The great advantage of having a bear as a central character is that he can combine the innocence of a child with the sophistication of an adult. Paddington is not the sort of bear who would ever go to the moon--he has his paws too firmly on the ground for that. He gets involved in everyday situations. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and doesn't take too kindly to the red-tape bureaucracy of the sillier rules and regulations with which we humans surround ourselves. As a bear, he gets away with things. Paddington is humanized, but he couldn't possibly be a human--it just wouldn't work.
