Family-Favorite Bear Adventures Through South America (and Creative Changes)
DIRECTOR: DOUGAL WILSON/2025 (U.S. Theatrical Release)
Paddington Bear is a London icon, but Paddington in Peru reminds us he had a life before he stowed away from the darkest Peru, leaving only his paw prints behind.
A full decade since Paddington premiered, he and the Browns have decided it’s time to visit to his homeland. His centenarian Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) has begun showing odd behavior, and the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) at her Home for Retired Bears is concerned only Paddington (Ben Whishaw) will be able to help. Though they convince risk-averse patriarch Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville) to make the trek to South America, they discover a bigger hurdle when they arrive: Aunt Lucy is missing. With the help of a mysterious river boat captain (Antonio Banderas, picking up from the boat he left in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) and his daughter (Carla Tous), Paddington and the Browns form a search party in the Amazon rainforest.
Not everything looks the same as when we left it in 2017’s Paddington 2. For one, Emily Mortimer has taken over for Sally Hawkins as the Brown matriarch; for two, Judy and Jonathan are now played by actors well over the age of 20 (Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin) even though the elder Judy is just beginning to look at university. Behind the camera, Dougal Wilson is making his debut as a feature film director, taking the reins from Paul King, whose eye for whimsy is presumably too busy with Wonka 2 (and other projects) to contribute more than a story credit to this chapter. The plot also forces our characters to depart from the comfort the Natural History Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and other London landmarks that served as settings for their most memorable moments in the first two films.
If this had been too much time and change to recapture the magic, it wouldn’t have been surprising. And yet, there’s something about Whishaw’s mansuete expression and something about this CGI bear’s eyes that reminds me too much of the family dog to complain about any of those shifts. Taking our characters out of London only reenergizes this series’ plot structure, and a new location prevents too much comparison to the beloved Paddington 2. (Those who believe Paddington 2 is one of the greatest films ever made may have nitpicks—my apologies to Nicolas Cage, but I’m not that enthusiastic.) A new continent still allows for Paddington’s hard stares, Mrs. Bird’s (Julie Walters) tinkering with tools, and for new cast members like Banderas and Colman to ham it up as much Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant did. (That said, I’m wondering if there is a longer cut of the film that gives Hayley Atwell more time with her small part.) Adventuring in Peru allows Judy and Jonathan to demonstrate their independence and for slapstick river boat mishaps and ursine interactions that wouldn’t be possible in the United Kingdom. (This arachnophobic reviewer could have done without Mr. Brown’s new eight-legged nemesis.) This little bear and his tribe are just as endearing as they’ve ever been, and this marmalade-laden adventure is as lovely of an outing for the family as you remember.