Whilst Paddington in Peru cannot compare to its two illustrious predecessors, it remains a heartwarming adventure. Director Dougal Wilson faced big fuzzy boots to fill after Paul King’s magical vision brought the little bear to life. Gone is some of the absurdist wit and surreal charm sprinkled through London with Paddington, yet Peru finds new ways to entertain through breathtaking scenery and colorful characters.
We reconnect with the Brown family and our hero in this third installment. Paddington has become a proud citizen of Windsor Gardens but receives news that has him bounding across the Atlantic. Aunt Lucy, who raised him in the Peruvian rainforest, sits lonely in a home for retired bears. Concerned for her wellbeing, Paddington convinces the Browns to join him on a trip down the Amazon.
Thus begins a quest that takes our furry friend back to his roots. The lush jungles offer an entertaining contrast to the grey streets of London he calls home. Following clues scattered by mischievous Reverend Mother Colman and swashbuckling riverboat captain Banderas, the family voyages deeper into the heart of darkness. Their adventure brings new perils and wonders, from giant spiders to lost cities, with Paddington’s luck and this film’s magic ensuring smiles prevail whatever is threatened.
While plot drives where King preferred whimsy, the heart and charm remain intact. Bonneville and new Mrs. Brown Mortimer keep the household in harmony, and Paddington’s soulful eyes work new wonders thanks to animation mastery. Director Wilson may lack King’s visionary flair but proves adept at pairing spectacle with sentiment to delight audiences of all ages embarking on this rollicking rollercoaster ride of a sequel high in the Andes.
Bear Country Ballad
Let’s start from the beginning for those new to Paddington’s story. We flashback to a young cub named Paddington living happily in the Peruvian jungle. While foraging one fateful day, our intrepid explorer spots the biggest, brightest orange around. His chase sends him tumbling downriver, where kindly Aunt Lucy fishes him to safety.
Fast forward many years, and Paddington now calls bustling London his home. There he lives with the kind Brown family—father Henry, mother Mary, and children Judy and Jonathan. But then comes news that throws their routine askew. A letter from Aunt Lucy’s retirement home worries for her health, stirring Paddington’s desire to visit his homeland once more.
With the Browns in tow, their trip to Peru reunites Paddington with colorful characters like Reverend Mother, head of the bear sanctuary. Olivia Colman beams brightness into this guitar-strumming nun. But upon arrival, they find Aunt Lucy mysteriously vanished! Following clues through jungles thick, the search leads them to hire a captain named Hunter. Antonio Banderas brings swagger to this role, though winds of fortune may blow him off course.
Their quest winds along rivers and through ruins, with perils daring and delights discoveries aplenty. The theme of home runs strong, be it the family Paddington found or the homeland he left behind. Wilson grounds potential action in warmth, ensuring family fun remains the driving beat. Character quirks add flavor too, be it a tarantula causing chuckles or Colman gleefully scheming.
As clues intersect and paths finally align, the tale arrives at truth and resolution. What began as a search for one ends with a reminder of treasures found in togetherness—for no matter where your travels lead, family makes a house into the home that your heart needs.
On Location with Paddington
Stepping into Dougal Wilson’s shoes as director proved no simple task following Paul King’s masterful vision. While the magic may have faded from the windows of Windsor Gardens, new wonders awaited discovery downriver. Peruvian panoramas replace London alleys as our setting, and Wilson rises to showcase the splendor of this exotic new backdrop.
Location filming transports us from the verdant valleys of Machu Picchu to the vast vistas of the Amazon. It is here that virtual artistry brings Michael Bond’s imagined paradise alive. Visual effects craft lush landscapes for Paddington’s roots to run deep within. Within this digital flora, his fur is rendered with such photoreal precision that one expects to find oneself touched by his paw. Pablo Grillo’s animation direction deserves the highest praise for imbuing the Ursine hero with soulful life.
Downpouring drama replaces King’s drizzle of absurdity, yet Wilson wisely preserves heart at the film’s core. Where Pastiche parodied, he plays sequences straight with flair and focuses on family fun. Slapstick scenes spill laughter through inspired pratfalls. A climactic spoof pays homage to stunt legends of yore through Paddington’s bravery and good luck. Throughout, Wilson balances thrills and heartstrings with directorial prowess.
All shine brighter beside Paddington, yet Colman sparkles gold as the Reverend Mother. Her vibrant gusto brings levity and mystery to a character clumsily crafted. Banderas swaggers superbly, though falls flatter than franchise foes of yore. While visuals venture and narration navigates well, “Paddington in Peru” cannot yet rank among its antecedents due to direction that dilutes delights born of its auteur predecessors. Still, windows to new wonder downriver make this journey joyful for young and old alike.
A Jar of Laughs
Wilson works to keep crowd pleasing while coloring within King’s lines. Visual gags supply smiles if lacking past films’ wit. Paddington falls from trees and photo booths with bounce and bruise, eliciting grins from young and old. Colman as Reverend Mother proves comedic coup, switching between sugar and spice in a blink. Her antics lift scenes, whether singing nun or scheming culprit.
Overall tone stays hopeful, heartwarming spirit intact. Yet holding true King’s kitchen sink absurdity proves a tough task. Plots drive laugh sources where surprises before popped. Script spreads chuckles thin, seeking safer shores, sacrificing subtlety that made Paddington sing. Still, optimism and goodwill flow through frames. Paddington’s pure heart ensures warmth remains.
Sadly, jokes feel more pulled than accidental. Sequence setting proves lacking magic spawned from miracles. Exceptions come. Cabot family history springs darkly delicious absurdity from Banderas’ talents. Colman brings brightness but bounds leave untapped. Edge remains, but not for newcomers. Favors laughter’s pâtissiere over Maverick.
Critics aim high comparing crown jewels. Paddington guides spirit upwards while entertaining crowds along the path. Comedic beats feel workmanlike, crafting smiles. Lacks madcap magic binding magic to memories. Yet finds his own way spreading, as a bear would wish, more joy than he finds in a single jar of marmalade alone.
A Bear’s Patchwork Heritage
This adventure sees Paddington spread his paws across both his homeland and home nation. The theme of heritage, where one finds place in this wide world, runs thread through narrative stitches. Our hero remains as curious as ever to honor roots in rainy forests and communities found by Tower Bridge alike.
Director Wilson ensures the story respects the source’s message: London, with Browns at its loving heart, gifts bear safe harbor regardless of ursine oddness or origins across sea. Yet journey allows glimpse into family left behind, rekindling bonds that span continents. Through chasing clues alongside Captain Cabot, Paddington rediscovers the lush landscape that shaped the cubhood.
Reverend Mother too seeks place, filling spiritual voids with mechanical mirth. Even Banderas’ roguish river rat, haunted by ancestors grasping at national pride through phantom gold, strives to find meaning in lineage. These threads weave a question woven through franchise: what defines us, and how do we define home?
Cultural settings expand from city streets, yet indigenous people feel more backdrop than breathing, authentic portraits. Still, young minds may learn all families, bear or otherwise, stem from tapestries too often obscured by time.
Paddington spreads the message that wherever path leads, community arises wherever love is sowed. A lesson for viewers wherever borne, this migrant marvel remains a beacon of blended blessings we all might grant each patchwork of people across our shared planet.
A Soundtrack for Adventure
More than just visually transported, audiences find themselves enveloped in Paddington’s world thanks to magic woven through sound. Mark Burton’s score sweeps listeners offshore alongside our heroes, balancing whimsy with suspense as jaws swing from smiles to grips.
Antonio Luis’s mixing casts an immersive spell. Effects bring foreboding forests and raging rapids to life with clarity. Production and design departments too deserve applause for building believable realms. The Home for Retired Bears feels lived-in from ornate details, while jungle settings vanish viewers into verdancy.
Colman brings song to proceedings with a guitar ditty befitting her nutty nun. Though brief, the sequence shows music masters’ mastery for lifting moments. Elsewhere, sound seals seams between live action and animation through nuanced naturalism.
Behind cameras and under studio lights, boundless craftsmen crafted this adventure with care. While visuals transport eyes, sound carries the audience on a current of story through realms of drama and delight. Technical tricks rightly go unnoticed, lost in the magic of the universe that continues enchanting all ages through this latest chapter in Paddington’s wonderful world.
A Brilliant Muffin Still Warm from the Oven
So in the end, where does Paddington in Peru fit among the treats in this bakery of a franchise? Wilson’s film can’t claim the trophy that King crafted, but it brings enough sweetness that none will regret the bite. The story satisfies despite missing flourishes present in past films.
Through jungles thick and tumbledown temples steeped in history, Paddington spreads his message: community arises wherever love is sown. A lesson families of all sorts will clutch as closley as our hero does his daily jar of marmalade. And while flick falls short of its masterful predecessors in madcap magic, heart remains fully intact.
Laughter, adventure, and optimism fill this chapter as promised, ensuring grins endure past final credits. Paddington’s future looks bright too, so long as dreamers come who understand what made this little bear’s tales treasures. King set a high bar indeed, but room remains in this bakery for others to bake their own ingredients unique into treats as treasured as those first concocted. Bon appétit!
The Review
Paddington in Peru
While it can't match the mastery of its precedessors, Paddington in Peru is a heartwarming adventure guaranteed to put smiles on faces both young and old. Director Wilson ensures laughs, perils, and Paddington's magic remain in full supply on this rollicking ride through the Andes.
PROS
- Breathtaking scenery and colorful characters bring Peru to life.
- Heartwarming themes of home, heritage, and togetherness remain intact.
- Visual effects and animation make Paddington as charming as ever.
- Dialogue maintains optimism at the film's core.
- Colman and Banderas offer entertaining supporting turns.
CONS
- Lacks surreal wit and anarchic fun of predecessors
- Plot feels stale compared to past films' absurdity.
- Underutilizes talented human cast members
- Fails to capture Latin American cultures authentically
- Comedically falls short of King's magic
