OVERLAY REPORT

In the 2014 film *Paddington*, the main character’s primary goal is **to find a permanent home and a sense of belonging in London.** Following a devastating earthquake in "Darkest Peru" that kills his Uncle Pastuzo and forces his Aunt Lucy into a home for retired bears, Paddington is sent to London. He travels with the hope of finding the British explorer, Montgomery Clyde, who visited his family years earlier and promised they would always be welcome in England. Paddington faces several specific and escalating obstacles in his quest for a home: ### 1. Cultural and Physical Displacement Upon arriving at Paddington Station, the bear’s first obstacle is the **indifference of Londoners.** Despite his polite greetings, he is ignored by the rushing crowds. This highlights the gap between the "civilized" London his aunt described and the reality of a busy, modern city. His lack of knowledge regarding human customs leads to "comedic disasters," such as: * **The Bathroom Incident:** Unfamiliar with plumbing, he accidentally floods the Browns’ bathroom while trying to clean himself, which nearly gets him evicted immediately. * **The Tube:** His struggle to navigate the London Underground (including the famous "Dogs must be carried on the escalator" sign) illustrates his physical struggle to fit into a human world. ### 2. Skepticism and Social Resistance (Henry Brown) While Mary Brown is immediately welcoming, the patriarch of the family, **Henry Brown**, serves as a major emotional obstacle. A risk analyst by profession, Henry views Paddington as a dangerous "liability" and a threat to his family’s safety. He initially insists that Paddington stay for only one night, and throughout the first half of the film, he actively seeks to move the bear into an institution or find another place for him. ### 3. The Antagonist: Millicent Clyde The most dangerous obstacle is **Millicent Clyde**, a cold-hearted taxidermist at the Natural History Museum. * **Goal:** She wants to capture, kill, and stuff Paddington to add him to her collection of rare animals. * **Motivation:** She is the daughter of the explorer Montgomery Clyde. She resents her father because he was disgraced and expelled from the Geographers' Guild for refusing to bring back a bear specimen to be killed and stuffed. She intends to "right this wrong" by stuffing Paddington himself. ### 4. Bureaucratic Erasure When Paddington and the Browns attempt to find the explorer, they discover that **the Geographers' Guild has no record of Montgomery Clyde.** The Guild intentionally erased him from their archives to distance themselves from his "failure" to bring back a specimen. This forces Paddington and Henry to break into the Guild’s restricted archives to find the truth, putting them at risk of arrest. ### 5. Internal Guilt and Alienation A recurring internal obstacle is Paddington’s **fear of being a burden.** After Millicent breaks into the Browns' home and causes a fire (which the family blames on Paddington), he begins to believe he is too much trouble for them. This leads him to run away from the only safe place he has found, making him vulnerable to Millicent’s final trap. ### 6. The "Bad Neighbor" (Mr. Curry) The Browns’ neighbor, **Mr. Curry**, acts as a secondary obstacle. Driven by a desire for order and a personal infatuation with Millicent, he spies on the Browns and helps Millicent track Paddington, providing her with the information she needs to kidnap him.