Paddington in Peru is an adorable adventure that thanks to everyone’s favourite marmalade loving bearing, tugs on the heartstrings the perfect amount, even if it does not come close to the standard set by the first two films in the series from Paul King.

 

You may think that people are joking when they say Paddington 2 is a masterpiece, but they aren’t. In terms of family entertainment, Paul King delivered the gold standard as Paddington squared off against Hugh Grant’s villainous Phoenix Buchanan, and it is now the standard for which the rest of the Paddington film series will be judged against. For his third outing, King was not as heavily involved as he and star Sally Hawkins were attached to 2023’s Wonka, and despite the third film in the Paddington series being an enjoyable outing, you can’t help but to feel their absence in it. This time around, audiences see Paddington and the Brown family off on a holiday in Peru to visit Aunt Lucy, in an adventure film that introduces flavours of Indiana Jones to this beloved bear while welcoming Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas to the franchise, but never for a second is the series’ overwhelming heart and sense of family lost in the shuffle. 

Given how adorable and beloved not only this iteration of Paddington is, but the character at large, there is very little that he could do wrong and his presence will always make for a delightful film. And that is exactly what happens with Paddington in Peru as Paddington ventures to Peru with the Brown family to help Aunt Lucy. After a charming opening with Paddington getting his passport and catching up with each member of the Brown family, the action moves to Peru. At that point, the plot expands to include suspicious nuns led by Olivia Colman’s Reverend Mother, a journey into the jungles of Peru with the assistance of Antonio Banderas’s Hunter Cabot in search of a missing Aunt Lucy, a family curse, and a treasure hunt for the Lost City of El Dorado. Needless to say there is a lot going on in the film’s middle act as the screenplay juggles every plot point introduced in the film, to such an extent that the story of the Brown family is lost in the shuffle and the film’s pacing suffers, but when all these plot points come together in the final act, the film redeems itself. It’s an entertaining final sequence full of laughter, mild danger and amazement, all with the underlying heart and sweetness that has defined the Paddington films to date. The result is an entertaining film that tugs on your heart strings the perfect amount, even if it does not have the crispness and ingenuity that King’s direction and writing brought to the first two films.