“Paddington in Peru” Review

There’s an enduring nature to how Paddington’s wholesome and clever antics can remain warm and inviting even among the tiredly familiar. An adventure in the jungle searching for a lost treasure is an overused story with a high level of being forgotten. But with Paddington’s Chaplin-esque slapstick and chipper personality at the helm, Paddington in Peru manages to steer this rusted ship to avoid dull waters.

Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is convinced to take off for Peru when he learns that his kindly old Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton), the bear who raised him as a cub. Tagging along for Paddington’s journey is the Brown family, having grown with a new set of problems, ranging from Mr. Brown’s (Hugh Bonneville) desire to take risks and Mrs. Brown’s (Emily Mortimer) acceptance of her children leaving the nest. Much like the previous film, the Browns all have their own contribution for Paddington’s jungle trek, making them more than mere passengers. The family bond is strong enough for the familiar themes to still ring true, never leaving anybody behind. That’s not the style of Paddington, a bear who always has a marmalade sandwich on hand and is more than willing to share it.

There are some delightful additions to the cast this time, though not as many as previous films. Lucy is taken care of at a retirement home for bears, managed by the eccentric The Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman), a nun with a permanent smile and musical talents where her guitar can apparently defy the laws of gravity. Guiding Paddington through the jungle is Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), a man so eager to live up to his greedy family name that the ghosts of his lineage haunt him (all of them played by Banderas). Hunter’s adult daughter Gina (Carla Tous) tries to push him away from his desires for finding the Lost City of Gold, but there’s only so much she can do. Thankfully, Paddington’s wise words and accidental antics can fix just about anybody who isn’t beyond hope.

The bar for Paddington had been set so high with Paddington 2 that Peru was bound to be a lesser film. While this third film isn’t another homerun, it still hits well with what makes the Paddington movies so comforting. The overall tone of sweet silliness remains as robust as ever, where even a machete-wielding captain and gun-toting nun can dampen the mood. The many absurd doses of slapstick still boast cunning cleverness, paying tribute to Chaplin’s spinning on a wheel and Keaton’s lucky survival of a falling wall. The film falters because it is still bound by the routine staging of such a story, struggling to escape the by-the-numbers exposition of the first act. Once the adventure gets going in the jungle, however, the surprises and absurdities start building in brilliance, hilarity, and tenderness. Even the usual bits of action-adventure have their moments, where a fitting dose of classical orchestra accompanies the standard run-from-boulder-trap.

Where the film works best is in its devotion to Paddington’s favoring of families and homes. His mixed feelings on being an immigrant with a new family are somewhat complicated, beyond the long-ago accepted strangeness of talking bears, so common now that a retirement home for bears just makes sense in this world. An unresolved part of Paddington’s history is explored, but less for some massive revelation and more for a sense of closure about his place in the world. Of course, a wholesome film such as this treats topics of immigration, citizenship, and heritage with soft gloves, but the interpersonal connections feel genuine, making Paddington’s favoring of family a choice built more from earned charm than obligatory morals. It’s a framing true to the mantra of the previous films, trying to find the good in everything and present more of an aspirational world than a darkly reflective one.

Paddington in Peru still hasn’t lost its marmalade-infused whimsy, even when bound by a standard adventure premise. The film is remarkable not because it topples the previous film (it doesn’t), but because it proves how Paddington’s patterned glare and gentle personality can brave any storm. The bear’s formula for physical humor and colorful comedy isn’t so much retooled as it is repurposed for an adventure film to be more entertaining. There’s comfort in sitting back and letting Paddington take the wheel, no matter where his films may take him.