Paddington Bear popping up around London ahead of film debut

Anyone walking around London for the next few weeks may spot a Paddington Bear or two while sightseeing at some of the city’s most famous locales.

Though the film adaptation won’t appear on American theater screens until January of 2015, Paddington arrives in British cinemas on Nov. 28, and London has bear on the brain in anticipation. Fifty statues of the adorable bear will pop up around the city beginning Tuesday, Nov. 4, as part of The Paddington Trail, which will take those who walk it to some of the most famous sights of Paddington’s adventures.

Each statue has been designed by a different celebrity or organization, from Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock-inspired bear, to a Tardis-wearing Paddington from Peter Capaldi, to Emma Watson’s butterfly-patterned version. All 50 statues will then be auctioned off in December, with proceeds going to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

But the Paddington love doesn’t stop there. The Museum of London will host a new exhibit, “A Bear Called Paddington,” celebrating the character’s leap from a series of books to the big screen. The exhibit will run from Nov. 4 through the new year until Jan. 2, 2015.

The House of Illustration in London will also be housing the “Paddington: Illustrated and Animated” exhibit until Jan 4., 2015. The exhibit gathers together materials from Paddington’s more than 50 year history, including a number of artists’ illustrations, as well as material from a stop-motion Paddington television show and the upcoming film.

Last but not least, the series’ author Michael Bond will be releasing a new book, Letters from Paddington, on Dec. 23. Letters is written in the form of missives from Paddington to his Aunt Lucy back in Peru, telling her about some of the biggest highlights of his adventures through the years.