The bear’s back, but this time Paddington’s going into the jungle for a thrill-filled comedy sequel. “Paddington in Peru” was exactly the continuation I pictured for Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw), the gentlemanly bear who wound up in London in the first film. The franchise, based on Michael Bond’s books, has appeal to all ages, which was something I immediately noticed as I looked around my packed theatre. “Paddington in Peru” was a great representation of a found family and humorous adventure, but it fell short in being worth a trip to the theater.
The film begins with Paddington once again with the Brown family; however, this time there has been an unsettling discovery. His aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) has disappeared and gone missing from their retirement home in Peru: The Home for Retired Bears. This leads Paddington on an adventure to the Amazon rainforest in order to discover what has happened to her and bring her back safely, along with some help along the way.
While the first movie predominantly focused on Paddington finding family in the big city, this sequel was more about self-discovery. The cast was strictly supportive in this film, only really being brought up to push Paddington’s own narrative along. As the bear continues his journey, he finds his true identity when branching out from the role of pathfinder and instead becoming a trailblazer of his own future.
It was very nice to see the children of the Brown family, Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), as adolescents now as we had been at similar ages when the original movie first came out in 2015. However, they too had fallen insignificant in the storyline of the film, as I often forgot what they were there for. Another odd thing was the recasting for Mrs. Brown (now Emily Mortimer, taking over from Sally Hawkins), which I did not know was a development for the film. She still played an emotional role in Paddington’s journey and brought the chemistry needed to execute the mother-son relationship that had been formed.
This film also followed a central narrative surrounding a scheming river guide, known as Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), who faced a deadly family curse: death when pursuing a treasure on the same course Paddington wished to venture. This was an interesting plot point that did bring complexity to the film through the use of dynamic visual editing and thorough backstories. I really enjoyed when a painting of his distant ancestor transformed into a person in order to converse through hallucinations and the use of various characters (all played by Banderas) to show the deadly ends they met.
Overall, “Paddington in Peru” had a more compelling narrative than the first two previous films, which I believe is because the setting ventured out of London and into the bear’s natural habitat. It did feel a bit distant from its predecessors and brought along key actors, like Olivia Coleman, to fill the void with their enthusiasm. The authenticity of performance and emotional storyline surrounding a love of family did make this film worth a watch; however, I would not go out of my way to see it unless it was streaming.
