Paddington (2014) (Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Paul King

Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins

Release Date: November 10, 2026

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Release Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Based on the beloved novels, Paddington follows the comic misadventures of a Peruvian talking bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) making his way from his destroyed rainforest habitat to England in search of a new home. The young bear finds himself lost and alone in a big city, until Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins) discover him and offer him temporary safe haven. When an unscrupulous museum taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) sets her sights on this rare bear, the Brown family rallies together to protect Paddington. Available for the first time in 4K in the U.S., the acclaimed franchise’s first film is a timeless, whimsical story about courage, love, and the bonds of family.

Based on the beloved book series by Michael Bond and serving as the first chapter in the live-action film series, ‘Paddington’ follows the titular Bear as he ventures from the only home he’s ever known in Darkest Peru to London where he finds a home with the kindhearted Brown family. Entirely unfamiliar with the way of the civilized world, Paddington soon gains attention for his polite and earnest attitude and his childlike fascination with everything around him. As he and the Brown family hunt for an explorer that once visited Peru many years ago, the family and bear begin to develop a beautiful bond, while unbeknownst to them an evil taxidermist tries to get her hands on Paddington for her own nefarious purposes.

‘Paddington’ was directed by Paul King from a screenplay written by Paul King and Hamish McColl, King does an outstanding job guiding along this heartfelt adventure with humor, style and a clear love for the characters and story. The film’s cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, and Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington, with just about the entire cast providing capable and perfectly fitting performances in their roles that help this gem of a film to become as marvelous as it is.

‘Paddington’ is downright magical; a spectacular first entry in the live-action film series based upon Michael Bond’s endearing books and this 2014 film would go on to spawn two sequels (so far). It does a beautiful job of offering a world of wonder, beauty and kindness while also including some lessons to be careful because not everyone will share that kindness and helpful attitude. Paul King repeatedly showcases his obvious love for the characters and overall story throughout and does a great job of honoring each of the characters from the stories as well and providing each at least a modicum of screentime to help us become more familiar with each as well as their traits, and nearly all fit splendidly within, while Ben Whishaw is downright perfect as the voice of Paddington at every turn.

For any fans of the character of Paddington that never got around to checking out the films and for those of you that merely appreciate a tremendously crafted family film with a great deal of heart and humor, I can’t possibly urge you strongly enough to go out of your way and check out ‘Paddington’ whenever possible. Films like this don’t come around nearly often enough these days and it’s a truly magical family adventure that has something for audiences of all ages and is just about guaranteed to put a smile on your face on multiple occasions.

The 2014 ‘Paddington’ movie directed by Paul King takes the journey home onto 4K for the first time in the states with a gorgeous new collectible Steelbook available exclusively from Lionsgate Limited. The new 4K release features a pretty spectacular full Ultra High Definition presentation of the film itself with Dolby Vision and HDR10 which is nicely paired with an immersive Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that together have this beloved modern masterpiece looking and sounding better than it ever has before in the US.

The Lionsgate Limited release also features a brand new extra with director Paul King discussing his personal connection to the Paddington stories, in addition to various archival extras. The new release additionally features a Blu-ray disc featuring the new video transfer and the Atmos audio, along with a Digital code and all packed into a wonderful Steelbook case with a transparent plastic sleeve that when removed offers a fun switch up to the art. If you’re a fan of the movie or of Paddington in general then the packaging should easily win you over and if you love the film and have been awaiting its hopeful 4K debut in the states, then this Limited Edition Steelbook from Lionsgate Limited should not disappoint and is highly recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Paddington’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful as a whole and provides a clean, sharp and vibrantly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any notable issues arising throughout. Details are stellar on character specifics including Paddington of course, in addition to the gorgeous views of London and various interior settings. The Dolby Vision HDR offers more lifelike coloring on various elements such as Paddington’s hat and the yellow, blue and other warmly colored specifics of the Brown home, while black levels remain rewardingly deep, rich and clean. Overall, this is a spectacular Ultra High Definition presentation that looks delightful throughout and should easily thrill fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is great in its own right and it offers a clean, crisp and immersive audio presentation throughout. It consistently utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, plus some nature and action related effects, bits of crowd chatter and station noise, along with more zipping throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or negatively impacted in the process. Overall, this is a fantastic Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that repeatedly adds to the fun and always sounds great.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Paddington’ features a few entertaining extras. Included on the release is the Lionsgate Limited exclusive extra ‘Please Look After This Bear’ which features director Paul King discussing his love and history with Paddington (running approximately 22 minutes), in addition to some Legacy extras such as various Featurettes, music videos and more including ‘Meet the Characters’ (running approximately 2 minutes), ‘When a Bear Comes to Stay’ (approximately 2 minutes) and ‘From Page to Screen’ (3 minutes), plus the ‘”Shine” Lyric Music Video’ (90 seconds) and ‘The Making of “Shine” with Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams’ (4 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Release Rating: 8/10

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‘Paddington’ Arrives Home in a Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook On November 10, 2026 Exclusively from Lionsgate Limited

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You can purchase the ‘Paddington’ 4K Steelbook Directly from Lionsgate Limited HERE!