You Know You Have A Great Franchise When This Charming Sequel Is As Bad As It Gets

Some months before it lands in US theaters, Paddington In Peru is in UK cinemas already, bringing a slice of irresistible British charm to the silver screen. This time, Ben Whishaw’s marmalade-loving bear from Peru – as well as his adoptive family, the Browns, led by Hugh Bonneville’s patriarch – are thrust into a South American adventure when Aunt Lucy disappears mysteriously.

For me, Paddington 2 was a 5 star movie, so how do you follow up on perfection? You go abroad, and you add Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas. The new Paddington threequel flips the script on the dynamic of the first two movies: Paddington is no longer the fish out of water, it’s the Browns who are – sent as they are, to “deepest, darkest Peru”. New cast members join, old faces return, but there’s the same slapstick humor, endearing performances, and heart as always.

A curious thing has happened since Paddington 2 scored an almost perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes 7 years ago: cynical, joyless people crawled out of their miserable holes to try and tear strips off it. This is not a sport anyone should sanction, and it’s a pretty good barometer of the quality of someone’s character. And most people will be coming into Paddington In Peru hoping for more of the same magic. Since this is a family movie, there’s really only one place to start…

My 7-Year-Old Son’s Thoughts On Paddington In Peru

If In Doubt, Go To The Key Intended Audience

In the interest of catering to the correct audience, I consulted Paddington In Peru’s key audience demographic: my 7-year-old son, for his take on things. His suitability goes beyond his age, of course: like Paddington, he also has issues with impulse control, deeply flawed decision-making skills, and he has a habit of hiding snacks.

By way of a disclaimer here: this is a child who has watched more hours of skibidi toilet than any adult potential watching this has spent in a cinema in their lifetime. So adjust your expectations, here are his unfiltered thoughts as he wrote them:

It was amazing.

I liked when Paddington got the new passport and the new umbrella. That song about Paddington coming to the retired bears thing was my favorite part as well.

I found Paddington just swinging in the hammock funny.

Yes, you should see it! It’s amazing and funny and cool. The spider was the best funniest bit.

I didn’t like when the nun lady had a
[REDACTED FOR YOUR SAKE]

Paddington was easily just my favorite character.

If you have a 7-year-old, you will know how difficult it was to get this out of him. His initial assessment was a facetious “positively amazing” with a thumbs up. Some people will never know the sacrifices made in the name of criticism.

Paddington In Peru Is Not As Good As Its Predecessor

Then Again, It’s Difficult To Match Perfection

Paddington 2 is one of the most charming movies of all time, let alone from the family movie bracket. It boasts an enviable Rotten Tomatoes score (99%), has one of the more memorable Hugh Grant performances, and jars and jars of charm. That also means it set up Paddington In Peru with a supremely difficult prospect: any success would struggle to poke out of its shadow.

Even knowing how unfair the urge to compare is, it’s one of the key questions to navigate. It’s not quite as funny or as charming as the second movie, the villains aren’t quite as strong as either Nicole Kidman or Grant (but again, those are very high bars), and the move out of London does lose a little of the quaint magic. None of those are particularly fatal issues: the biggest problem is probably that the Brown children are both rather sidelined by the story (until they get brief moments to shine). But actually, that feels like a conscious choice in service of the wider story.

There’s less slap-stick humor, because Paddington not living in a London household naturally leads to less mild-mannered carnage, and he’s on an earnest mission, rather than bumbling around letting his curiosity get the better of him. I do wish that there was a bit more of that in Paddington In Peru.

What Paddington In Peru Does Very Well

The story is actually more complex than the capers of the first two Paddington movies: it does take quite a while for the story pieces to come together, but the twists at the end are worth the wait. And for the second time in 2024 – after The Wild Robot – there’s a disarmingly effective commentary on parents facing the reality of their children flying the nest. That story centers around Emily Mortimer (who replaces Sally Hawkins as Mary Brown) who convincingly sells the middle-aged anxiety of loneliness through independence.

Paddington In Peru juggles that story, which bubbles along under the surface, with Mr Brown’s own anxiety – more professional than personal – as a change in management sees Hayley Atwell turn up as a risk assessment professional who likes risk. It’s a bit of a flimsy set up for later jokes that make it worth it, but Atwell’s part feels very strangely undercooked. The bigger part of the story is the Peru-based adventure to find Aunt Lucy that cleverly becomes something else entirely and explains Paddington’s fondness for marmalade in a delightful way.

The movie takes the opportunity to delve more into Paddington’s past, in a pleasantly meta acknowledgment that we’re already nostalgic about the character after only two movies. That’s why the jaunt to Peru actually works, even as I spent part of the opening internally screaming about the decision to move away from this quaintly idealized image of London. The writing navigates that well enough, and while the charm is somewhat less dazzling, the world-building is strong enough compensation.

Paddington In Peru Expands The Cast With Good New Additions

Let’s Be Honest, Olivia Colman Is Never Unwelcome

Both Antonio Banderas (as river boat captain Hunter Cabot – the name really doesn’t fit him) and Olivia Colman (The Reverend Mother) add star quality to the cast. The trailers unforgivably spoiled something major about Banderas’ character, though it’s not particularly ruinous: his performance is both as smooth as Roger Moore, and as chaotic as Roger Rabbit when his true colors are revealed. And Banderas clearly had fun, particularly when given the opportunity to dress up for one memorable, but short drag scene.

Speaking of fun, Colman employs all of her easy, wholesome charm as The Reverend Mother, offering a very funny (literal) spin on a famous Sound Of Music scene, and an endearing oddness that makes more sense as things progress. Kudos to her for the musical sequence that opens the movie, and the gameness to poke fun at herself. Again, it’s very funny.

Related

Where Was Paddington 3 Filmed & How Much Was In Peru? Shooting Locations Explained

Paddington in Peru presents the titular hero’s biggest adventure yet, with production for the film taking place in and outside of Peru.

Emily Mortimer does a very good job subbing in for Sally Hawkins as the Brown matriarch, as already mentioned, and Carla Tous is good as Cabot’s formerly estranged daughter Gina, who wrestles with her father’s obsession with the Lost City of El Dorado. The best part of the cast is the returning cameo who appears in both the mid-credits and post-credits scenes.

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Rounding out the Paddington In Peru cast, pretty much all the supporting actors from the previous movies (other than Peter Capaldi) return for the early set-up scenes including the likes of Jim Broadbent, Ben Miller, and Joel Fry. They’re no more than walk-ons, really, but it’s nice they got the gang back together.

Final Thoughts On Paddington In Peru

It’s Not Perfect, But It’s Still A Very Good Family Movie

Paddington In Peru could have been a lot more straight-forward and would still land with audiences, such is the draw of Ben Whishaw’s delightful little bear. But credit where it’s due, the threequel doesn’t sacrifice creative merit in the name of financial exploitation. There are two animated sequences rendered in the style of oil paintings that are just really beautiful things, and a lot of the framing is very Wes Anderson-coded.

All-in-all, Paddington In Peru is a fun, pleasantly charming family experience, that is probably more consciously aimed at younger audiences, but then they are the king-makers when it comes to major box office wins. And I’m just happy to be able to enjoy a family film with broad enough appeal that my son could unironically call it a good time. No boredly asking when the end was coming, no fake trips to the toilet, no distracted foot tapping. All worth an extra star, even if it’s not as good as its predecessor.

Honestly, it’s a shame Paddington in Peru wasn’t released in the US in time for Christmas, given its family appeal. It has some good old-fashioned magic, genuinely pulls at the heart-strings at times, and is occasionally very funny.

Paddington in Peru, directed by Dougal Wilson, follows Paddington Bear as he travels to Peru to visit Aunt Lucy at the Home for Retired Bears. Joined by the Brown Family, they embark on a thrilling journey through the Amazon rainforest and the mountain peaks of Peru after encountering a mystery.

Pros

• Paddington continues to be a delight.
• The story is very cleverly paid off after a gentle build.
• The shift of setting is very well justified.
• It balances heart with some grander philosophical questions.
• Olivia Colman is excellent. Obviously.

Cons

• The villain plots aren’t quite as good as the previous two films.
• The Brown children are a little carelessly sidelines.
• The twists are not exactly well-disguised if you pay attention.

Paddington In Peru is in UK cinemas now, and comes to the US on January 17, 2025