they were added to the look at the factories where toy Paddingtons were produced.

On her way to the set for night filming, Sally Hawkins (who played Mary Brown) suffered a concussion when she walked into a crane. The wound on her head was covered with a headpiece after she flatly refused to leave the set and see a doctor until she had played her scenes.

The visual effects team had a particularly hard time working on Paddington's smile. The specialists planned to give him a realistic bear look, and a human smile did not suit him at all. Instead of a smile as such, the specialists had to add warmth to the bear's gaze and joy to his eye expression.