The latest installment in the Paddington franchise takes the titular bear out of his newfound home and back to his birthplace in Peru. Whilst the third entry isn’t the best, it is still a good film and a fun journey. Read our Paddington in Peru review below.
Paddington (Ben Whishaw) is back and this time he is way out of his depth. After receiving his passport, he is sent a worrying letter from a nun in Peru alerting him about his growing concern for his Aunt Lucy. In response, the Brown family rush over and are sent on a whirlwind adventure through the jungles of Peru where they encounter Antonio Banderas’ Hunter Cabot and his daughter Gina. This new ensemble is a lot of fun and combats the personal nature of the Browns with more extroverted and outlandish personalities, which brings purpose to the journey of Peru. Banderas takes on a very similar role to Hugh Grant’s in the second Paddington movie, even taking on multiple roles whilst his character deals with multiple voices in his head. This is one prevalent example of the movie playing it very close to chest and safe – sticking to what they knew worked in the second one and repacking it with new actors and characters, but very similar archetypes being played.
Olivia Colman is a welcome addition, British royalty always works in these movies and she fits in very well with the rest of the cast – providing most of the laughs as the suspiciously not-suspicious reverend mother. However, whilst these new additions bring a new angle to the story and allow for something different in the franchise, it actually lessens the movie and is what makes it less enjoyable than the others. The ensemble of characters surrounding Paddington such as the people who live on his street and even the Brown children are the ones that truly solidify the sense of community and happiness that is so special about Paddington so by taking him away from these people and giving the immediate family less screentime in favour of showing off the new stars, it feels like it is more about these new characters than what has made the other two Paddington movies so special.
Similarly, the change in location is a lot to adjust to. A lot of this movie is set in the Amazonian rainforest and promises an adventure to get to the ultimate goal – but there isn’t much of an adventure at all. We arrive in the forest and are lost and then immediately find where we needed to be – it’s all very simple and safe. Seeing Paddington explore the areas he grew up in and interact with some of the wildlife and environments would’ve brought the film up a lot but because it’s so short you don’t get enough time to relish in a moment and it quickly moves onto the next thing. Despite that, what is there is fun and you get a lot of fun character moments – especially for Henry Brown, who probably gets the most screen time and rightly so: Hugh Bonneville is the face of the franchise aside from Paddington and carries the family moments. Whilst this is great, it would’ve been nice to see the children get more to do aside from just be in the background. These now not-so-young actors have proved in the other two movies, and even in this one, that they can carry scenes and have strong comedic and emotional moments so they deserve to be given more to do. The next movie needs to sharpen out the ensemble and focus on giving each character strong moments to truly justify them being there, otherwise, we are left wondering what could’ve been.
With the third film comes some creative and cast changes and this movie brings in a new director in Dougal Wilson and replaces Sally Hawkins with Emily Mortimer. Wilson is actually a surprisingly well fit addition considering his lack of experience. He manages to capture the essence of Paddington and frame the Brown family well in this new adventure, he comes in at a good time as the Browns leave London so there is no real comparison point for how he shoots London compared to Paul King, all of his flair is shown through Peru and it actually serves as a great contrast to the other two movies. In addition to that, Wilson brings a fresh wave of style to the franchise, specifically in the editing and transitions, there are a lot of fun things done with the backgrounds and character moments that appear unique to his vision – as if he is embracing the flamboyant nature of Peru and flashing all of this style and colours on screen. On the other hand, having no Sally Hawkins is a detriment to this film and her lack of presence is felt. Whilst Mortimer tries her best and would be a good character if not compared to Hawkins in the previous two, it is simply not the same and you spend the whole movie yearning for her return. Mortimer cracks down on the emotional and maternal nature of Mrs Brown but it was the inquisitive, curious and kind nature that Sally Hawkins brought to the role which made her loved by so many. The first time she was introduced there was an audible noise sweeping across the auditorium as everyone became aware of the change, solidifying the impact she had in the franchise and on the role – it would be a mistake to do another movie and continue to leave her out.
Paddington in Peru is a fun time and a great family watch. It’s not as good as the other two but it’s still very enjoyable and heartwarming with a lot of funny visual gags – Paddington would be an excellent silent movie star and some of the moments here echo back to Buster Keaton and other film icons such as Werner Herzog. The story at its core is about found family and the struggles with immigrating to a new place and becoming close to new people, it’s incredibly heartwarming and super relevant to the struggles of the modern world. If you can handle a good cry, this is a movie for you.
Paddington in Peru stars Hugh Bonneville, Ben Whishaw, Antonio Banderas, Emily Mortimer, Olivia Colman and Julie Walters. The film is directed by Dougal Wilson and written by Jon Foster, Mark Burton and James Lamont.
Paddington in Peru is now playing in theatres in the United Kingdom and hits U.S. theatres on January 17, 2025.
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