LIKE MANY BEARS, HE’S A NATURAL SPY

COMPUTER aces studied real bears for hours to create Paddington’s adorable, expressive face.

Perfecting his lips and muzzle was tricky. They filmed Ben Whishaw saying his lines as bears’ faces aren’t designed for speaking. Director Paul King says: ‘We cheated and moved Paddington’s mouth forward so he could speak.’ Paddington’s personality is rather like Andean ‘spectacled’ bears, indigenous to his native Peru. They are placid, intelligent, and are natural spies, like Paddington who goes undercover to catch his nemesis in the film. In real life, they build platforms in trees, then raid crops when the farmer leaves, says Chester Zoo’s Will Condliffe.