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Paddington Bear is getting a not-really-required sequel in Paddington 2 in cinemas this Friday and to cash in, Marks and Sparks have given the studio a stack of cash to put him in their Christmas advert.
I thought the endless vomiting I was experiencing was thanks to the bug going round work, but no, it’s because I watched this.
As Mark Benton turns up as a thief on the roof of the Browns’ house – and is dubbed The Christmas Visitor, the dim-witted bear from darkest Peru spots him fall over and assumes he’s Father Christmas… or Santa Claus as the Americans call him… which doesn’t explain why he’s not known as Father Christmas, since this is a British advert.
Anyhoo, they end up the best of friends and the thief behaves like the benevolent old man that children are conned into believing.
Naturally, the tabloids have gushed endless journalism-free tosh over this one… just like any topic, basically. The Daily Mail moan about Paddington being an immigrant, while the Daily Express are no doubt devoting oodles of pages to Princess Diana.
For a 90-second advert, it’s a lot shorter than last year’s one with the dog, and other animals, jumping up and down on a trampoline.
Check out the trailer below and click on the poster for the full-size image.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.