Paddington Bear
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Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appears in some 14 books written by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and has evolved into a franchise. The illustrations show him more as a teddy bear than a real bear, in the original style of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Paddington is an anthropomorphised bear. He speaks English, wears a battered hat which he refuses to part with. When found and in the early editions, he also wore a Duffle Coat, and wellington boots. He is always polite and well-meaning (though he inflicts hard stares on those who incur his disapproval), likes marmalade sandwiches, and has an endless capacity for getting into trouble. However, he is known to "try so hard to get things right".
Plot
This gentle bear was found at Paddington in London. In the first story, he is found there by the Brown family sitting on a suitcase with a note attached to his coat which reads "Please look after this bear. Thank you." He has arrived as a stowaway coming from "Darkest Peru", sent by his Aunt Lucy. He tells them that no one can understand his Peruvian name, so the Browns decide to call him Paddington.They take him home to 32 Windsor Gardens near Portobello Road, and the stories follow Paddington's adventures and mishaps in England.
This is somewhat akin to the manner in which Jack Worthing, in The Importance of Being Earnest, was found at Victoria railway station.
Books
A Bear Called Paddington was first published in 1958, and was followed by eleven more books, two collections of short stories and many appearances in picture books and other publications.Television
The BBC television series Paddington produced by Michael Bond and FilmFair was first broadcast in 1975. This series had an extremely distinctive appearance: a mixture of stop-motion puppets moving in a three dimensional space in front of two-dimensional backgrounds, which were frequently sparse black-and-white line drawings. Animator Ivor Wood also worked on The Magic Roundabout and Postman Pat. The series was narrated by Michael Hordern. In the United States, episodes aired in between preschool programming on the Disney Channel throughout the 1990s, and also on Nickelodeon in the 1980s as a segment on the program Pinwheel. The series won a silver medal at the New York Film and Television Festival in 1979 — the first British animated film to do so.Species
Some people have assumed that Paddington is a spectacled bear, this being the only species of bear native to Peru. However, there is little actual resemblance between the wild bear and the character as usually illustrated.Influence on fashion
Paddington's influence on fashion has been limited to his hat. At Paddington's first appearance, the upturned brim at the front of his crush hat was irretrievably gauche. By the end of the 1990s it had become de rigueur among Sloane Rangers.Other Paddingtonia
- Author Michael Bond was also a BBC TV cameraman who worked on Blue Peter. After this was revealed in 1965, a special Paddington story — in which he got mixed up in the programme itself — appeared annually in The Book of Blue Peter for many years. They were collected in "Paddington's Blue Peter Story Book" in 1973.
- Paddington has made many appearances in picture books and other publications.
- Paddington merchandise — especially related to the BBC TV series — became prolific in the 1970's.
- A second television series, produced by Cinar Films and Hanna-Barbera, first broadcast in 1997, consisted of traditional two-dimensional colour animation.
- Street traders on the Peruvian shores of Lake Titicaca now offer tourists home-made finger-puppets of Paddington. There is also a stall at Paddington station selling Paddington Bear merchandise.
- Paddington featured on the Royal Mail 1st class stamp in the Animal Tales series, released on January 10th 2006.
- David Goodman Olney won a million dollars on the TV program Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? because he knew that Paddington Bear originally came from Peru.
External links
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