It’s the third go-round for the funny but gentle Paddington franchise, centered on the sweet young bear whose transformative kindness touches everyone around him, whether he’s in a new neighborhood or locked up in prison. It’s a well-loved franchise; Paddington 2 in particular is famous for its long-held title of the highest rated film by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a reference to its outstanding excellence even earned a spot as the most memorable scene in the Nicolas Cage film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
This second sequel isn’t quite as good as its predecessors, but is still a lovely and well worthwhile return to the kind world of Paddington and his family and friends (both bear and human).
When Paddington (Ben Whishaw) receives some distressing news about his beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) in South America, he decides to make the trip back to the motherland to see her. His adoptive human family, the Browns, decide to join him – it’s a chance for the once close-knit family, now becoming more disconnected with two busy teenagers, to spend some time together, and a chance for Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville), who works as a risk assessor, to try to curry some much-needed clout with his adventure-minded new manager at work (Hayley Atwell), who questions him – and his role – as boring and unnecessary.
But the Brown family’s arrival in Peru is met with more bad news – after behaving strangely, Aunt Lucy has disappeared into the jungle, much to the dismay of the singing nuns who run the retirement home for bears, including the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman).
And thus begins the trek into the jungle to search for Aunt Lucy, with a little help from a handsome riverboat captain (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter (Carla Tous). It’s an adventure to find Aunt Lucy, but also a whole lot more – including getting in touch with Paddington’s origins.
If you had to pick one character who represents the soul of the Paddington movies, it would be, well, Paddington. But a close second would be Mrs Brown, played by Sally Hawkins in the prior two films. Unfortunately she does not return, and while Emily Mortimer (a great actress in her own right) capably steps into the role in Peru, it’s a palpable loss to recast such an integral character.
Paddington in Peru is a grand adventure with laughs, thrills, and maybe some tears, and overall I loved it! But at the same time I can’t place it as high as the (incredible) first two films directed by Paul King. Veteran music video director Dougal Wilson takes the reins on this sequel in his feature debut. And while on paper it sounds plenty absurd the follow up to the highest-Tomatometer film of all time with a first-timer, in truth he definitely rises up the challenge of a sprawling, global adventure that’s inherently a bigger logistical challenge that its predecessors.
Paddington in Peru opens theatrically in North America on Friday, February 14th.
