Paddington: Fitting In, Belonging & Home - Movie Discussion Guide
“My body had traveled very fast, but my heart, she took a little longer to arrive.”
Moving to a new place, losing loved ones, hasty goodbyes, changing/adapting your name because people can't pronounce it, being misunderstood, making mistakes, just looking for a home, a place to belong and trying your best to fit in. Paddington went through all of it.
Paddington, from darkest Peru was raised by his adopted Uncle Pastuzo and Aunt Lucy. Their lives are greatly changed and Paddington is forced to find a new home. With his marmalade sandwich and his big red hat, he turns up at a train station in London looking for a home. Unfortunately his experiences are not what he and his Aunt Lucy had imagined. He meets a family called the Browns, who are willing to help him, but they will not give him a home.
Paddington writes to Aunt Lucy, "It's hard to see where a bear could ever belong in such a strange cold city."
As Mrs. Brown tries to help Paddington, she brings him to visit an antique dealer friend of hers, Mr. Gruber. When Mr. Gruber was a child there was a lot of trouble in his country, so his parents sent him on a train all the way across Europe.
Paddington asks, "Was it hard to find a home?"
Mr. Gruber replies, "I had a great aunt who took me in, but I soon learned that a home is more than a roof over your head. My body had traveled very fast, but my heart, she took a little longer to arrive.”
Not just fitting in, but belonging and finding a home takes time. Paddington's story is a beautiful one that many of us who have moved around can relate to. When I sit down with my kids to watch this film the tears just come so easily. Whether it's the sad ones for the moments he misses home that remind me of the homes I miss or the happy ones where he finds belonging that remind me of the people that I have found belonging with. This is an excellent film to watch and discuss with your TCK/CCK children/students as it allows for so many moments of discussion.
Video Guide
Years ago as we were debriefing our departing staff, we had our first family with children who were leaving our school and we needed to find a way to care for them while their parents were busy. This led to a discussion about not just babysitting, but actually acknowledging the feelings that the kids were having too. So out came Paddington and from it I created this guide. You will find quotes from the film to highlight or discuss and questions to talk through. This is a great activity to do with your children at home or with your students in class as the school year is wrapping up.
Pacing:
5 separate days
30-45 mins per session including discussion
Themes:
The themes of fitting in, belonging, and home are strong throughout and provide a great opportunity for kids to think through these ideas with a caring adult. Learn about how to create safe spaces for your TCKs/CCKs with this TCKTraining miniseries.
What is home?
What does it mean to fit in?
What does it mean to belong?
How do you know when you belong?
Supplies:
Tips:
- Find different ways to engage your students in discussion.
- Students/children that have moved countries and those that were born and have lived in the same country will identify with a character in the movie, whether it is Paddington or the Brown children.
- Significant Moments are listed so you can think through your group of students/children and their personal experiences before you discuss. I hope that these moments will inspire you to ask your own discussion questions as well!
- If you are watching this with little ones, there are some parts that I suggest to skip that might be too scary for them as there is a woman who wants to stuff Paddington and put him on display in her museum. So please use discretion.
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