‘Paddington in Peru’ Is One Warm, Whimsical Bear Hug

He’s small, he’s brown, he’s furry and rocks a blue duffel coat and a red hat (no, not that kind of red hat) like nobody’s business. His name is Paddington, and for close to seven decades, this tiny London-based bear has delighted discerning young readers with his extreme politeness, his propensity for getting into misadventures and his loyalty to family and friends.

Arguably the most beloved ursine hero in children’s literature — suck it, Winnie the Pooh! — writer Michael Bond’s creation has gone on to become a star of stage, screen, TV and toy shelves. A 2014 movie adaptation written and directed by Paul King, and featuring Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington, brought the world of Bond’s book series to life in a way that honored the stories’ anglophile roots and the character’s innate goodness. And its 2017 sequel doubled down on the whimsy, the quirk and the Wes Anderson-style formalism in a way that turned both audiences and millennial-hipster film critics into rabid fans. Not to mention that it officially kickstarted the current Hugh Grant renaissance.

Fingers, human and otherwise, were crossed that a third Paddington escapade would be a charm, or at the very least, not sink the franchise in syrupy goo. We can confirm that there is no cause for alarm. Paddington in Peru changes up a few key elements, notably subbing in longtime commercial and music-video director for Paul “I’m Busy Making Wonka” King, and recasting Emily Mortimer in the role of Mrs. Brown (previously played by Sally Hawkins). It’s a little less twee, a little less idiosyncratic than its predecessors. But it retains the sunniness, the sweet yet unsentimental emphasis on empathy for your fellow man (and bear) and the slightly cracked sense of humor of the earlier movies in a way that makes it feel like a natural continuation. All that, plus it lets an internationally renowned actor go full Alec Guiness and features the single greatest onscreen singing-nun in the history of motion pictures.

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More on the movie star and the songbird sister in a second. First, we get an origin story. Once upon a time, a tiny cub in Peru climbed on to the branch of a orange tree. The branch snapped. The animal fell in the river. He was nearly washed away into oblivion. Luckily, a fellow tremarctos ornatus named “Aunt” Lucy found the lil’ guy and raised him. Eventually, she encouraged her adopted ward to go to London, he was renamed Paddington by the Brown family because they found him at Paddington station and, well, you know the rest.

In the years since our hero left for the land of Big Ben, his surrogate-momma bear has settled down in the Home for Retired Bears, located deep in the jungles of Peru and run by a holy order of nuns. Paddington hasn’t seen Aunt Lucy in ages, so he’s surprised when he gets a letter from the institution’s Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman). Apparently, his relative has been acting a little odd lately, and seems to be spending a lot of time in her room. It may be that she misses Paddington. Could he come and visit her?

Speaking of mothers: Mary Brown (Mortimer) has been pining for the good old days when her now-teenaged children, Judy (Madeleine Harris ) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), weren’t so grown-up. So why not make Paddington’s trip to Peru a full-on family vacation, for old time’s sake? She convinces her husband Harry (Hugh Bonneville), their housekeeper Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters) and the kids to make the trek as well. Once they all arrive at the retirement home, however, they’re informed that Lucy has gone missing. A clue suggests she may have gone in search of El Dorado, the mythical lost city of gold. The Browns need a boat to take them up the Amazon river, and quicker than you can say “Fitzcarraldo,” Captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) appears. He and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) can take them to Rumi Rock, where many believe the entrance to El Dorado is located, in their ship.

Is there a secondary agenda in Cabot’s eager agreement to take them to a possible treasure trove? Will Paddington and the Browns encounter their share of adventure and danger, as well as the sort of family bonding Mary desires? Will they eventually be reunited with the M.I.A. Aunt Lucy? Does a Peruvian bear shit in the the jungle?

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The answers aren’t in doubt — it’s the windy, offbeat, hairpin-turn detours that Paddington in Peru takes on the way to them that makes this threequel such a dopamine overdose. A few up-the-sleeve aces help, of course. Banderas’ boat captain happens to come from a long line of folks who sought to discover El Doraldo, all of whom are portrayed by the Spanish actor; he gets to play everything from a greedy conquistador to an old-timey prospector to an Amelia Earhart-like female pilot. It’s a display of versatility on the part of the star, as if he was gifted with his own production of Kind Hearts and Coronets. But it’s also a license to ham it up, which Banderas takes full advantage of. He doesn’t look like he’s had this much fun onscreen since his early Almodóvar days.

Yet there’s a clear MVP here, and that’s Olivia Colman’s Reverend Mother. From the moment her face lights up as someone off-frame hands her guitar, the Oscar-winner pitches everything at the level of demented, manic glee. Her performance dial is permanently set to 10 for the entire film, and regardless of whether Colman is sending up The Sound of Music or breezily brushing off why a secret room filled with surveillance tech that’s hidden behind a church organ might seem suspicious, she blesses each moment she’s onscreen. We’d watch a supercut of Colman’s scenes on perpetual repeat. Is there a special Oscar for singing nuns? If not, may we suggest giving her a Nobel Peace Prize?

Paddington in Peru sticks to its franchise’s overarching script, delivering exactly the kind of affection, silliness and gentle heartstring-plucking you now expect from the series. Paddington will feel like two families are better than one, Mary will stare down the oncoming existential crisis of the empty nest, nobody will feel like the country of Peru has been insulted, the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good guys save the day. There will be marmalade. (And cameos — die-hard Phoenix Buchanan fans may want to stay through the end credits.) These movies really are the closest things we have to modern Ealing comedies, which were fueled by a combo of British eccentricity, can-do pluckiness and a wicked sense of humor. The fact the third entry of the Paddington Cinematic Universe doesn’t feel like one more shameless corporate product plopped off a kid’s-movie assembly line would be victory enough. That this take on brand-name I.P. doubles as a whimsical, warm bear hug of film just feels like a bonus.