Paddington In Peru Review: I Adore This Indiana Jones-esque Adventure That Also Made Me Feel Warm And Fuzzy

I can’t believe it has actually been over a decade since Paddington Bear first strutted into London on the big screen with his sweet 2014 debut, but since then, his presence has not only become as classic as marmalade, but he's also literally been in the same conversation as Citizen Kane. Now, that’s a lot for one little bear to accomplish over two family flicks, so thank goodness this time around he’s headed on an unlikely family vacation.

Let’s be honest here: when a beloved character reaches its third film, there’s not a lot of confidence the quality will hold, but Paddington In Peru is here to give us the giant bear hug we felt with every comfort watch of one of its other entries. Oh, and this time around he’s deliciously gone full Indiana Jones too.

It’s somehow been seven years since the last of Paul King’s two treasured Paddington movies was released to much love and glory. For this long-awaited third entry, the writer/director who helped bring these movies to life has stepped back (King is still involved with an executive producer and has a story credit) to give newcomer director Dougal Wilson the reins. Paddington In Peru is not a major departure from the franchise or anything aside from a very notable setting switch-up and does very much stick to a formula of what has worked for the series thus far. But, hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and Paddington In Peru gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings I was looking for from his return. Yes, I was crying in the best way by the end after laughing out loud at various points throughout.

Paddington In Peru dodges sequel staleness by cleverly taking the Brown family out of London this time around.

Paddington Bear and the setting of London have been very much intertwined since the origin of the character itself was named after the city’s Paddington Station back in the 1950s. But it’s truly a blast to catch up with the Brown family, consisting of Hugh Bonneville’s Henry, Madeleine Harris’ Judy, Samuel Joslin’s Jonathan, Julie Walters’ Mrs. Bird and Emily Mortimer replacing Sally Hawkins as Mary, as they get to fall into some family vacation antics. Early into the 106-minute flick, it dives right into what sends them all to darkest Peru: the bear gets word that Paddington’s Aunt Lucy has been really missing him back at home and apparently acting oddly as of late.

The Browns venture off to Peru to visit Aunt Lucy where she resides at the Home For Retired Bears. However, once they get there, Aunt Lucy has mysteriously gone missing. She has, of course, left behind some clues that take the Browns on a South American jungle adventure that, yes, involves a treasure map. While a family adventure involving secret and high-coveted locations has very much been seen a time or two in Hollywood’s past, there is a genuine intrigue that Paddington In Peru builds throughout that bobs and weaves one’s attention and suspicions in a smart-enough way as the Brown family hurriedly tries to find poor Aunt Lucy.

While Paddington being in London is certainly missed, given another Paddington movie is teased by the end of the movie, it’s welcome to see the franchise take a twist in its storytelling and have the Brown family attempt to solve the mystery in a foreign setting. As the Browns do venture to Peru, the production does an impeccable job of immersing the audience in this elevated storybook world that Paddington lives in, where everything is a tad cartoonish and sugary but also visually believable. Paddington always feels like a bear who is walking around and fumbling alongside his human co-stars, which isn’t always the case with a CGI main character. And Ben Whinshaw’s sweet, but sincere performance as the bear continues to be a beautiful match.

The addition of Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman add a particularly whimsical and fun feel to the Paddington sequel.

Two bright spots of the threequel that bring even more excitement to the flick is the addition of Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas in new roles. Following in suit with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant’s villainous turns in the previous Paddington movies, these stars are absolutely delightful in a more whimsical font than we are used to seeing from them. Colman charms off the bat with her very own musical number at the Home of Retired Bears as the place’s Reverend Mother, who is more than the conservative outfit lets on. Colman’s character has a bright but quite creepy aura about her, that has one questioning where the alliances lie until it's ultimately revealed.

Antonio Banderas, on the other hand, plays the captain of the boat the Browns hire to look for Aunt Lucy, which he shares with his daughter Gina (Carla Tous). Banderas is most definitely having so much fun in the role, that also has more shades to him than meets the eye, and it feels like the kind of role that not only fits right into his filmography, but makes one appreciate his talent and range further. As the movie goes along its adventure, it also feels like a fun ode on the Indiana Jones movies –massive rolling boulder and all. It doesn’t pull on that franchise too vastly to feel like a parody, but very much follows some notes from those classics that will amuse previous generations looking to be wrapped up in a little blanket of nostalgia on top of the comfort that makes up a Paddington movie already.

The third Paddington movie makes for another sweet comfort movie about the power of family.

Since the Paddington films themselves started with the bear growing up in darkest Peru, bringing him back to his roots in the jungle after two adventures abroad is not only a smart choice to shake things up but to deepen the storyline and origin of the character. When it comes down to it, some of the intentions of Paddington In Peru can feel a bit on the nose, but it’s completely forgivable due to the sharp delivery of its hilarious dialogue, humorous gags and sweet and citrusy notes regarding the importance of family, especially as one grows up and branches outside the roots they started in.

Paddington In Peru ultimately feels like one of those movies that one can feel like the cup of warm and soothing tea one could use at any age or stage of life. It’s perhaps a tad simpler and less distinct than Paddington 2 is scale and scope, but a return to form from the original that cements the Paddington trilogy as a very solid run of family films.