People in America are mostly aware of Paddington on two levels: one being purely as a mascot character, divorced of context; the other being the quasi-meme of “Paddington 2 is a perfect film,” the British Amelie. And much like Amelie, more people will say they love it than have actually seen it.
If I were a potential investor, my concern would be the inevitable end point of the musical’s viability. After all, this is a King Kong situation: you can’t get much hope of a licensing future if the show’s whole hook is an incredibly specific, expensive special effect. Will the show still work when the bear robot/human hybrid is gone and it’s a theatre kid wearing a hat with fuzzy ears?
