I was 7 when the first Paddington movie came out, and I remember watching it with my family. I’m now 17, and I watched it with a friend instead of my family, which was ironically fitting for the theme of the movie — learning to not cling to family so tightly while still knowing that family will always be there at the end of the day.
“Paddington in Peru” is the third of the Paddington movies to be released, the first of which came out in 2014. The newest film was released on Feb. 14 in the US. Paddington is an anthropomorphic bear who moves to London after a deadly earthquake destroys his home in Peru, and he gets adopted by the Brown family. In “Paddington 2,” Paddington is framed for a crime as he attempts to get the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy’s 100th birthday.
While “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” were directed by Paul King, Dougal Wilson was the director for “Paddington in Peru.” Another change in this movie is that Mrs. Brown’s actor has changed from Sally Hawkins to Emily Mortimer. Sally Hawkins brought a charm to Mrs. Brown, and Emily Mortimer only continued to elevate the character.
In this installment, Paddington, voiced by Ben Wishaw, goes with the Browns to visit his Aunt Lucy in Peru, but when he arrives, he realizes that she’s missing, so he sets off on an adventure to find her. The story introduced a rather small cast of new characters outside of the Browns and Mrs. Bird, who is a distant relative of the Browns and their live-in housekeeper. Along the way, new characters include the curse-ridden and gold-hunting Mr. Hunter and his daughter Gina and the Reverend Mother, a nun who works at Aunt Lucy’s retirement home.
I found Mr. Hunter’s character fun to watch, and there was a level of depth to his relationship with his daughter Gina and their family history. I didn’t enjoy the Reverend Mother as much as she came off far too exaggerated and cartoonish. Paddington himself was the same as always: silly and adorable as much as he was a wise and moral character.
Mrs. Brown’s fear of letting go of her family is explored through Judy preparing to leave for college, and she encourages them all to go on this Peru trip to keep them together a while longer. Ultimately, by the end of the movie, she learns that families stay together even if they’re far apart.
The humor in this movie is aimed at kids, but it doesn’t come across as juvenile at all, which I really appreciate.
I managed to guess every single plot twist, which meant there was no suspense at all, but this is a family film for kids, and I wasn’t the target demographic the writing was catering towards.
“Paddington in Peru” is a predictable yet charming and sweet movie to watch with family and friends. For succeeding in its objectives, I give it four out of five Falcons.
