In Paddington 2 , the bear cub has happy days with the Browns, in a peaceful part of London, where he is loved by all. While looking for an exceptional gift for the hundredth birthday of his beloved aunt, he spots a magnificent animated book, very old, in an antique store. No time to waste: he does odd jobs to be able to buy it! But when the precious book is stolen, Paddington is wrongly accused and jailed. Convinced of his innocence, the Browns embark on an investigation to find the culprit
Central subject of this sequel, the pop-up book was yet to appear in the first film. But for lack of budget, Paul King , the director had to give it up, especially since the team did not know how to include it in the feature film. It is therefore quite natural that when a sequel was started, the director decided to include the famous book.
The book, an animated book depicting London and created by a Russian artist, is presented to Paddington by the antiquarian Mr. Gruber ( Jim Broadbent ). Paddington then finds himself projected into the pages, taking Aunt Lucy to discover the most emblematic sites of the British capital. An essential scene in the film and which required a lot of work.
It was a technical challenge for the production which had to find someone who knew how to make an animated book in working order and which gives the impression of having been made in Russia in the 1930s. visual effects Glen Pratt worked closely with Dale Newton, Animation Supervisor at Framestore, Gary Williamson and Cinematographer Erik Wilson to orchestrate the book’s animation respecting the style of the original graphics . “You really have the feeling that this is a handcrafted object , ” explains Pratt. “The illustrations appear to be hand painted, and alternate between a sense of solid color and relief throughout the plot. It’s incomparable. There is a purely artistic dimension here and we see that the visual effects have been used. with great intelligence. ”
A scene all the more important in the eyes of the director as it resonates with the television series devoted to Paddington which began in 1976 and in which all the characters and backgrounds, except Paddington, were in cut paper.
