Recently, StudioCanal, which owns the film and television copyright of the famous animal character Paddington Bear, filed a lawsuit in the British court, requesting the "Spitting Image" program team under Avalon Television to stop using Paddington Bear's image in a negative way.
Paddington Bear has long become a national image of the United Kingdom
Paddington Bear, born in 1958, is both adorable and simple. From picture books to animated series and live-action films, his image has become endearing and beloved by audiences around the world. Although an immigrant from Peru, his polite and leisurely demeanor has long made him a paragon of British life. In 2022, he even shared afternoon tea with Queen Elizabeth II.
In a short film commemorating the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, Paddington Bear has afternoon tea with her.
The defendant in this case, "The Lifelike," was originally a puppet show produced by the British ITV channel and premiered in 1984. The puppets were all celebrities from the UK and around the world, including former prime ministers like Thatcher, Major, Tony Blair, and David Cameron; sports stars like Gascoigne and Eric Cantona; music stars like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Paul McCartney; and movie stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dustin Hoffman. Even members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, the current King Charles, and Princess Diana, were portrayed in exaggerated puppetry and subjected to various satirical and humorous comedic gags.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was one of the most frequently appearing characters in "The Life of the Bitch."
At its peak, the show attracted over 15 million viewers and won numerous awards. However, in 1996, "The Life of the Show" was shut down due to plummeting ratings. Today's "The Life of the Show" is a product of its second revival, but the broadcast platform has shifted from traditional television to a YouTube channel, and the production company has changed from ITV to Avalon Television, which was established in 1993.
For over 40 years, the show "Lifelike" has been dedicated to satire, ridicule, subversion, and hilarity. The more aloof and serious the celebrities, the more ruthless their satire becomes. In the new version of the show, which officially launched in early July, the once adorable Paddington Bear has been recast as a foul-mouthed, drug-addicted podcast host. Instead of speaking standard English, he speaks with a thick South American accent. While he still wears his signature blue hooded coat with horn buttons and red bucket hat, his overall look has become more like that of a slovenly drug addict, with bulging eyes and a slightly pointed face.
Paddington Bear as podcast host in "The Life of the Living One"
This image is probably a bit difficult for Paddington Bear fans to accept, not to mention StudioCanal, the copyright owner. Therefore, they decided to join forces with the estate of Michael Bond, the original author of Paddington Bear, to sue the production company, demanding financial compensation and an injunction to stop the infringement.
The four episodes of "Life Is Life: The Rest Is Rubbish" currently online are all hosted by puppet versions of Prince Harry and Paddington Bear.
On the YouTube platform, the new satirical puppet show "Spitting Image: The Rest Is Bulls*!t" currently has four episodes, all hosted by puppet versions of Prince Harry and Paddington Bear. Puppet images of business tycoon Musk, US President Trump and Vice President Vance, British Prime Minister Starmer, Ukrainian President Zelensky and others have also appeared one after another.
A puppet image of U.S. Vice President Cyrus Vance in "The Lifelike"
In the first episode, which aired on July 4th, Paddington Bear publicly announced that he doesn't speak like Ben Whishaw, the actor who voiced Paddington Bear in the movie "Paddington." Then, he changed into a South American accent and shouted: "You bastards, I'm from Peru. I'm Paddington Bear from Peru! You may remember me from "Paddington Bear," "Paddington 2," and "Paddington: Peruvian Adventure." In fact, I also played Pablo Escobel in the Netflix series "Narcos!" At the end of the episode, the sloppy version of Paddington Bear publicly inhaled a puff of white powder, then rolled his eyes and passed out.
Currently, the new version of "South Park" has 600,000 subscribers on YouTube, and the first episode has been watched by 560,000 people. Although there is still a huge gap from the 15 million viewers at the peak of the show, many enthusiastic viewers left messages below, praising it as "the purest British comedy"; "Americans have "South Park", and we British have "South Park"."
Princess Diana's puppet image in "The Life of a Princess" was not beautiful, but she herself appreciated this kind of funny approach.
In fact, during the 1980s, "The Life of the Bear" also deeply irritated many of its victims. Princess Diana, during her lifetime, revealed that members of the British royal family were displeased after watching the show, while she herself greatly appreciated its comedic style. Furthermore, US President Ronald Reagan, who was heavily mocked on the show, reportedly contacted NBC, the network that broadcast the show in the United States, to express his concerns. However, no one could have imagined that the first person to take "The Life of the Bear" to court would be the virtual character Paddington Bear.
Former US President Reagan (center) as a puppet in "Exquisite Life"