Meme legend still sticking Paddington into other movies and TV shows

Twitter is replete with film and television meme accounts. Out-of-context stills from shows like Schitt’s Creek or Our Flag Means Death regularly make the rounds. But one meme account rises above the rest, dedicated to sharing images of Paddington Photoshopped into movies and TV shows “until I forget,” or so says the caption that accompanies every image. Jason, who runs @Jaythechou on Twitter, kicked it off in March 2020, and is still going strong. Roughly 550 Paddington Photoshops later, and Jason still has not forgotten.

Putting Paddington into any movie or show improves it immeasurably. Don’t try to fight me on this. I will win. Give me a little bear from darkest Peru on any day of the week, one in a long coat, a rain hat, and little booties who likes to stick his snout into unseemly situations.

Paddington is a masterpiece. Paddington 2? It’s also a masterpiece.

For Jason, the reasoning behind the account was just that simple: It started as a “fun little Reddit project,” and it’s only grown since he’s moved to Twitter. “I get DMs from strangers around the world saying they love what I’m doing, and it makes them smile or laugh,” he said. Evidently some of the ones he thought were “horrible or done at the very last minute” have gotten the biggest reactions — from film studios interacting with him to going extremely viral.

“I would always get funny reactions when I tell people that Paddington 2 is my favorite movie,” Jason told Polygon via Twitter message. “I’d start to feel ashamed especially when I was still studying film in school. And my professors would always show us serious films. Then the news came out that Paddington 2 surpassed Citizen Kane as the best reviewed film.” (This refers to the moment in time when Paddington 2 sat at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Citizen Kane sat at a mere 99%. They are currently both tied for 99%.)

“I started to get messages from friends saying, ‘You’re right, Paddington 2 is a pretty good movie.’ And I jokingly said, ‘I told you so!’”

Jason has kept the ball rolling for a very long time, given he doesn’t plan these in advance — instead he does the Photoshop in a handful of hours or fewer whenever the inspiration strikes. (This is, in my humble opinion, what Paddington would do — WPWD, if you will.) Jason also takes care to add Paddington in a particular pose that works for the movie or TV still, from hanging on to a toilet’s high tank pull chain to glugging a large mug of tea to eating a marmalade sandwich.

Jason doesn’t have his own favorites, but said that adding Paddington to horror films seems to take off the most on Twitter. He also cites Interstellar and the Halloween franchise as particular successes.

“I remember seeing Paddington 2 when I was at a little low point in my life. It just filled me with so much joy,” Jason said, in an opinion that is objectively correct. “I love his selfless personality and the fact that everyone he meets becomes a better and kinder version of themselves.”

And so Jason shall continue — presumably until he finally “forgets.” The project, like the movie, has already changed his life in innumerable ways.

“My friends introduced me to marmalade on buttered toasted bread,” Jason said. “Now I always toast my bread.”