For as dreamy and adorably charming as Colin Firth is, he is no Paddington Bear. At least that is what producer David Heyman and director Paul King decided early last month. So in his stead they’ve placed perhaps the aww-shucksiest Brit of them all, Ben Whishaw. Things just got totally adorable for the movie Paddington, you guys.

Firth’s departure was announced last month after the duo deemed his voice not quite right for the character. We, naturally, assume that means it was just too dreamy and Darcy-ian, making every woman on staff swoon with lust rather than smile cutesily at the bear. And, well: nobody wants that at a kids’ movie. But it was a bit surprising considering The Weinstein Company is set to release the film on Christmas Day in the U.S. and November 28th overseas in the bear’s home, the United Kingdom.

Still: if anyone can pull it of it is certainly an animated bear with a can-do attitude. Maybe he can get a wee bit of help from his co-stars Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi (ahhh! Twelve!), or Sally Hawkins. What’s an adventure without a little hiccup, eh?

And regardless of how all of this turns out, Paddington-as-Whishaw sure as heck made all those creepy Paddington memes all the more unsettling, didn’t he? He’s just so dagnab adorable! It’s the perfect juxtaposition.

What do you think of Whishaw takign over as Paddington? Let us know in the comments.

[HT: Deadline]