The best decision I ever made was to join my grandma and cousin on their excursion to see Paddington 2 in theaters seven years ago. Until that day, I had never given Paddington Brown much thought. All it took was 104 minutes for the marmalade-loving bear to turn me into his #1 fan. So, needless to say, I’ve been patiently awaiting the arrival of Paddington in Peru for some time. While it’s no Paddington 2, the adventure comedy threequel still hits all the right notes to make it an enjoyable outing with your family.
A lot has changed for the Brown family since we last saw them seven years ago. The children are all grown up and, although they still live at home, the parents, especially Mary Brown (played by Emily Mortimer, replacing Sally Hawkins), are not quite happy being borderline empty nesters. So, when Paddington (voice of Ben Whishaw) announces to the family that he is heading back to Peru to visit his Aunt Lucy, Mary sees the trip as the perfect opportunity for a little family bonding.
Upon arriving in Peru, the Brown family quickly learns that Paddington’s aunt has gone missing. After finding a map in her room that suggests Aunt Lucy went to a place called Rumi Rock, nestled deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle, Paddington and the Browns head out in search of her.
It’s at this point where Paddington in Peru introduces two of its new characters: Olivia Colman‘s The Reverand Mother, the head nun at Peru’s retirement home for bears; and Antonio Banderas‘ Hunter Cabot, a treasure hunter and captain of the riverboat the Browns rent to get them deeper into the jungle. Paddington in Peru isn’t exactly subtle in how it handles these two characters. About a minute into meeting The Reverand Mother, you can tell that something’s not quite right with the nun, with Brown family friend Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters) also suspecting that there’s more to The Reverand Mother than she is letting on. Colman is absolutely wacky in the role and is clearly reveling in getting a chance to play someone who is essentially a live-action cartoon character.
As for Banderas’ Hunter Cabot, the movie quickly delves into his backstory, revealing that he’s part of a long line of treasure hunters who have been seeking the lost city of El Dorado. And wouldn’t you know it, Paddington’s Aunt Lucy has left behind a clue pointing them straight to the lost city. Paddington in Peru sets up Cabot as the movie’s main antagonist, although it’s not hard to see through this guise. While Banderas isn’t given the opportunity to cut loose like Colman, he still delivers quite a memorable performance.
Of course, at the heart of this franchise is the titular bear itself, with Paddington in Peru showing once again why audiences have fallen in love with Paddington around the world. The visual effects for Paddington remain top-notch. Whishaw brings so much depth to the character that it’s easy to get lost in Paddington Brown’s story and forget that he isn’t real, but is instead a computer-generated creation by the VFX company Framestore.
Paddington in Peru dives deeper into Paddington Bear’s origins than in the previous two films, exploring his mysterious orphan past. While creating an unnecessary origin story for a beloved franchise character is more often than not a recipe for disaster (looking at you Solo: A Star Wars Story), Paddington in Peru manages to avoid this pitfall by beautifully tying together his origin with that of El Dorado, which the movie earns bonus points for actually doing something unique and unexpected with the lost city of gold.
While Paddington in Peru does drag a bit in places, once Paddington and Cabot go off on their own to find the entrance to El Dorado, the movie picks up some speed and doesn’t slow down until the credits have rolled. I’ll avoid getting into further spoilery detail as that would diminish the enjoyability factor I fear. So, I’ll conclude by saying that Paddington in Peru is an epic adventure for the marmalade-loving bear that will delight fans of the first two films as well as any newcomers to the franchise.
