Review of 'Paddington in Peru'

Having just received his British passport, Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) receives distressing news that his Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) living at the “Home for Retired Bears” in Peru misses him and has been acting strangely. With his family in tow, Paddington arrives in Peru only to learn from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) in charge of the home that Lucy has disappeared. Paddington is determined to find his aunt starting with a clue that she may have gone to Rumi Rock. They arrange transport with riverboat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous). Hunter is in conflict with his daughter over his obsession with finding the mythical city of El Dorado and he believes that Aunt Lucy's bracelet that Paddington has contains clues as to it's location. Will Paddington be able to find his aunt or will Hunter permanently put a halt to the adventure…?

Another in the Paddington film franchise seeing the beloved bear heading back to where he came from to find his Aunt Lucy accompanied by his London family the Browns: Henry (Hugh Bonneville), and Mary (Emily Mortimer) with their reluctant traveller children Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) and Judy (Madeleine Harris) along with their trusty housekeeper Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters). It is all a bit of fun that manages to breath a bit of life into the story by introducing a good amount of adventure and mystery though, of course, Paddington tends to stumble into solving it rather than actually figuring it out for himself. There is a good whiff, of course, of Indiana Jones to the proceedings as we are taken through the jungles and ancient historic sites of Peru (including a visit to what looks like Maccha Pichu but is not called this in the film). It does have a reasonably interesting and imaginative resolution that only a few will be able to see coming…The cast is, as always, wonderful and full of fun with the cream of the crop used here (even Hugh Grant, his character now in jail, makes an appearance).

Amusing and a bit of fun. More of the same, really, from the film series that will entertain fans if not cause others to be a bit on the bored side. Looks pretty good if all a bit, well, tame…In the end we learn a bit more about where the bear we all love came from that makes some bit of sense.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2025-08-09

Directed by: Dougal Wilson

Studio: StudioCanal

Year: 2024

Length: 106 minutes

Genre: Comedy

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5822536/