Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey.
I’m unsure if I’m fortunate or unfortunate not to have seen the previous two Paddington films. They both received over-the-top reviews that apparently carried over to this third installment of the anthropomorphic bear and his human family, although not with the same enthusiasm. I did not see them in any case, so “Paddington in Peru” was my baptism into the Brown family and the charming little bear who has become a beloved part of their tribe. So much a part that when they learn his beloved Aunt Lucy, who resides in a Retirement Home for Bears in Peru, has gone missing, the entire Brown family heads south to find her. There are imposters and secrets, intrigues and ambiguities galore. Paddington is thrown head over heels into chaos and worry for his Aunt Lucy and a search for long-lost gold.
The character of Paddington was created by Michael Bond and featured in a series of children’s books also beloved and followed by adults. He came to live with the Brown family in England by a string of circumstances and is now firmly entrenched and loved by them as their child. This latest adventure takes them all to Peru and deep into the mysteries of the Amazon Jungle. Olivia Colman appears as the Mother Superior whose order manages the retirement home where Aunt Lucy lives. Like Antonio Banderas, who appears as a convivial boat owner renting his river vessel to the Browns to aid in their search, Colman’s character is overdrawn, and the humor is undoubtedly slapstick at times; young kids like slapstick. Presented in the appropriate context, I find it humorous as well.
Part of the problem with this current installment of the adorable little bear might be the inconsistency of the humor. Some are aimed at adults and even adults “of a certain age.” The characters have scenes whose actions hark back to a famous scene from a bygone film, which many adults will recognize, but anyone thirty or younger may be at a loss. Ms. Colman, costumed as a nun, sang and played a guitar while whirling across a beautiful mountain meadow, which was funny to me and most of the audience. Ditto for the huge boulder chasing a terrified Paddington down a passageway in some stone ruins.
Many critics have either panned this film or accepted it with the disparaging pronouncement that it does not reach the level of the first two Paddington offerings. Since I have no reference point, I have to “call it as I see it,” and I thought it was great fun. The children who attended the screening had most likely also seen the two previous films. My observation was that they loved Paddington, his stories, and “Paddington in Peru.” So did I.
In Theaters Friday, February 14th
