Review: ‘Paddington in Peru’ is Great Family Fun and a Worthy Successor to the Beloved ‘Paddington 2’

Everyone’s favorite bear is back on the big screen, ready for his next adventure more than a decade after first headlining his own film. This time, he’s traveling far from home and back to the place where he first started his journey of life. The location change makes for an enormously entertaining chance to take Paddington and his adoptive family, the Browns, out of their comfort zones and on a treacherous path towards figuring out what matters most to all of them.

Paddington (Ben Whishaw) has just gotten his British passport, and the timing couldn’t be any more fortuitous given the letter he receives from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) at the Retirement Home for Bears in Peru stating that his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) is not doing well. The Browns decide to join Paddington on this trip, and when they arrive, they learn that Aunt Lucy has gone missing. With only a few clues to guide them, they set out for the legendary Rumi Rock, enlisting a boat captain, Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) to take them to this uncertain destination.

It’s hard for this film to live up to the incredible reputation held by its predecessor, Paddington 2. Those expecting it to be just as good or even better may be disappointed, but this reviewer found the experience to be a delight. Hugh Grant received high praise for his villainous turn in the second film, and Colman is a wholly worthy successor. Continuing in the same vein as her supporting role in Wonka, she uses her cheery smile and dramatic emphasis to make the Reverend Mother a fantastic character, almost immediately confirming to Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters) that she is very much deserving of suspicion.

The human ensemble plays a great part in the enjoyability factor of this film. As Mr. Brown, Hugh Bonneville embraces his character’s very tentative and careful nature, working in a field that has him doing risk assessment on a regular basis and then headed straight into a place he knows is dangerous. As Mrs. Brown, Emily Mortimer is much more hopeful, and the longing she expresses for a time when her whole family could fit on a single sofa is endearing. Walters is fun, as are Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin as the Brown kids. Banderas is clearly having a blast, and Tous has a great energy that recognizes her family’s complicated history with treasure hunting and an awareness of how the real world functions. A small role for Hayley Atwell as Mr. Brown’s American boss is a question mark since the character does so little, so perhaps she’ll be brought back in a more substantial capacity for a future installment?

Ultimately, this film’s success rests on the shoulders of its title character, and, fresh off playing as a gun-toting spy in the Netflix series Black Doves, Whishaw is a welcome vocal presence here. It’s impossible not to like Paddington, whose intentions are so good and who sometimes doesn’t quite understand that not everyone is as nice as he is. He’s well-paired with Staunton, whose voice will also be familiar to TV audiences of The Crown, as the equally lovely Aunt Lucy. That they’re bears and are talking doesn’t feel strange or out of place since that’s just a part of this film’s reality.

This is a great film for families to experience together, though its PG rating should be taken seriously since it does involve scenes of peril and suspense (sitting next to a five-year-old while watching helped to highlight some of those moments). But it’s overall all in good fun, and Paddington continues to be a cinematic treasure, a protagonist who can appeal to both children and adults and whose adventures should certainly not be cut short. Eight years has been a long time to wait for a follow-up to Paddington 2, and this entry also deserves a continuation in the near future.

Movie Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: After the second film earned BAFTA nominations for Grant, its screenplay, and Best British Film, its best bets are probably those screenplay and British Film mentions from that group. Unless Colman somehow gets singled out for her performance the same way as Grant, don’t expect this to be a boundary-breaking awards player.