Review: The Adventures of Paddington “Paddington’s Squirrel Surprise”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Paddington writes to his Aunt Lucy that “out of tiny acorns, mighty oaks grow”. He adds that he thinks adventure can grow out of acorns, too, based on a recent discovery.

In the tree house, he’s surprised to find piles of acorns. Thinking they came from Judy and Jonathan, he surprises the kids at breakfast with a present: a picture he’s made of the three of them, created with acorns.

Though bewildered, Judy and Jonathan thank him. They ask what inspired him to make it, and he explains it’s to thank them for the acorns they put in the tree house. They say that wasn’t them, and head out to find the actual party responsible: a grey squirrel.

The kids explain that squirrels hide nuts to eat throughout the winter. Paddington worries that because of him, the squirrel will go hungry.

In an attempt to apologize and set things right, Paddington goes to apologize to the squirrel and invite it inside for the winter. Despite the critter immediately making a mess in the kitchen, Paddington is optimistic that things will “work out surprisingly well”.

But will that actually be the case?

Our take:

This episode flips the script a bit on the usual Paddington approach that centers civility and conversation as the solution to all problems.

While at first it seems like our favorite furry protagonist may have succeeded in ridding the house of squirrels with a “hard stare” (emphasized by cracking thunder sound effects and a surprisingly fierce “shoo”), ultimately he has to follow Judy’s suggestion and ask for help.

I will say, as an American viewer, hearing Judy (Sabrina Newton-Fisher) pronounce “squirrel” is a true delight. It’s just one of those words that sounds boring with our accent, and totally adorable with a British slant!

Similarly, Jonathan (Bobby Beynon, who also played Ryan Jarwood in Doctors) asking “wot ‘appened ‘ere?” when he sees the squirrel’s impact on the kitchen is premium accent content. I’ve been told the equivalent is Americans saying “banana”, but I have no way to confirm that at the moment.

But back to this episode’s plot. Not only does having Paddington’s initial attempts at rectifying the squirrel situation fail provide some intrigue, it allows Mr. Curry (Reece Shearsmith) to step into a hero role, complete with a Jurrasic Park reference to boot (“clever girl!”)

Granted, he’s more motivated by seeking revenge than simply helping Paddington. But if avenging his garden is what it takes to give this show’s Oscar the Grouch character a chance to shine, so be it. Also, he says squirrel several dozen times while hunting the furry menaces down, safari style.

In the end, of course, things work out, as they always do for Paddington and the rest of the cast. But showing a situation that can’t simply be taken care of with a kind conversation is essential to show kids that it’s alright to ask for help.

And while the show’s careful to confirm there’s no reason to harm squirrels, reiterating that these critters don’t adhere to the rules of normal society is a valuable lesson as well.