“This is wild”: Producers of the “Paddington” movies sue YouTubers using the bear’s likeness as a crude puppet podcaster

StudioCanal is suing Avalon after their Spitting Image YouTube show, The Rest is Bulls*!t, depicted Paddington Bear as a crude podcaster.

What is The Rest is Bulls*!t?

Spitting Image is a satirical sketch show starring puppets that debuted in 2020. The program is a reboot of the 1984 series of the same name. The show was canceled by ITV in 2022, but was revived as a YouTube series called The Rest is Bulls*!t in 2025.

There are only four The Rest is Bulls*!t videos up on YouTube, but the series has had more than 10 million views since it debuted in July.

When Spitting Image returned, many fans took to YouTube to express their excitement. “British Comedy is back in its purest form. Love this so much,” one fan wrote in the comments.

“What a breath of fresh air! This is just what we need! Raw satire. Just like the 80s-style Spitting Image! It’ll be trending like never before,” another person added.

“The USA has South Park. In the UK, we have Spitting Image. Good to see you again,” one commenter shared.

What are people saying about StudioCanal’s lawsuit?

Fans have a lot to say about the StudioCanal lawsuit, especially when it comes to parody law.

“This is wild! Suing over a satirical depiction of Paddington as a foul-mouthed podcast host on Spitting Image? Seems like some people can’t bear a bit of irreverent humor,” an account that specializes in parody wrote.

“Since when is parody not an exemption? Which precedent is there for this? Suing for copyright & design breach in a parody?!!! Why is there an attempt to reverse parody exemption & establish this?” someone commented.

However, not everyone is in favor of using a character’s likeness in parody. One person even went as far as to say it’s “exactly as bad as AI.”

“Well, if Paddington is a registered trademark, they have a case. You can parody living people and the dead, for that matter, but by owning this brand, they might have a case saying it’s damaging to Paddington’s wholesome image and, of course, used without permission,” one person argued.

Parody law in the UK

You can read the official guidelines for parody law in the UK from gov.uk below:

“There is an exception to copyright that permits people to use limited amounts of copyright material without the owner’s permission for the purpose of parody, caricature, or pastiche.

For example, a comedian may use a few lines from a film or song for a parody sketch; a cartoonist may reference a well-known artwork or illustration for a caricature; an artist may use small fragments from a range of films to compose a larger pastiche artwork.

It is important to understand, however, that this exception only permits use for the purposes of caricature, parody, or pastiche to the extent that it is fair dealing.”