Paddington in Peru

Directed by: Dougal Wilson

Paddington (Ben Wishaw) now fully settled in England with a shiny new passport and the love of the Brown family, is a content bear. But that changes when he receives a letter from the Reverend Mother(Olivia Colman) of Aunt Lucy’s home for retired bears in Peru. It tells him that Lucy is missing him. So Paddington and the Browns head for Peru. But when they get there they find Lucy has gone missing. So now Paddington and the Browns have more adventure than they expected as they head off across Peru to find Aunt Lucy and make sure she’s safe.

Having a third Paddington film, with a new director, hit the heights of its predecessors was always going to be a challenge. And while this doesn’t quite manage it, it has a pretty good go and still delivers a fun, entertaining family adventure.

It’s a film, that knows the audience it’s aiming at and delivers exactly what it should. Lots of fun and some mild peril as Paddington and the family chase through the jungle. There’s plenty of Bear type humour, marmalade sandwiches, slapstick and cine literate gags.

All the cast return, although not quite as central to the plot. Emily Mortimer steps into the Mrs Brown role seamlessly enough. But it’s the new cast members that bring the additional entertainment. Olivia Colman’s “suspicious” Nun is a joy as you’d expect, including a great opening musical number. Antonio Banderas is a fun addition as tour boat captain and adventurer Hunter Cabot.

It does ask some smart questions about family, friends, where we’re from and where we belong But it does lack a bit of the heart of the first two, at least until its final act, where it tugs the heart strings plenty.

The first two films set such a high bar, it was always going to be tough to do it again. While this falls a little short and misses some of the heart of the others it is still a fun family adventure. It has humour, excitement and guitars, as well as a strong message about family, friendship and belonging. While it may not be the best of the three. It will still put a smile on your face.