A familiar face welcomed all to the theater this snowy February, and here’s a hint, marmalade was definitely involved.
You guessed it! Paddington returned to the box office with the third motion picture of the series titled, “Paddington in Peru”. As a small British bear, Paddington has won the hearts of people across the globe, reminding older generations of their childhood stories about his adventures in London, and introducing a new character to younger generations.
It is rare for sequels to be just as spectacular as the original, but for the Paddington series it’s a walk in the park. Now, going into the theater my expectations were unusually low because of the many changes from the first two movies. First of all, former director Paul King passed the movies down to new director Dougal Wilson, giving Wilson his first major motion picture ever. The recasting of Mrs. Brown was also alarming but to my surprise, Emily Mortimer, who replaced the role of Mrs. Brown for Sally Hawkins, fit the role well. Sally Hawkins stole the hearts of audiences around the world with her performances in the first and second movies, so her stepping down from the role came as a shock to many, including myself.
Something else was different about Paddington this time around as well. The themes of “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” were generic to be frank. Nicole Kidman stars as the villain in the original, where the movie’s plot is to introduce Paddington to the world as well as his clumsy personality. The second movie, on the other hand, focuses on corrupt celebrities with Hugh Grant playing the villain, and the image of being polite. Paddington in Peru takes a completely different approach with a theme of Paddington finding himself through a personal journey to his place of birth. This time around there are two villains, played by Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas who turn out to have the same goals in the story. Both played their roles exquisitely well, giving the expected witty feeling to the film.
The directors begin the movie with reintroducing the Brown family, by giving updates of where they now are in life. With the children growing up, Mrs. Brown begins to mourn the times where their family was tighter. Paddington unexpectedly receives a message from the home for retired bears in Peru, where his Aunt Lucy is living telling him that she is missing him dearly and is simply depressed. Mrs. Brown uses this as an opportunity to bring the family together and pack up for a trip to Peru. After several tricks and turns the family ends up on an adventure in the jungle searching for the lost Aunt Lucy.
As all Paddington movies are, it’s a charming, action-packed, heartwarming story highlighting the love the Brown family has for Paddington and their many exciting adventures with him. This is a series of films that you can always expect to come out of the theater with either happy tears or an immense amount of joy. I truly believe that Paddington never disappoints.
