'Paddington in Peru' Review

Paddington 3 retains the delightful whimsy of its predecessors, with a surprising amount of Catholic themes

In the seven years since the last entry in the Paddington franchise, the titular bear met the Queen, director Paul King moved on to Wonka, and the world went through a few slight detours. Understandably, there was a great bit of trepidation about the long-awaited threequel that sees none of the original writers or the director returning. Would this be more Dumbo 2 than Paddington 2? Luckily, while Paddington In Peru is the weakest installment, it holds up surprisingly well against the competition.

Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is still living with the Brown family in London when he receives a letter from the retirement home in Peru where his aunt (voiced by Imelda Staunton) lives. She has been acting strange and is presumably missing her nephew. The Browns resolve to travel to visit her, only to find that she has gone missing when they arrive. Adventure ensues.

Paddington In Peru keeps almost all of the key elements of the first two films: the Rube Goldberg-esque slapstick setpieces, the newspaper gags, and gallons of marmalade. Director Dougal Wilson, making his feature debut, has a background in advertising and music videos. His past work, including this ad for online gift shop John Lewis, plays like an audition reel for this sort of project. The transition to feature directing is impressively smooth as he demonstrates a knack for kineticism and picturesque imagery. Some of the Peruvian vistas lensed by Paddington 2 cinematographer Erik Wilson are stunning. One scene during a rainy night in the jungle is a highlight.

There are a few changes in front of the camera, too. Emily Mortimer steps in for Sally Hawkins as the matriarch of the Browns. The character remains the same. Mortimer is no Hawkins, but she does a fine job. Almost every major and minor character does return, at least in small roles. And on that note, make sure to stay for post-credits scenes.

Part of what makes the film work, though, is that it feels fresh enough to warrant existing while keeping the best parts of the first two. For starters, the Amazonian setting is quite a change. There is plenty of treasure hunting and puzzle solving with sequences reminiscent of Jungle Cruise (2021) and the Jumanji films. The cast also gains three new members: Antonio Banderas as a skipper haunted by the colonial legacy of his ancestors, Carla Tous as his daughter, and Olivia Colman as a nun in Aunt Lucy’s retirement home. They are all good, especially the ever-reliable Colman. It is her character who brings a greater interest to readers of this Substack.

Paddington In Peru deals surprisingly heavily with Catholicism. There is explicit discussion of the importance of having faith and a plotline involving a St. Sebastian medal. A variety of Catholic-specific gags abound as well. After some of the aforementioned dialogue early in the film, I was excited about the potential for good representation of the faith on the screen. Yet as a result of some of the script’s twists, I began to get worried about the portrayal.

The first two Paddington films did not stray away from social commentary. The first is an immigrant story (“they will not have forgotten how to treat strangers”) released in the midst of the Syrian refugee crisis. The second plays with issues of the justice system and incarceration. Both did a great job of having these issues present without feeling overly preachy. The third film then does not wait long before tackling colonialism, personified literally in Banderas’ character. As the second act began to conclude, my fear was that the film was going to villainize the Church as part of its message.

The good news is that Paddington In Peru does not pull a Conclave. The ending, which will absolutely make you cry, does not make the Church an enemy. Instead, there are some great lessons about the evil of greed and free will. So fear not! Paddington In Peru is a great outing for the family that stands admirably close to the shoulders of its predecessors.