Paddington is a bare that has become more and more popular thanks to the live action movies and stage musical. However today's generation won't know of the fact that there was a previous animated series with the character and well this is a series that I really do like talking about and since it's been a long time since an episode of this show was last talked about I thought let's talk about another one and so then join me as I review the episode that reveals Mr. Browns first name with the episode in question being called simply just "Paddington And The Old Master" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is Mr Brown enters a painting he's done into a local art contest however Paddington believes that it might contain a hidden painting underneath and decides to restore it. 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. The episodes plot does continue the series trend of telling these small scale stories that are simple and because of that this episodes plot is one that is very easily to follow along with with it also allowing Paddington himself to be his usually charming self. The thing that that does let down this episodes plot is the fat that the plot itself is kind of forgettable and while this is understandable as you are going to run across some not so great plots in any TV show it hurts more here due to how the stories were adapted for the screen as in this show they literally just took the pages of the Paddington books and filmed them and that was it and with this episodes plot being as forgettable as it is it does make the story in the book seem all the more forgettable however tho whilst the Paddington films have gone to great lengths to make the stories feel epic and adventurous it is nice to still have a show where the biggest problems that the characters face is getting Paddington some pyjamas or in the case of this episodes plot having Paddington try to restore a newly painted artwork by Mr. Brown as not all Paddington plots need to be big and epic as sometimes being small in scale works just as well as it allows for the characters to what they do and be charming 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.
Starring in this episode is Sir Michael Hordern with him being as delightful as he is in the rest of the show. Heck you do even get to here hm try out some different accents for the characters as while the Browns and Paddington all have firm British accents he gives Mr. Gruber what might be a German accent with the fact that he does give all of the characters these different voices does make it far more easier to tell just who is talking with it even having the added benefit of making the world that these character live it feel more real as these are characters that live in central London and that is filled to the brim with all of these different accents therefor it does make sense that some of the shows characters would speak in different languages. It does help that Michael has a voice that is a calming as it does feel like your listening to your own grandfather read you these stories before you go off to bed as that's how calming that his voice is and it is something that does make him perfect to do the narration and voices for this show and episode as while someone like Bernard Cribbins for example would have been able to give all of the characters these rather distinctive voices he has a voice that isn't that calming to listen as it's a more energized voice and that is fine for something like The Wombles but for this kind of show you do want to here a voice that is more calming and that is like someone who is more like an older relative with it being helped by the fact that Michael reads this episode and the other episodes like he is reading a book as he does take the time explain every little thing and that is something that the makers of this show really didn't need to do and yet they went ahead and they did it anyway and it is something that does sell you on his acting in this episode.
Now then interms 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 this very episode was in all honesty really good. The fact that we have some really good acting in this episode isn't something that should be all that surprising at this point as Sir Michael Hordern was a really good actor with him quite clearly giving us a really good performance in this episode and this is something that he really didn't need to do as this is show that was made for little kids and therefore no one would have expected him to turn in a good performance in every episode and yet that's exactly what he goes and does. With him by default being the episodes best actor as while his voice for Judy does sound a little big off this is something that you can easily forgive as he was an old man at the time being asked to voice a ten year old girl and therefor of course his voice is going to sound a little off and it is something that does improve as the show goes on with him even becoming more and more comfortable with Paddingtons voice as it would have been really hard for anyone to act as the main storyteller for a TV show and still voice all of the characters as you do still have to give a performance you can't just put on a funny voice and call it a day you do still need to act and this is something that he does seem to have understood as he does give us a really good and worthwhile performance in this episode. 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 actors have to do is say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out 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 are 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. Like with the episodes acting the fact that we have some really good animation in this episode isn't something that's all that surprising as alot of the stuff that FilmFair did be it from The Herbs to The Wombles always had really charming animation in them and the same thing is true for this episode as the episodes animation whilst yes granted it's not as good as the animation in other episodes of the show it is still really charming to watch. With the episode blending in the 2D Animation of the human characters with the 3D animation of Paddington himself really well with the 3D really sticking out in this episode as we get get to see things like Paddington walking towards the camera and climbing into bed both of which are things that would have been really hard for the animators to do back in those days as these days it would have been done in CGI but of course back in the seventies that wouldn't have been an option and yet the episodes animation still does look really good. Altho with this being said there really isn't a scene in the episode that stands out because of it's animation with it feeling like that he makers of this episode were playing perhaps a little bit to safe for there good as this shows animation is at its best when its doing something that does make you wonder how they did it and while this episodes animation isn't bad persay as it is really good its just that there are other episodes of this show that have higher quality animation in them.
This episode does give us some firsts as its the first time we meet the character of Mr. Gruber and its in this episode where we get to find out what Mr. Browns first name is. These are things that might seem like small things in the grand scheme of thigs which is fair enough but at the same time Mr. Gruber is really the only character that Padding ton can truly talk to due to the fact that they do have this close knit bond with each other due to the fact that both characters do share alot of common interests with us getting to see that he really would do anything for Paddington and Paddington would do anything for Mr. Gruber with it being sweet that they do give Paddington someone out of the family to talk to as while Mr. Curry does fill it that role nicely as well Mr. Gruber is actually kind to Paddington. While the other major think in this episode is the fact that we do get to find out that Mr. Browns first name is Henry which these days is more common place but interms for this show its not something that we hadn't really seen outside of maybe one mention of it in an earlier episode and that's it but either way it is a small thing as Paddington both up to and after this episode will always refer to him as Mr. Brown something which he even does in the films despite the fact that they have a much more closer relationship with each other in the Paddington films then they might do in this show and yet even with that in mind finding out this characters first nae does feel like a big thing as it does make this world feel more real as of course Paddington would find out his first name eventually but the fact that it happens this early on in the shows run as this was only the shows fifth ever episode is still something to behold as it does show the fact that Paddington is getting more and more closer to the Browns and while his best friend in this show might be Mr. Gruber Paddington really is still very good friends with Mr. Brown.
Much like with the series four previous episodes this episode is based on a story in the first Paddington book called "A Bear Called Paddington" with this episode being one of the last stories to be told from that book. Yet you really wouldn't know it as while all of the other episodes had some form of connective tissue between all of the episodes with this being something that made it feel like they were telling one long form story here the episode is completely disconnected from anything that happens in the previous stories which does make it an odd choice to adapt as it feels more like an epilog to those stories as it doesn't wrap up anything from those other stories. This is somethin that is fair enough tho as the episode really didn't need to wrap anything from the previous episodes as these are stories that are meant to be viewed by little kids and give the fact that the previous episode ended with Paddington , Mrs. Brown and Judy all returning home from London one could make the case that the storyline that that book was telling end with that episode and that this episode was just meant to be a fun little story with no connective tissue which is fine and to be to the episode not alot of the other stories connect to each other anyway and therefore its not out of place to see it being done in this episode but at the same time tho there is some story that the makers of this show could have gotten out of Paddington riding the tube as he wouldn't have been able to ride them before arriving in London in the first place but at the same time seeing him trying to do something genuinely nice for the Browns even if it is a little bit misguided does go along way into making us like Paddington as a character as it does show us that he is a kind character who will always try his best to do something nice for the people he cares about it even if it is something that does end up going horribly wrong.
The very idea of having Mr. Brown entering an art competition even if it is a local one is something that does work for this episode. As given the very simple nature of this show it is something that you could see any of the Browns doing and it is something that would have worked just as well regardless of which member of the family it was in the first place and given the fact that we've just spent two episodes with Mrs. Brown it is nice to see another member of the family get the spotlight again even if there not in the episode all that much with this being something that is kind of a let down for the episode and the episode would have been all the more better if we got to see Mr. Browns reaction to Paddington's attempt to restore his painting as that is something that would have made the episode be all the more fun to watch. Another thing that would made the episode all the more fun to watch is if we got to see things like all of the other artists as then we'd get to see just what kind competition that Mr. Brown is up against and if we got to see the Judge of the contest at first act flustered and confused as to why there's Marmalade Chunks on a painting before Paddington then comes into the living room to explain as it would have given the chance for the judge to show of just what kind of a character that he is as even he is technically an important character in the episode he doesn't really get alot to do in the episode and therefore doesn't get much of a chance to show off his personality whereas if he was in the episode just for a few more scenes then that is something that he would have been able to get across with it being something that would have helped to make the episode be alot more fun and memorable to watch as while it would still be a forgettable episode seeing the characters react to whatever Paddington has been up to is always fun to watch.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly five minuets and six seconds. This is the bogstandard running time for the shows regular episodes and to be fair to this episode given just how simple its plot is in the first place it also didn't need to be any longer then that as all it needed was enough time to get the basic set up out of the way and then the episode can just let the characters be there usual charming selfs as that is more then enough to carry the episode and to be fair to this episode it really does have more then plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. The episode even uses its running time as wisely as it could have done as while the episode doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot the episode also doesn't need to fully develop its plot due to thew fact that the episodes plot is as simple as it could possibly get and while yes it would have been nice if the episode did take the time to add things to the plot that would make it feel more well thought out there's no way that the episode could have done that with its running time. The episode does take the time to fully develop as well as it could have done due to the fact that we do get to see Mr. Gruber and Paddington becoming friends at the start of the episode something which we do get to see more of in other episodes with there friendship being quite cute to see as is seeing the bond grow between Mr. Brown and Paddington something which wouldn't have been the case even just one episode and yet here due to the fact that Paddington does genuinely try to do something nice for him Mr. Brown does somewhat start to warm up to Paddington, the only characters who don't get any kind of character develop is the competition judge and Paddington himself and even then it's due to the fact that the judge only appears in one small scene near the end of the episode and therefore he doesn't really need to be that well develop in the first place and for Paddington he really has the rest of the show to get his character development but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is 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 thats actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. The episodes comedy is one that is more then up to the shows already high bar of comedy as while the episodes jokes as is to be expected aren't laugh out loud funny they are still cute jokes that do get a small laugh out of people with alot of what makes the comedy in this work as well as it does being the fact that Paddington himself is such a likable character by nature that you can't help but laugh at his antics. With the best joke in the whole entire episode being when Mr. Brown does see what Paddington has done to his painting he fakes an illness just to get out of being yelled at and takes himself of to bed early only for him to then come down a few hours later when the judge is there just because of the fact that he wants to see what's going on which is just a Paddington thing to do as even tho he meant no harm in trying to "restore" Mr. Browns painting with it going about as well as could be expected for this character with him scratching the painting with his paws and using Marmalade Chunks on it he does still mess it up and the fact that he was willing to do whatever it took just to get out of being yelled at by Mr. Brown does show that Paddington does know when it's best to leave a situation with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst there are more better and more memorable episodes of this show this is still a decent episode altho it is one that did need a bit more thought and effort put into it to make it be as good as the rest of the shows episode already are in the first place with this episode being a forgettable episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad 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 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 ad gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in his very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post 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 really 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 really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.
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