Paddington in Peru has a lot to live up to, and it has done the job well – beary well!
As the third movie in the series, with a very much beloved bear as lead character, there’s a lot riding on this film. Paddington was released in 2014 and Paddington 2 in 2017, with some reviewers stating that Paddington 2 was even better than the original.
Much of the same cast have returned for this film, with the exception of Emily Mortimer replacing Sally Hawkins as Mrs Brown. Make sure you stay for the credits, as there’s a cameo at the end with Hugh Grant as Phoenix Buchanan.
In the first films, we meet a young bear from Peru who travels to London to find a home. He meets the kindly Brown family, who take him in as one of their own. In this film, it begins with Paddington receiving his English passport, so he is officially an English bear. Not long after this, he receives a letter from the nun running the Home for Retired Bears in Peru to say that his Aunt Lucy is missing him, and has been behaving quite oddly. Paddington wants to go and see her, and Mrs Brown, seeing it as an opportunity for the last family holiday as their children are now older and looking at moving away, thinks it is a wonderful idea and convinces Mr Brown to take the risk. Mr Brown takes a little convincing, but then he remembers his new boss has told him to, “Embrace the risk!”
In Peru, the nuns are preparing the Home for Retired Bears for Paddington and the Brown’s visit. There is a lovely song on the hillside, and Ms 8 pointed out that it was just like in the Sound of Music. It was fun to watch out for the little things along the way, such as a stamp with King Charles’ face on it.
When they arrive, they find that Aunt Lucy has gone missing, somewhere in the deep, dark Amazon. Paddington declares that, “Aunt Lucy found me when I was a cub. Now I have to find her.” They decide to hire a boat, run by Captain Cabot (a very dodgy Antonio Banderas) and his daughter, Gina… and that’s when things start to go wrong!
It’s rated PG rather than G due to a few scary moments, especially for those who are arachnophobic – yes, I had my eyes shut then and told Ms 8 to tell me when I could open them!
Paddington in Peru has a lot to say about family, the ties to where we have come from and the ties to the family we find. In a sense, this is a bit of an “origin” story, with a lot of laughs and action on the Amazon.
Ms 8 and I walked out of this film just grinning, having had so much fun, and I turned around to the family next to me to see a mum whose face was absolutely shining, with two very garrulous kiddies. She said they have all seen the first two movies numerous times and were so happy to have loved this one. Ms 8 was going to give 5 out of 5 paws, but decided at the last minute because she could spot the bad guy quickly, she would give it 4 out of 5. (She can be a tough critic!)
Younger children (under 6) might not get all of the jokes or storyline, but will still love the adventures of a talking bear.
Paddington in Peru opens on January 1st.
Reviewed by The Kids Critics Team, with a little help from Michelle Baylis.
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