Paddington in Peru
Director: Dougal Wilson
Writer: Mark Burton, Jon Foster, James Lamont
Based on: Michael Bond‘s books
Sequel to: Paddington, Paddington 2
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Imelda Staunton, Hayley Atwell, Olivia Colman, Jim Broadbent, Antonio Banderas, Carla Tous, Hugh Grant
Seen on: 7.2.2025

Plot:
Paddington (Ben Whishaw) has settled well in London, even receiving British citizenship. And just in time as a letter reaches him from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) who runs the senior bear residence where Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) has found her home. Aunt Lucy was behaving strangely, the letter suggests, and missed Paddington. So, Paddington decides to fly to Peru to visit her and the Browns (Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin) decide to accompany him as a last big family trip before the kids are all grown. But something strange is going on and they all find themselves chasing a mystery soon.

Paddington in Peru may not quite reach the heights of Paddington 2, but it is a very sweet adventure movie for children that continues the good work of the first two films.

The first two Paddington films, especially the second one, were great movies for the whole family, including children. This Paddington installment is a great kids‘ movie, but has less to offer to adults. It’s still great fun, and it is a good choise that it never tries to be anything but what it is, but a certain magic is nevertheless missing, replaced with the kind of exoticism that fits more with the 1920s than the 2020s.

Nevertheless, there is fun to be had here, especially whenever Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas show up. They brought the perfect vibe to performances that are somewhat ridiculous, but never to be sneered at. They are amazing in their campiness, pitch-perfect for the film. As is Whishaw’s voice work that makes Paddington just such a believable character, you never question his beariness and how it fits in this British world.

There is a lot of slapstick in the film that will delight children and amuse adults. There are some jokes and references for adults but they are not really very important to the film, nor are they all that frequent. The jokes are grounded by a sincere message about the importance of family that is not novel, and sometimes a little too sweet, maybe but still works.

There are certainly worse two hours you could spend than watch the antics of this little bear, even if there were times where I missed the laugh out loud hilarity of the second film.

Summarizing: for the children, gladly.