Apologies in advance for continuing the disturbing trend of overusing the label “sociopath,” but if you come out of the “Paddington” movie not wanting to be more like Paddington Bear then you are a dangerous sociopath. The bear from darkest Peru with the red bucket cap and blue duffle coat is not only a good-looking ursine, but embodies humanity’s most admirable qualities. Paddington bear is the kind of person we’d all aspire to being if it weren’t for our damned cynicism: a creature of perfect politeness (except his table manners) and empathy. It’s hard to overstate how infectious the Paddington bear mentality begins to feel as “Paddington” progresses. “Paddington” is Wes Anderson for your kids and the best live-action children’s movie since “School of Rock.”

“Paddington” Movie Trailer

“Paddington” opens with a British geographical society’s trip into darkest Peru, where they discover intelligent bears with a tremendous weakness for British culture. The Englishness of “Paddington” is of the most appealing sort, with the movie reveling in stereotypically British niceties. Paddington himself travels to England expecting Western society to live up to its highest ideals of generosity, but finds London to be full of rude humans; humans who have hardened their hearts and become very un-Paddington. “Paddington” reminds us of the appeal of politeness in the first place, subtly jabbing us in the ribs (or delivering one of Paddington’s effective “hard stares”) for not living up to our most humanist ideals.

Despite Mr. Brown’s best efforts, Paddington bear finds a home with the Brown family, eventually winning the hearts of the reluctant Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville of “Downton Abbey”) and sucky teen daughter, Judy (Madeleine Harris). In the process of finding a home in an alien city Paddington uncovers the truth behind the original Peru expedition and thwarts Nicole Kidman (as maniacal animal serial killer Millicent). That’s about it for a plot in “Paddington,” but its memorable execution and sharp wit elevate the material into something near enough to sublime.

For one, “Paddington” is really funny. “Paddington” tries out all sorts of jokes, from the “Family Guy” cutaway — the name of a horrific orphanage changing every time a character tries to soft-pedal exactly how terrible it is — to the unexpectedly astute cabbie (shades of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s” politically-minded mud men) who critiques the villain for lacking “a binding ethos.”

“Paddington” Has British Humor Like This:

Of course, “Paddington” is also loaded with elaborate, CGI slapstick sequences, each of which opens like your worst nightmare — Paddington hopping on a skateboard being the most egregious example — but soon finds a certain grace as Paddington does his best to contain the chaos, only to find it grow and grow until you just know that poor bear is going to have to be very, very polite to get out of this one. When it comes to the kind of gross-out gags, fart jokes, and over-elaborate car-chase sequences we expect in live-action kid’s movies, “Paddington” ranks somewhere far below Chaplin, but well above tolerable for adults in the audience.

“Paddington" director Paul King (“The Mighty Boosh”) pillages styles and storytelling tricks fearlessly. The most obvious influence is Wes Anderson, from “The Royal Tenenbaums” set design (particularly of the various bedrooms in the Brown household) to a dollhouse that presents every character in miniature… just like Zissou’s Belafonte.

“Paddington” and its Influences

Other visual flourishes, like a live band that dogs Paddington’s steps (to much less pretentious effect than a similar device in “Birdman”), a model train that reveals a man’s past, or a painted tree that flourishes or wilts with the family temperament, may remind you of Fellini, Gondry, Gilliam, or even Disney’s animation output. The hodge-podge of visually inventive flourishes all serve a sense of wonder or build out Paddington’s remarkable capacity for empathy, as he (and we) literally see into the mind’s of others. Visually, “Paddington” is always fun, often clever, and occasionally breathtaking.

Paddington himself is a wonder, a perfect marriage of oddly real animation and a vocal performance from Ben Whishaw that makes Paddington bear’s fears, delights, and kindnesses feel achingly real. In a lesser movie a CGI bear being accused of lying after describing an outlandish (but true!) home invasion would just be plot, but to hear the hurt in Paddington’s voice as the Brown’s doubt his account is proof enough that Whishaw has discovered the genuine sweetness in Paddington bear.

Paddington Bear CGI

By the end of “Paddington,” our bear hero has found a home. That may sound like small stakes, but you’ll be ever so happy for him nonetheless. Now if only something could be done about his worrying marmalade habit.