Paddington in Peru (2024) A Fun Adventure That Can’t Escape the Shadow of Its Predecessors

The third Paddington film, Paddington in Peru, faced a few complications before even arriving in theaters. The director of the first two films, Paul King, was unable to return due to commitments to Wonka (2023), leaving a comparitively inexperienced Dougal Wilson to fill in with directorial duties. Additionally, Sally Hawkins, who played Mrs. Brown, was unable to commit to the film, leaving Emily Mortimer with the great task of filling the gap. Despite these setbacks, the film still manages to be a great family movie and an enjoyable watch. However, it struggles to step out of the shadow of the first two films. Throughout this article, I reference and compare this film to its predecessors – a comparison that, given their acclaim, is unfortunately inevitable.

The film begins by once again showing how Paddington was rescued by Aunt Lucy before transitioning to Paddington receiving his British passport. The opening is promising, reminding viewers of Paddington’s ongoing struggle to fit into his new home in London. An emergency letter from Aunt Lucy sends Paddington and the Brown family to Peru, only for them to arrive and discover that she has gone missing from the retirement home where she was staying. Olivia Colman plays the Reverend Mother, the nun in charge of the home, who helps them at the start of their journey. After leaving the retirement home, the Browns hire a riverboat captained by Hunter Calbot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (played by newcomer Carla Tous) to guide them through the perilous Amazon jungle in search of Aunt Lucy.

The film’s cracks begin to show somewhat early on. Julie Walters’ character, Mrs. Bird, stays behind at the retirement home while the rest of the family searches for Aunt Lucy. While she isn’t absent from the story entirely, I periodically forgot she was even in the film due to her extended absence from the main adventure. She is definitely given a smaller role than in previous installments. Another issue is the lack of standout side characters. Besides Hunter Calbot (Banderas), most of the supporting characters aren’t given much time to develop. One clear example is Hayley Atwell’s appearance. Knowing she was in the film beforehand, I expected her to have a bigger role, but she only appears in two scenes and has maybe four lines. In the first two films, while the focus is always on the Browns and Paddington, the side characters played important roles – whether it be Mr. Gruber (Jim Broadbent) or Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi), among others. Here, however, the side characters mostly took me out of the story rather than adding to it.

Emily Mortimer takes over the role of Mrs. Brown, which is a major change for the series. In the first two films, Mrs. Brown served as a great foil to Mr. Brown – more adventurous and encouraging of their children’s wild ideas, whereas Mr. Brown was the more cautious parent. In Paddington in Peru, their roles are somewhat reversed. Mr. Brown, motivated by work, becomes more fun and adventurous, while Mrs. Brown is quieter, more concerned about her children leaving for college, and worried about how much family time they have left. The Mrs. Brown that Mortimer plays isn’t as outwardly fun as before, but I almost preferred this version. Mortimer adds a depth to the character that Hawkins hadn’t really explored.

Paddington in Peru has the unfortunate challenge of following the first two Paddington films, which are widely regarded as top-tier family movies. Despite this, and the behind-the-scenes changes, the film remains a great adventure. The journey through the Amazon is exciting, though the film sacrifices some of the social themes present in the previous installments in favor of action. Emily Mortimer proves to be a great replacement for Sally Hawkins while also making the role her own. Although the side characters don’t leave as much of an impact this time around, they still have their moments. If you’re a fan of the Paddington series, it’s definitely worth seeing (in theaters, if possible). Also, there are two credit scenes – a mid and a post-credit one – that are worth sticking around for.

Ben’s Archive – Paddington in Peru (2024)