'Paddington'... In Peru... Review!

The third installment isn't as magical as its predecessor, but 'Paddington' remains a reliable provider of high-quality, family-friendly good cheer and droll comedy.

Paddington in Peru (2025)

Directed by Dougal Wilson
Screenplay by Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont
Story by Paul King, Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton
Based on Paddington Bear by Michael Bond
Produced by Rosie Alison
Starring - Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Antonio Banderas, Olivia Colman, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, Judy Brown, Samuel Joslin, Carla Tous, Imelda Staunton and Hayley Atwell
Cinematography by Erik Wilson
Edited by Úna Ní Dhonghaíle
Music by Dario Marianelli
Produced by StudioCanal, Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, Kinoshita Group, Marmalade Pictures
Opening theatrically in North America on February 14 courtesy of Sony

Okay, so Paddington in Peru isn’t quite the miracle that was Paddington 2. That shockingly spectacular, family-friendly comic adventure was perhaps the biggest “part one to part two” upswing since Shanghai Noon to Shanghai Knights, and no, that’s not a joke. This third installment, marking Dougal Wilson’s feature film directorial debut, remains a delightfully quirky and light-on-its-paws caper that again blends kindhearted sincerity with just enough wry whimsy to avoid becoming saccharine. It also helps that the film doesn’t try to live up to the retroactive hype about its predecessor. To whatever extent Paddington 2 found itself as a “movie we need right now,” or a definitive late-2010s affirmation (at least in terms of all-quadrant pop culture) of immigration as an outright societal and moral good, Paddington in Peru is content to be a jolly good romp.

As you can probably guess, the plot revolves around Paddington and his adopted human family traveling to the young bear’s home country due to the news that Aunt Lucy has fallen into a depression. However, upon their arrival at the home for retired bears, the head nun (Olivia Colman) informs them that Lucy has gone missing in the jungle. Thus, they embark on a riverboat adventure, thanks to a local skip captain, Hunter (Antonio Banderas), who begins to suspect that Paddington and his missing aunt may be connected to El Dorado. Nevertheless, the journey quickly turns into a hellish descent into madness, with the Browns facing horrors beyond compare amidst a gruesome and traumatizing second half that blends Straw Dogs with The Green Inferno, culminating in a climax reminiscent of Kill List. I’m being facetious… or am I?

Paddington is again the kind of character whose almost herculean decency makes everyone around him slightly nicer and kinder, even if his “being good is a choice and takes effort, dammit” arc is less obvious than his previous prison sentence. In terms of allowing respected thespians to run wild (without undercutting the drama), these periodic Paddington films are the closest approximation to the earlier Muppet movies. Banderas seems liberated from the last few years of dull roles in big movies like Dolittle, Uncharted and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll once again A) shake your fist at the sky over him losing the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Sponge Out of Water and B) roll your eyes in disbelief at the idea that he couldn’t give Nicole Kidman an organism.

While Banderas and Colman chew the scenery (along with Haley Atwell in a glorified cameo), the more grounded actors—namely Hugh Bonneville and Emily Mortimer—receive nuanced and thoughtful arcs with satisfying payoffs. I appreciated that the Browns’ teenage son (Samuel Joslin) has an arc that doesn’t involve trying to woo Hunter’s teen daughter (Carla Tous). Ben Whishaw (or, as my wife calls him, “Hot Q”) again achieves a lot with relatively limited dialogue since most of the physical comedy and facial farce is left to the animators. It’s a lovely, nuanced, and distinctive vocal performance that has defined the character on a scale comparable to, at least generationally, Chris Reeves as Superman or Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. That may be overstating it, but does anyone now not hear Whishaw’s voice when thinking about this 67-year-old character?

Nothing in the picture will surprise you, although the screenwriters (Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont) have playful fun with audiences assuming they know whatever secrets Colman’s Reverend Mother might conceal. The film culminates in a frenetic yet A) coherent and B) creative foot chase among ancient structures, featuring a clear reference to a classic action-adventure series whose latest installment didn’t come close to matching the quality of this film. The actual continuity-specific revelations enhance the storytelling potential without becoming ensnared in franchise-building. No spoilers, but a key emotional payoff is almost identical to an entirely different recent franchise follow-up that also emphasized the distinction between being family and treating those you don’t have to love like family.

Paddington in Peru is good enough not to make me regret that StudioCanal made a third one after the jaw-dropping spectacular second film. I am generally happy to let franchises end on a high note. No, I don’t want a third Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson Shanghai film; it’s been 22 years. However, I wouldn’t mind Paddington 4, especially if A) they coax Denzel Washington to play the baddie in full-Gladiator 2 or Tragedy of Macbeth mode or B) Johnny English shows up with a few days to kill. We could use more mid-budget, all-quadrant franchises like this or Sonic the Hedgehog, where we get a new one every few years aimed at *today’s kids* that isn’t a status-quo-shattering, all-hands-on-deck mythology event tentpole. Come what may, Paddington in Peru is just a very good Paddington film, and that’s very good.