- Ben Whishaw, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Bonneville
- November 8th 2024
- 106
- Dougal Wilson
Paddington returns to his Peruvian roots to find his missing Aunt Lucy after she disappears from the Home for Retired Bears.
After seven years and a change of director, the nation’s favourite bear Paddington is back on our screens with a Peruvian adventure.
Paddington in Peru, directed by Dougal Wilson instead of Paul King, once again follows the marmalade-loving creature (voiced by Ben Whishaw) as he embarks on an adventure with the Browns, his adopted family.
One day, he receives word from Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman), who runs the Home for Retired Bears in Peru, that Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) isn’t doing so well. Without hesitation, Paddington hops on a plane to Peru with Henry (Hugh Bonneville), Mary (Emily Mortimer), Lucy (Madeleine Harris), Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) and Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters).
But when they arrive at the retirement home, they discover that Aunt Lucy has gone missing plus a map that possibly points to her location in the thick of the Amazon rainforest. They hire a steamboat captain named Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) to guide them to Aunt Lucy but he is torn between helping them and his love of gold.
Like the previous two films, Paddington in Peru is another charming, heartwarming and wholesome delight for the whole family. It is also absolutely hilarious, producing more laugh-out-loud moments than most comedies this year.
Colman, a newcomer to the franchise, is particularly funny as a guitar-wielding nun. She seems to be having a blast as this silly character and there won’t be a sad face in the house when she performs her absurd musical number.
Plot-wise, this film is probably the weakest of the three, but there is so much adventure, laughs and heart that it doesn’t matter too much. However, it does lose some of its earnest Britishness by leaving its typical London setting in favour of Peru.
Mortimer replaces Sally Hawkins, who played Mrs. Brown in the earlier films. While Hawkins’s particular brand of performance is missed a little, Mortimer does a wonderful job. You forget that she’s not the original Mrs. Brown eventually, especially as she’s given so much to do as the emotional centre of the film.
Paddington in Peru may not be quite as magical as 2017’s Paddington 2 but it is still one of the best animated films of the year.
In cinemas from Friday 8th November.
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