Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Paddington 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Orange marmalade is the new black.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 18, 2025

NOTE: As of this review, this release is only available as part of Studio Canal's Paddington 3-Film Collection.

A heartfelt and hugely enjoyable sequel to the popular 2014 film, Paul King's Paddington 2 takes a potentially dark story -- our fuzzy brown hero gets is to prison for a crime he didn't commit -- and ups the charm factor to "11", thanks to the franchise's excellent cast chemistry and colorful characters including new villain Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant). Featuring a rousing climax and sugar-sweet ending that's not far removed from It's a Wonderful Life, it's my personal favorite of the three Paddington films. Though Paddington 2 was previously released on UHD in 2018 by Studio Canal (UK) and more recently by Warner Bros. (US), this new edition is the only one authored on a 100GB disc.

For its highlights mentioned above and many more, Paddington 2 become a beloved family favorite around these parts during the last few years. As such, I'm going to break tradition here and re-grade it to a more fitting 4.5/5 as opposed to the original 4/5 rating in my review of Warner Bros.' US Blu-ray, which also offers a synopsis.

Paddington 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced directly from the 4K disc but have been downsampled to 1080p/SDR and thus should not be considered an accurate representation of quality in terms of brightness level, color, and detail.

Released a month before Warner Bros.' new US 4K edition, Studio Canal's recent 4K release of Paddington 2 outpaces that version despite the fact that both of them seem to use identical source masters. The primary reason is that this release has thankfully been authored on a full triple-layer disc (100GB), whereas the WB release and an earlier 4K edition by Studio Canal were both authored on a cheaper dual-layer disc (66GB). Much like the first film, Paddington 2 was finished in 2K and thus may be "just an upscale", but the difference in bit rate afforded by that extra disc storage space pushes this new UHD edition into true 5/5 territory. I was impressed with WB's 4K release for reasons outlined in my linked review (which could honestly be repeated here with minimal changes), but any tiny reservations I had about that disc can't be said about this one. Color accuracy, fine detail, density, black levels -- these are all about as solid as possible under the circumstances, while this beefier encode lets the film truly breathe with bit rates that regularly go into 80Mbps territory and beyond. Of course, those with small to medium-sized displays will be perfectly fine with either disc, but Studio Canal's new UHD is basically as good as it gets for Paddington 2 on home video.

Paddington 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This 4K edition ports over the same Dolby Atmos mix from other releases including WB's 2018 Blu-ray, so please see my linked review for more information. While a few foreign dub tracks from that Blu-ray aren't included, the separate 5.1 mix has been upgrade from lossy Dolby Digital to DTS-HD Master Audio, which is appreciated.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the film only, not the extras below.

Paddington 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Paddington 2 features extras that are identical to the previous UK 4K edition, which differ quite a bit from those found on US home video releases including WB's recent 4K and does not include several short-form featurettes.

• Audio Commentary with director/co-writer Paul King

• Music Video with Phoenix Buchanan (1:31)

• Paddington 2: The Challenges of Making the Film (4:24) - Animation director Pablo Grillo sits down for a brief chat about the film's visual effects including previsualization and other steps in the process.

• BAFTA Q&A (34:03) - This on-stage Q&A session features producer David Heyman, director/co-writer Paul King, co-writer Simon Farnaby, actor Hugh Grant, and Pablo Grillo, who field a number of questions about the film and its production. It's an enthusiastic and entertaining piece with topics including the source material, creating a heightened version of London, writing the musical number, editing, and much more.

Paddington 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paul King's Paddington 2 is a superb sequel to his 2014 film and, for my money, the best of the Paddington franchise. Featuring an engaging story, colorful characters, and more than enough heart, it's a true crowd-pleaser that will charm audiences of all ages. Much like the first film, this specific UHD edition -- which features slightly stronger visuals than other 4K releases, including a UK-released combo pack in 2018 and Warner Bros.' recent domestic port -- is currently only available part of Studio Canal's excellent 3-Film Collection and comes Highly Recommended.