Talk:Paddington Bear

Brown bear
The article refers to Paddington as a "Brown Bear called Brown" but since brown bears are not native to Peru or anywhere else in South America this should strictly speaking be removed. The only species of bear native to South America is the spectacled bear.199.168.151.143 (talk) 19:56, 4 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Since bears in the real world don't talk or wear duffel coats and hats, I fail to see your point. It's a work of fiction and not bound to rigorous rules of biological accuracy. Mabalu (talk) 08:31, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

He looks nothing like a Spectacled bear though, and the movie describes him as an undiscovered species of bear. Booger-mike 1:41 PM EDT 3/11/2020 —Preceding undated comment added 17:41, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

Paddington Bear 50 years
I'm proposing that we work on this article to get it featured to celebrate the 50th birthday of Paddington Bear this year. --Miikka Raninen (talk) 11:14, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Someone living in Britain could ask for an interview from the Author Michael Bond for Wikinews.
 * Confirm a number of facts and get more information.
 * Get photographs of original illustrations from him with a GFDL license or equivalent to use them here.

See/listen also: BBC Radio 4 program: Please Look After This Bear

Hi Erich. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.141.247.28 (talk) 20:05, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.cobweb.nl/wcoumans/paddington.wav
 * In Paddington Bear on Mon Jul 17 15:03:20 2006, 403 Forbidden
 * In Paddington Bear on Thu Jul 27 00:39:56 2006, 403 Forbidden

maru  (talk)  contribs 04:40, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Paddington in the Rain!
I found a clip on YouTube of what appears to be an episode of Paddington, where he does his own recreation of Singin' in the Rain! Link to the YouTube video Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtFYneCDyc

-- JaffaCakeLover 18:10, 28 January 2007 (GMT)

They made those raindrops using airfix glue - a drop at a time. Took days of work!-- seahamlass  11:47, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Short stories?
Aren't they all short stories? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.105.199.70 (talk • contribs).

Paddington Bear on Canadian Romper Room?
I'm trying to think back to when I was two years old, but I seem to remember Paddington Bear segments airing on the Canadian edition of Romper Room. Mjlarochelle 04:01, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Paddington Bear switches to Marmite Sandwiches
Paddington Bear is being used in the new marmite advertising campaign:
 * Paddington Bear Gets Taste for Marmite MediaGaurdian September 12, 2007

The 1975 stop motion series will be re-broadcast on UK TV in conjunction with TV (created by DDB London) and radio advertising.

Miss Cicatrix 11:54, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

Major Edit/Section Deletions
I am keen to edit this into a good article. I have started with small changes and additions, but now think that a major revision is in order. I intend to delete the unreferenced Species (opinion not fact) and Influences on Fashion sections in light of info from the official Paddington site. The 2nd paragraph of the introduction is repetitive and requires revision. Miss Cicatrix 09:18, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

"As notable as Winnie-the-Pooh"?

 * "The polite immigrant bear from Darkest Peru, with his old bush hat, battered suitcase and marmalade sandwiches has become a classic English children's literature icon, and is as notable as Winnie-the-Pooh."

I'm tempted to remove the comparison with Winnie-the-Pooh, unless a good reference can be found ("...literature icon, whose cultural influence has been compared to that of Winnie-the-Pooh [ref] "). Otherwise, the comparison seems to constitute original research. Apart from the two characters being bears, as opposed to tank engines for example, I'm not convinced they have much in common. Mtford 15:14, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed, removed. Hugzz (talk) 02:29, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Times Article
There's a 50 year article in the times with an extract (presumably from the new book ?) - -- John (Daytona2 ·  Talk ·  Contribs) 07:12, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Pedo Bear?
Any relations? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.176.15.247 (talk) 14:53, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
 * No.--RedHillian | Talk 14:55, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

What is this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.141.247.28 (talk) 20:06, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
 * A comment.--RedHillian | Talk 22:54, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

There are a lot of people who are currently displaying their shared ignorance by taking out their frustrations with Google on Wikipedia, due to the fact that Google chose to have an image of Paddington Bear on their main page instead of making any reference to Columbus Day. Clearly & obviously, these people didn't even bother to ***** at Google instead, because they knew that their e-mail addresses would be ignored & blocked for such ridiculous stunts. CorinthMaxwell (talk) 21:44, 13 October 2008 (UTC)


 * And that's why we all should use Yahoo and Britannica.

-G —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.48.170.129 (talk) 23:28, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

The hat

 * Paddington's "bush hat" is the type described at Wikipedia "bucket hat". "Bush hat" at Wikipedia redirects to slouch hat, not Paddington's. Young women now wear Paddington hats with the front brim up when they want to appear winsome.--Wetman (talk) 13:51, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

Name
Doesn't Paddington often introduce himself as "Paddington Brown" (presumably due to being adopted by the Brown family)? I've set up a redirect from Paddington Brown to here, but I think it ought to be worked into the spiel somewhere... Dave-ros (talk) 18:13, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Also, the Paddington Bear website states that we eventually learn he was called "Pastuso" in Peru. Should this information be included somewhere? 82.33.206.117 (talk) 13:47, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Time Period
The article states "due to the Browns getting around in a cab, and one of the characters listening to "the wireless", it seems to be the 1940s." I was brought up, in London, in the 1960s (born 1961) and our family listened to "the wireless" - my father still does call it "the wireless". And even today I take a "cab" when I want to go somewhere in London. As a method of fixing Paddington's books in the 1940s, these two reasons are completely spurious. Simhedges (talk) 22:53, 2 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I concur with this. The books are loosely contemporary, with references to aspects of life which are around at the time they were written - such as television and pasttimes which would have been possible at the time. However, they're not blatantly contemporary, so you don't get hoodies and what-have-you in the newer books. They aren't historical in any sense of the word, in the same way that Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz aren't historical. I'd be inclined to remove that whole statement as it's not cited/supported and doesn't really add much to the section it is in. Mabalu (talk) 20:21, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Had a look at that statement again, decided it had to come out as it was patently disproveable. Mabalu (talk) 20:27, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Film Adaptation
Erm, this section of the article is over three years OoD. Isn't it about time we got some updates on it? Does this film even exist? I never heard of it. *shrugs* —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.121.73.144 (talk) 06:39, 29 March 2010 (UTC)

Note "attached to his coat"?
Surely Paddington didn't have a coat when he arrived? His duffle was bought later. The note was - if memory serves - on a label attached by a string around his neck. If someone could check this, it could be ammended. Jock123 16:36, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

Separating Novels from Picture books and other stories, also new novel
I think the novels should be separate from the picture books. I am pretty sure that the last time I visited this page (and/or the author's Wikipedia page,) the books were separated by novels and picture books. According to the official site, there are 13 novels. http://www.paddingtonbear.com/booksthenovels.html 01. A Bear Called Paddington (1958) 02. More About Paddington (1959) 03. Paddington Helps Out (1960) 04. Paddington Abroad (1961) 05. Paddington At Large (1962) 06. Paddington Marches On (1964) 07. Paddington At Work (1966) 08. Paddington Goes To Town (1968) 09. Paddington Takes The Air (1970) 10. Paddington On Top (1974) 11. Paddington Takes The Test (1979) 12. Paddington Here and Now (2008) 13. Paddington Races Ahead (2012) (Missing from this article)

On the picture books, I don't know if the website has a complete listing, but they do break them down into four different eras, each with its own artist. Several of the books were re-illustrated by a later artist. For example, Paddington at the Tower included on the list twice, once in 1975, and once in 2012, yet other books are missing. One way to get a (somewhat?) complete list of these books would be to search Amazon by the illustrator's name, and check the box for 'Paddington' (series) or Michael Bond (author.) http://www.paddingtonbear.com/bookspicturebooks.html

There is also a category of 'other titles.' http://www.paddingtonbear.com/booksothertitles.html 68.97.202.205 (talk) 21:25, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

Species
Surely he's just a generic bear, not a spectacled bear specifically? This notion has sprung up that he's a spectacled bear because that's the only species native to Peru and people imagining themselves to have been ever so clever have made an entirely unintended connection, but quite honestly I doubt that Michael Bond thought that deeply about it - he just picked a country that sounded good with "Darkest" in front of it. Neither Peggy Fortnum's illustrations (which Bond has always enthusiastically endorsed) nor the CGI version in the film resemble a spectacled bear at all. --Walnuts go kapow (talk) 10:09, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

Theme Tune (British TV version)
I've often (well, every now and then) wondered if anyone else has noticed the similarity between the British TV theme tune and the intro to Charles Aznavour's song "On Top Of The World, Alone" (search it on youtube). The first time I heard this tune starting up (was randomly played in a bar), my very first thought was "that's the tune to Paddington Bear!" and I went ot the bar to ask what it was. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:84:AE64:3B3A:6C62:ADE1:940D:C5A5 (talk) 11:58, 28 August 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Statue earlier than 2000?
The current statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington Station (designed by Marcus Cornish) was installed in 2000. But I am sure that there was a statue of Paddington Bear at the station much earlier than this. I remember being taken to see it as a child in the 70s or 80s.

Initially the statue was against a wall on the concourse but the area in which it was located was refurbished and significantly opened up to provide more retail space so the statue was moved.

Can anyone else recall the earlier statue and does anyone know what happened to it? Markrlondon (talk) 12:06, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Spectacled bear
I ask again, is the notion that Paddington is a spectacled bear actually canon? It looks very much like a factoid. --Walnuts go kapow (talk) 14:27, 28 February 2018 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: ENGL 273 - Children's Literature
I aim to make some changes to the article in the next few weeks. First, I plan on adding a Reception section to include how the original book was received at the time it was published and how contemporary readers regard the book. Then, I plan on adding an Analysis subsection in the Characters section to discuss how scholars analyze the relation between the characters and storyline to immigration and Otherness in the UK. Additionally, I intend to add an Awards subsection under Film Adaptations to display how contemporary viewers enjoyed the film. Further, I plan on making some copy editing: I would like to vary some sentence structures as some of them are long and wordy and add a brief sentence in the Lead Section outlining what the article will cover. Together, I hope that these edits will bring greater clarity and cohesiveness to the article.Atd59 (talk) 14:13, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

Person adding their name
The name Grayson keeps getting added even though it is just my brother adding his name I’ve tried to delete it but he just adds it back 2600:100C:B242:B7FF:CDBC:B370:B57:B327 (talk) 22:21, 27 June 2022 (UTC)

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Draft:Paddington: The Musical
I recently created a draft for the newly announced Paddington: The Musical. Thriley (talk) 06:56, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

"Paddington (franchise)"
The usage of is under discussion. See talk:Paddington (film series) for the discussion, on where the 2014 film series and derivative properties is the franchise. -- 64.229.90.32 (talk) 05:12, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Paddington (film series) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 06:21, 12 June 2024 (UTC)