Actor Xian Lim will voice the title character of the UK film “Paddington” for its Philippine release. Captive Cinema, the film’s local distributor, made the announcement on Facebook: “It’s official! Xian Lim is the voice of Paddington here in the Philippines!!! Who’s excited???”
The confirmation turned “Xian Lim Love PaddingtonBear” into a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, Tuesday.
“@XianLimm you really deserved that voice-over project #PaddingtonBear internationally. I was really impressed! I love you so much!” said one fan. Based on the popular children’s character created by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, “Paddington” is a story of a young Peruvian talking bear who travels to London in search of a home.
The film adaptation is directed by Paul King and stars Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters and Samuel Joslin. It is produced by David Heyman, who also produced the “Harry Potter” films and “Gravity.”
Lim uploaded an image of the movie’s poster with his name included in the billing on Instagram, with the caption: “Coming soon! watch out for this guys! #XianLimLovesPaddingtonBear.”
“Paddington” opens in local cinemas on Feb. 11. (MJ Delizo, mb)