Paddington is based on the popular book series of the same name. I’m sure many parents have enjoyed reading them to their children over the years. Obviously, the popularity of the books would spawn films based on them. There have been two previous films in the Paddington Trilogy. Paddington In Peru is the 3rd, and it’s just as funny if not as entertaining as the previously two films were. Dougal Wilson has taken over the directing chair from Paul King and has brought this trilogy home like he was Paul King. That’s how seamless and conclusive this film was.

Paddington (Ben Wishaw) is getting up to his old tick in London like usual. Causing chaos at a photo booth, but once he gets back home to the Browns, Henry (Hugh Bonneville) his wife (Emily Mortimor) and their two children, he gets news from a nun played by Olivia Colman that his Aunt Lucy (Emelda Staunton) has gone missing from the home for Retired Bears he decides to go to his previous home to look for her. The Brown decided to go as well to use this time to take a vacation. Of course, this isn’t just a normal vacation. It turns into an adventure that involves plains, boats, and a long trek through the Peruvian jungle.

The thing about the Paddington films is they attract a lot of great British and other actors to want to be in them. This one is no different than the others. Whether it be small roles like the ones played by Jim Broadbent and Haley Atwell ,who plays an insurance executive or larger roles like the ones Antonio Banderas plays as boat captain, and Olivia Colman plays as the head nun at the Retired Home for Bears, all the roles are important to the story. Everybody in the cast does a great job being part of the greater story. I love how an ensemble can come together and help create such an amazing story. 

There are two technical things that stood out to me while watching the movie, those are the cinematography by Erik Wislon. He was able to capture the beauty of Peru from the mountains and jungles to the ancient ruins and all the rivers and other natural beauty this country holds.  This was a beautifully shot film from beginning to end. I was floored by how gorgeous it looked. The second is the animation on all the Bears. Yes, this is based on a graphic book series, so the Bears can’t look real. I get that. The facial movements and eyes were so emotive on Paddington and the many other Bears in the movie. I wasn’t distracted by this animation at all. Sometimes, that can happen with mixed live-action and animation films. This one, like its predecessors, was seamless.

You know you’re going to get mayhem and adventure while watching a Paddington movie. It’s just a matter of how much of those things you’re going to get. This one had a number of zany adventure scenes in it from the one I already mentioned to one involving trekking through a jungle and ending up in a life or death situation. Boat crashes, plain accidents, and other things were thrown in here to help create the vibe most people are looking for in a Paddington film. I loved every minute of it. The blending of visual effects and live-action in these scenes was pretty amazing.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Ben Wishaw as this Bear in the title role. His voice is so soothing, and I would listen to him in this role forever if they kept on making movies about this goofy Bear eating marmalade sandwiches. His voice is incredible. I want him to read my epitaph when I die because it’ll make my life seem that much better than it was.I’m serious. His dulcet tones are music to my ears when I watch these films. He was perfectly cast as this Bear, Paddington.

Paddington In Peru isn’t as good as its two predecessors, but only slightly less so. Paul King had his finger on the pulse of this character created by Michael Bond. There is still the crazy mayhem and adventure that the other films possess and a few heartfelt moments, but this time around wasn’t at that top tear the others were at. The cast was all fine with two big name actors, Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas, as the new antagonists . The star of the film is and always will be Ben Wishaw as Paddington. He just has a perfect blend of zaniness and heartfelt moments in his performance. I absolutely loved him once again in this role. Overall, this was a mixed bag of plot points and so forth. I really enjoyed this 3rd installment of this Bear trying to discover himself in  a world he doesn’t fully understand. 

4 ½

Dan Skip Allen