Paddington 2

The thing about the Paddington movies is that they are perfect.

Is anything as improbable as a "feel-good" movie that actually leaves us feeling terrific? How about two of them in the same series?

The Paddington films preach a message of acceptance that's no less straightforward than that of The Shape of Water, encouraging viewers to share in the hero's tolerant worldview.

How rare that a sequel improves upon its original, and rarer still is a perfect film. But Paddington 2 is both, encouraging gentleness, politeness, and decency.

Paddington 2 surprised the hell out of me, and this is coming from somebody who loved the first. This is a sequel that doesn't disappoint.

A dash of Wes Anderson and a sprinkle of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, swirled around with a wonderfully fluid sense of airiness and light. It's mannered, yet carefree, colorful, and evocative.

I don't want to review Paddington 2: I want to live in it, and invite you to live in it with me.

A movie that promotes the importance of family and good manners might seem like it could become the squarest of snoozes, but Paddington 2 is so transcendentally cheerful that it carries the day - and then some.

All in all, "Paddington 2" has a warmth and wit that's missing from many a children's movie. Don't let your January go by without it.

It's a fun movie, within which lurks a poignant idea-and, yes, an oversimple one-about communities and their outsiders.

[Paddington 2] has one out-loud laugh, plenty of sincere cleverness, vast technical ingenuity, a warm heart, lively performances and enough gyroscopic camera moves to make Max Ophüls jealous.

Everything that a kids' movie should be: sweet and adorable and kind, and adults can enjoy it too.

I might even go so far as to proclaim Paddington 2 pretty much perfect, but let me indulge in one more marmalade sandwich before I make the decision to say just that.

It may be difficult to find a review of director and co-writer Paul King's followup to [Paddington] that does not employ some form of the word "charming." This is right and just, and the achievement is surely harder than the devoted cast makes it look.

Paddington 2 may not be the novel revelation that its predecessor was, but it has its heart-and its stomach-in the right place.

If you have kids, take them. If you have nieces and nephews, take them. If you don't have kids but just want to feel like one yourself, go see it. Paddington is a bear for all seasons.

Utterly beguiling.

This bear is constantly striving to earn the approval of the humans in his life. One day, maybe we can all be worthy of his.

''Paddington 2" is "The Godfather Part II" of Peruvian bear movies, a sequel that surpasses the superb original.

It's an exquisite reminder of the wondrous things that can happen when a storyteller of boundless imagination avails himself of some rigorous discipline.