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'Paddington' statues come to London ahead of movie's release

Fifty Paddington statues designed by celebrities and organizations will be auctioned off to benefit the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children after being on display in London. The 'Paddington' film will be released in November in the UK and in January in the US.

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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Statues of Paddington Bear stand near Tower Bridge in London.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

“Paddington” fans can see their favorite bear pop up all across London.

Fifty statues of the fictional bear will be scattered around London beginning today. The statues were designed by celebrities such as “Paddington” actors Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Bonneville as well as Emma Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and others and businesses such as the newspaper The Telegraph and Westminster Academy.

Those who want to find the bears can go to the Visit London website, which has each bear’s location and details about its appearance.

The statues will be on display until Dec. 30 and will be auctioned off afterward, with the money going to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. 

While the “Paddington” film, which has Whishaw voicing the bear and Bonneville and Hawkins as the parents of the family who find Paddington in London, isn’t released in America until January, it’s coming to UK theaters at the end of this month.

According to the Visit London website, the project is a collaboration between Visit London, the NSPCC, and StudioCanal, which is releasing the film. 

In addition to the statues, “Paddington” author Michael Bond is publishing a new book about the bear in December. It’s titled “Love from Paddington” and is made up of letters the bear wrote to family in Peru after arriving in London.

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