When it comes to British TV there very few characters that can rightfully claim to be a British Institution. With the character of Paddington Bear being one of them and while his fame has grown over the past ten years due three successful live action films and an upcoming stage musical it's this animated series that alot of people myself included grew up with and so then join me as I review the episode that introduced a new generation of kids to Paddington Bear with the episode in question being called simply just "Please Look After This Bear" enjoy.
The plot of this special is when there at Paddington Station Mr , Mrs and Judy Brown come across a bear with a love for Marmalade Sandwich's. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty i in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with the episodes plot being simple but delightfully so as this is a show that really doesn't require a deep and thought provoking plot inorder to make it work rather it just requires the characters just being there charming selves and that's really it and to that degree this is an episode does work really well but in saying that tho this is a plot that could have been a little bit stronger as we the audience have no idea why Mr Brown and Mrs Brown are waiting for Judy and yet that's something of a key plot point of the episode as then they wouldn't have met Paddington but in saying that tho the whole idea behind this show was to just adapt certain bits of the books for the shows episodes and to this degree it is possible that things like that could have been left out of the script writing stage as it wouldn't have been funny enough to include in the episode with this being a good way to adapt kids stories as kids don't care about thought provoking plots they want nine tomes out of ten more simpler plots that are very easy to follow and that is something that this episodes plot is in all of the best ways possible with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Like alot of kids shows from around this time this show and this episode only has one person in it with that person being Sir Michael Hordern. With him also being the main storyteller for the whole show with this being something that really doesn't do the show any kind of favors as he really doesn't give any of the characters any voice of there own with him just using his normal speaking voice for all of the shows characters which is fine at first but then the more you get into the episode the more the characters voices do start to blend together thus making it harder and harder to tell who is saying what which in all fairness does force you to concentrate more on the episode but at the same time a kid would have difficulty picking up who is saying what as kids don't focus that much on the show and will go off and do several different things but in all fairness to him his voice is perfect for telling these stories as he does have a really carming voice that makes you want to follow along with the episodes plot willingly rather then feeling like you have to do it with him adding a certain charm to the show that would have been lost if someone younger had been cast in the role or if the makers of the show went and cast more people to do the voices for the characters as while the story would still be very pleasant to listen to the charm of just having one actor doing all of the voices and telling us this story is what partially what makes this show so charming in the first place and with alot of kids shows from around the same time only using one voice actor it does make sense that there would only be one person doing all of the voices for this episode as well.
Now then interns of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in his very episode was in all honesty really good. With it being quite hard to judge this episodes acting as there's only one actor in the whole episode that being of course Sir Michael Hordern who does do a good job in this episode from an acting point of view but is a much more better storyteller then he was a voice actor in this episode with this being due to the fact that he doesn't change his voice for any of the characters which as was mentioned does start to get a little bit confusing when your trying to work out who is talking with the only thing that could have fixed this was if he at least tried to give the characters different voices with it feeling more like he was only doing this show because he had kids or younger relatives and he wanted to show them something he was in and not because he had a love for the characters which could be completely false but that's how it appears on screen whereas if you look at actor Bernard Cribbins when he did The Wombles where he played the same role as Sir Michael Hordern does here he at the very least gave all of the characters very distinct sounding voices so you can still tell who is talking even when your not looking at the screen with Sir Michael Hordern by default also being the episodes best and only actor as he is still really good in this episode there's just a few improvements that could have been made to help to make his performance all the more better with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actor has to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the really greats that were currently over at FilmFair. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good which is not really all that surprising as the animation was being directed by Barry Leith who also did the same role on The Wombles with the thing that makes this show standout from an animation point of view being the fact that it's basically being animated in two completely different styles with them both blending together almost perfectly with the all of the other characters in the episode being animated in traditional 2D animation and Paddington himself being a stopmotion characters with all of the sets being in 3D and yet they both work together so well as they give this show and this episode a look that's unique to it as no other show really before or after this one dared to do something that's this complex as it is a complex thing as when a character is holding something that object then ha to be in 2D but when they pass it over to Paddington it has to become 3D and the transition has to seamless because if not the illusion is lost and it is something that does work well for this episode as well with there being wonderfully animated shot where we see the whole of Paddington station from inside of a Buffet place only for the camera to then move back and reveal both Mr Brown and Paddington with that being a good example of not only how charming that this episodes animation is but also how good that it is as well.
There is no way that any one could do a review about not only this episode or about this show and not talk about Paddington himself. As he really is such a charming character with it being easy to spot why he has remained in the public consciousness for as long as he has done as he's just so innocent and so pure with the character always being very polite to people with him only referring to Mr and Mrs Brown as exactly that with the same thing going for all of the people that he meets in not only this episode but in the show as a whole with him also displaying a knack for getting himself into trouble like when he spots Mrs Brown and Judy when he and Mr Brown are in the Buffet with him getting up onto the table to let them know where they are which is just such a sweet and innocent thing to do and yet you totally buy into it because of how charming that not only Paddington as a character is but also how likable he is and how much like a child he is but also just due to how charming that this show is as well with that being the best word to describe Paddington as a character as he really is just a charming character that you like right from the moment that you see him on screen with him being done in 3D stopmotion only serve to making him look more charming as now then makers of the episode can make him look like a child's teddy bear which granted might have been done by accident but it does also add to the child like and more friendly nature of the character and yet at the same time he does know when to stick up for himself like when he gives the Taxi Driver a hard stare because of the fact that he's know charging the browns more money because of the fact he's there and is covered in buns and cream which does feel like something that he would do.
Something that does make this show unique is the fact that it is pretty much adapting all of the books word for word with this episode being based on the first chapter of the book A Bear Called Paddington. With the idea for adapting the stories being that they would only adapt moments in the books that were funny and yet they also don't loose the heart and the character of the books either as while i've not read the looks it is easy to see from this episode alone why the books were as popular as were as the episode does have alot of character and charm in it's story and while the episodes plot isn't as a good as it perhaps could have been this is one that really didn't need to be that good as the way that it was being adapted always meant that bits that might have been important in the original story were always going to be cut out which was mostly likely done just to cut down on certain characters and locations however whilst this episode does end rather abruptly there is a reason for that as the show was adapting the stories in five minuet chunks with the remaining parts of the story being adapted in the first five episodes of this show which is a rather unique way to adapt the stories as take for example Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends for the first several years of that shows existence they adapted the stories that the episodes were based off of out of order alot of the time and they only adapted certain parts of certain books where as here the whole book is being adapted but in more manageable sizes that make it easier to digest which is a good way to do things as it keep the spirit of the book intact whilst also introducing the story to kids who like myself didn't grow up with the Paddington books.
The Browns in this episode were really quite bare bones which is something that does make sense as here not the main stars of the show Paddington is. However for the first episode there really should have been more thought but into there characterization as there's not really all that much to them as characters heck Judy doesn't even have that many line of dialog in this episode with her only showing up towards the end of the episode and that's really it with the rest of the episode just setting up the relationship between Mr Brown and Paddington which is fair enough but there is a way that the makers of this show could have done that without sacrificing giving more depth to the browns as characters as we could have shown Mr Brown and Paddington outright not get along at first thus showing that Mr Brown whilst he is still a kind and patient person does still have his limits and while Judy isn't important to this episode there could have been something that gives us a hint as to what her character is meant to be with the same ting also being true for Mrs Brown since as things stand Mrs Brown comes across as being nothing more then a kind and caring person as she willingly takes Paddington back home with her , Mr Brown and Judy which is fair enough but it does also make her look like someone that could get pushed around alot as well whereas if there was something to her character it would have made her character alot more interesting with the only good character in the episode being rightfully Paddington himself which is something that does make as he is the star on the show but it still would have been nice to see some of the character show us what it is that makes them charming and not just what it is that makes Paddington charming.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly four minuets ad fifty seven seconds. Which to be fair is more then enough running time for this episode to have as this is an episode that really does have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time with this episode even using it's running time really wisely in all respects as due to how this show was adapting it's stories it really doesn't need to develop it's plot right away as the story is being told over several episodes with the same thing also being for the characters character development as well as it happens over the course of the first five episodes of the show which is something that does allow us the audience to get to know that characters and therefor we get the chance to like them as characters as well and while it would have been nice for both the plot and the characters to get some development in this episode it would have been far to early in the show for that to happen as not every show needs to have it's development right away as sometimes taking the slow and steady approach will work best which is something that is the case for this episode as here due to how simple the plot is and how simple the characters are as they don't really need character development to be interesting as all they have to do is just be there usually charming selves and that's it with that also applying for the episodes plot as well and both of them work really well as a result of that with this being the very thing that modern kids shows as they don't have charming characters or tell charming stories and as such they don't last all that long in people's memories but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode having alot of really cute jokes all of which do work due to how charming that the characters are in this episode with Paddington getting alot of really funny moments in the episode be it him falling on the table in the Buffet and landing on some buns or him carrying a jar of Marmalade in his suitcase all of which work due to how likable that he is as a character however tho the episodes best joke has to be when he gives the taxi driver a hard stare which works as no only does it feel true to the character as he is the type of character who will stick up and defend his friends but it also plays on the fact that the taxi driver is feeling embarrassed because of it which is something that helps to make that joke as funny as it does and yet it's something that does really well with the same thing also being true for all of the jokes in this episode as they all feel true to the character of Paddington bear and they all help to make him a really charming character due to the fact that those jokes are apart of what makes Paddington Paddington with all of this episodes jokes being very character driven jokes and therefor are the kinds of jokes that you could imagine these saying which is something that really does help to make these jokes land all the more harder in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall if you haven't done so already go out and check this episode from the 1976 Paddington TV series out as it really is one that's worth watching as it's really just a charming episode to watch and is one that will guarantee to please people be they adults or little Timmy as that's how good that this episode really is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bas things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . UK , Wikipedia and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.