Klasse 1-6

PADDINGTON
Years 2-6

FILM – A LANGUAGE WITHOUT BORDERS

A project of
 FILM – A LANGUAGE WITHOUT BORDERS
PADDINGTON

BACKGROUND OF THE PROGRAMME

»FILM – A LANGUAGE WITHOUT BORDERS«
Film is a language without borders and can The selection of films is supplemented by edu-
connect people regardless of their origin, age, cational materials which will provide students
gender and life experience. and teachers with opportunities to discuss
Migrant societies which have arisen as a result emotions, identity and the common explora-
of political and social processes such as indus- tion of European film.
trialisation, colonisation, mediatisation and In addition, research in Denmark, England and
globalisation, can utilise the power of film. Germany will examine the way in which the se-
Based on this understanding, German non- lected films offer children and young adults a
profit organisation VISION KINO, together collective movie experience as well as an op-
with the BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE and the portunity for intercultural learning. Joint re-
DANISH FILM INSTITUTE, have developed sults from the three countries will form the
this programme, consisting of eight European starting point for the dissemination of the pro-
feature films for children and young adults, as gramme in other European countries.
well as three classic short films. .

Imprint

“Film – A Language Without Borders” is a project of

the British Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute and
Vision Kino gGmbH and was developed by
Mark Reid (BFI), Charlotte Giese (DFI) and
Sarah Duve (Vision Kino gGmbH)

“Film – A Language Without Borders” is co-funded by the

Creative Europe Media programme of the European Union

Materials published by:

Vision Kino gGmbH
Network for Film and Media Competence
Sarah Duve (V.i.S.d.P.)
Große Präsidentenstraße 9
D-10178 Berlin
Tel: +49 (0)30 2757 7571

Concept and Text: Laura Caterina Zimmermann

Editor: Elena Solte (Vision Kino)
Design: Laura Caterina Zimmermann
Picture credits:

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INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY GUIDE

These educational materials refer to the film PADDINGTON from the programme “FILM - A
LANGUAGE WITHOUT BORDERS.” They are based on the publication “Materials for Film Ed-
ucation in Migration Societies” that contain information on the educational approach under-
lying the programme, as well as general teaching ideas and suggested reflections for teach-
ers.

Film Details p. 3
Synopsis p. 4

Before the Film p. 5

Topic Migration p. 5

After the Film p. 6

Discussing the Experience p. 6
Slapstick Elements p. 8
Topic Home p. 11
The City in the Film p. 13
Worksheet “Paddington and I” p. 16

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FILM DETAILS

PADDINGTON
RUNNING TIME: 95 MINS
DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY: PAUL KING
BASED ON THE BOOKS BY MICHAEL BOND

Film Themes Adventure, Family, Migration, Belonging, Friendship,

Home, Literary Adaptation, Classic Literature
Teaching Subjects German, Religion, Ethics, Social Studies, English, Arts
Countries / Year United Kingdom, France / 2014
Grade Levels Years 2 to 6
Age Recommendation 7- to 11-year-olds
Cast Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville,
Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent.
Production Companies David Heyman, Heyday Films / STUDIOCANAL
Distributor STUDIOCANAL
Language English
Format digital, colour, Cinemascope
Rating U - Universal

Theatrical release: 4th December 2014

Awards: PADDINGTON is the winner of the British Academy Children ́s Awards 2015 in the
category “Feature Film”.

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SYNOPSIS
A little bear from "the darkest Peru" has to say goodbye to his aunt and uncle, who raised him. Fol-
lowing a heavy earthquake, he will be sent to England in search for a better life. There in London lives
a good old friend of the bear family, Montgomery Clyde, who had visited Peru as a natural scientist
many years ago. He is to help the little bear in London to find his way around the city and give him a
new home. But London is much bigger than expected. How is he supposed to find the old explorer?

At Paddington railway station he meets the Brown family, who take the confused little bear home
with them and name him Paddington. But once there he turns everything upside down and not all the
family members are enthusiastic about the new arrival. And it is not only within the family that there
are difficulties.

The old scientist’s daughter, Millicent Clyde, is hot on Paddington's heels. She is now director of the
Natural History Museum and wants to prepare Paddington and exhibit him as part of the permanent
collection. (The character of Millicent Clyde is "The Evil One." For a long time Paddington does not
know that Millicent Clyde wants to catch him while the audience has already received some clues.)
Her unscrupulous behaviour, which is usually accompanied by dark light and suspenseful music, can
scare younger children.)

Through a misunderstanding that results in the Brown family finding their house vandalised, Padding-
ton must leave his temporary home. He sets off on his own in search of Montgomery Clyde, closely
followed by the daughter who wants to catch him. When she finally captures him and Paddington
learns that Montgomery Clyde died long ago, only the Brown family can help him. After a successful
rescue, Paddington realises that he had already found a new home. And the Brown family also feels
that Paddington has now become a family member.

The film is an adaptation of the well-known book series spanning 26 volumes by Michael Bond. In
European countries, the books and stories of the bear that comes to London are very famous and have
been read for generations. The film tells a migration story based on the fate of a little bear who is
looking for a new home in a foreign country. Michael Bond deliberately uses the story of Paddington
bear as reminder of the "Refugee Children Movement" between 1938 and 1939, during which Jewish
children came to Great Britain and were taken in by families.

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BEFORE THE FILM

TOPIC MIGRATION

The film tells a migration story based on the fate of a little bear. The film repeatedly shows
analogies to current issues. Perhaps children with experiences of migration or having been
forced to leave their home country will remember their own experiences during emotional
scenes. Whether children want to talk about their personal experiences is something only
they can determine. It is therefore good to offer them the opportunity to talk, so that each
individual child can decide for themselves, whether they want talk or not.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING

We are watching a film about a bear that moves from Peru to London. Together, students will
look for the following on a world map:

 … the place where Paddington grew up: Peru.

 … the place where Paddington arrives: London.
 … the place where we currently are.
 … the place where we were born.

• By what means of transport could the bear come from Peru to the UK?

SUGGESTED REFLECTIONS FOR TEACHERS

• Have I talked with my students about migration and/or flight before? In which context was that?
• Are there personal experiences of migration and/or flight among students in my class?

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AFTER THE FILM

DISCUSSING THE EXPERIENCE

After the film, ask the class to express their first reactions and then open up the room for questions.
PADDINGTON deals with highly emotional topics: Flight, home and family. The children should be
provided with a safe space to discuss the film and, if necessary, to talk about their own experiences.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING

The following teaching suggestions can either be combined with each other or implemented in-
dividually.

Non-verbal discussion
The children draw an emoticon to say how they liked the movie. Then they draw the film's most
important scene for them.

Body activating evaluation

One by one, the following adjectives are read to the children: boring, beautiful, fast, slow, loud,
quiet, funny, adventurous, scary, surprising. Where the adjective matches their movie experi-
ence, they stand up. Afterwards, they sit down again.

Film discussion
• What would you like to say about the film?
• At the cinema, how did you feel after the film?
• What feelings did you have during the film?
• Are there any scenes or themes in the movie that you would like to talk about?
• What questions remained unanswered in the film? Is there something you did not under-
stand?

For our supplemental research on didactic cinema we would appreciate if you

would send us the results of the film discussion and/or the worksheet
“Paddington and I” to:
Vision Kino gGmbH Network for Film and Media Competence
Große Präsidentenstraße 9
D-10178 Berlin

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SUGGESTED REFLECTIONS FOR TEACHERS

• What analogies to current social issues did I see in the film?

• How did I like the movie? In which scenes or themes lie the strengths of the film?
• What would I like to convey to the children through the film?

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SLAPSTICK ELEMENTS

PADDINGTON achieves its humour through recurring moments of situational comedy, which
has its cinematic origin in Slapstick Cinema, a silent film genre of the 1920s. An important
representative of this is Charlie Chaplin; later the genre was made popular again by the com-
edy series Mr. Bean (1989) and is regarded as an important part of British film culture.

Slapstick comedy is visual comedy that is transmitted without words and through the body.
Not infrequently, violence is part of these scenes, but in a highly exaggerated way that be-
comes comical. Typical examples are car chases, food battles and explosions. Most of the
time, an everyday scene degenerates into misunderstandings and mishaps that often ends in
destruction and chaos.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING

The following teaching proposals can be combined or implemented individually.
The assignment “Acting Slapstick Scenes” is more suitable for younger students.

Working with Scenes

Using the stills on the next page, students are reminded of the following movie scene: Paddington
uses the bathroom. The images can be projected onto the wall with an overhead projector or
printed out for the students. The following questions serve to describe the scene’s comedy.

• What happens in the film between the scenes in picture (1) and picture (3)?

At picture (1) we don’t yet know what will happen in the scene. Since we know about the proce-
dure used when we brush our teeth, we expect that Paddington will now brush his teeth. We are
therefore surprised by the subsequent actions of the bear and the resulting events. The surprise
makes us laugh.

• Whose hand is in picture (2)? What happens immediately afterwards?

We know that when Mr Brown opens the door he will be surprised by the water. He is heading for
trouble without being aware of it and we can watch him do so. This knowledge makes us laugh in
anticipation and will make us laugh again once the expected occurs.

• What other scenes with slapstick elements come to mind? (The first scene with marmalade
in the hat, the scene at the railway station with ketchup, Paddington on the Underground,
the chase scene with sticky tape, …)

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Picture (1)

Picture (2)

Picture (3)

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Comparison with Charlie Chaplin

For comparison, a scene from a Charlie Chaplin film can be shown. The films by Charlie Chaplin
are available in many local libraries and media centres. The opening scene from "The Circus"
(1928) could be used: The tramp (Charlie Chaplin) is chased as a pickpocket, accidentally ends up
in the middle of a circus performance and makes the spectators laugh.

• Why do the circus spectators laugh so much about Charlie Chaplin?

• The children draw a picture of Charlie Chaplin or Paddington: What are their typical charac-
teristics? (Characteristics and external features.) How do we recognise them?

Acting Slapstick Scenes

An everyday scene becomes a slapstick scene through misunderstandings and mishaps. The stu-
dents are given an object and develop the comedy from the treachery of the object. Objects could
be a knife and fork, a chair, a jacket, a pen, a cap, scarf or a book.

• How is the object normally used? How can I use it to make it funny?

SUGGESTED REFLECTIONS FOR TEACHERS

• Did the students laugh at the film’s slapstick elements?

• Did the students have any difficulties acting out the slapstick elements?
•

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TOPIC HOME

At home in Peru Paddington’s favourite time of the year was when the oranges were ripe and the
whole family made marmalade. He always has a marmalade sandwich on him for emergencies. He
learnt this from his uncle: it not only satisfies his hunger, it gives him security and a good feeling. At
the end of the film, we see Paddington cooking orange marmalade with the Brown family. He has
finally settled and found a new home.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING

Our worksheet deals with the topic of home. The theme can be introduced with a collection of
words on the subject of "home" on the blackboard or a poster. Alternatively, children could be
invited to act out some words in small groups.

The worksheet “Paddington and I” takes the children to London. They stand at Paddington Sta-
tion and encounter a little bear who speaks to them and asks for help. How do they think they
would react? They can draw how the story might continue. At the same time, they should think
about different ways of support.

For our supplemental research on didactic cinema we would appreci-

ate if you would send us the results of the film discussion and/or
the worksheet “Paddington and I” to:
Vision Kino gGmbH Network for Film and Media Competence
Große Präsidentenstraße 9
l

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SUGGESTED REFLECTIONS FOR TEACHERS

• What does home mean to the children? What meaning do all or most of them share?
• Is it difficult for some of the children to talk about their home? If yes, what could be the reason?
• Which meaning do I share with the children? Which one is new to me?

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THE CITY IN THE FILM

When Paddington arrives in London he is overwhelmed by the big city. He has a very personal rela-
tionship with this city and has many expectations: His aunt and uncle always wanted to go there.
A sightseeing tour on the way to the Brown family introduces the city to us. Paddington‘s search for
Montgomery Clyde reveals the size of the city to us. With the help of the addresses of all potential
Montgomery Clydes Paddington begins to look for him in the entire city.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING

The following teaching proposals can be combined or implemented individually.

Reading a city map

The children form small groups of four people. A city map is given to each of the groups. City
maps can be printed from the internet or collected from tourist information offices. The children
look for places on the map. Each child draws his or her way to school with a coloured pencil. Who
has the longest route?

• Look up the following locations: the school, the local supermarket, the sports club, the home
of your best friend

Afterwards, the task is evaluated by the whole group in a discussion round:

• What does our city/our town look like? Which characteristics describe our city?
• How is London represented in the film? Which characteristics describe London?
• What modes of transport do people use in our city/our town? What modes of transport do
people use in the film?

City walk
Preliminary discussion before the city walk: Stills from the film can be a reminder of how London
is portrayed in the film. The images can be projected onto the wall using an overhead projector
or printed out for the students.

• What can you see in the pictures?

During the walk the children take photographs of their city. For this, disposable or digital cameras
could be used. Which sights are special? What is particularly typical for the city? Afterwards, a
poster will be made with the photographs.

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SUGGESTED REFLECTIONS FOR TEACHERS

• Do the children perceive our city/place differently from me?

• Are the children having trouble finding their way around on a map? What could be the reason for
this?
• What impression of London do the children have?

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WORKSHEET
PADDINGTON AND I

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