Paddington in Peru (2025) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When things change, there is a good chance it can be for the better.


PLOT


Paddington in Peru shows the titular talking bear continue to live with the Browns in Windsor Gardens, but the family have changed lately. Henry is hesitant to take risks for the sake of work in order to impress his American colleagues, Jonathan has been making inventions for the sake of staying indoors, and Mary has been nervous that Judy wants to go to college overseas. One day, Paddington receives a letter from his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) describing that she misses him deeply. This inspires the cub to go to Peru with the company of the Browns. They go to the Home for Retired Bears and meet the Reverend Mother Clarissa who reveals his aunt has gone missing in the jungle, leaving behind her glasses and bracelet. When noticing a map was left behind in her cabin, the cub believes they should look for ‘Rumi Rock’ to find her. By the following morning, they hire riverboat captain Hunter Cabot and his daughter Gina to take them there on their boat. When the captain notices the emblem on Paddington’s bracelet, he shares that it could be the key to El Dorado but those who find Rumi Rock never make it to El Dorado. Haunted by the ghosts of his ancestors, Hunter abandons his daughter when she goes against continuing the journey, only for him to fall overboard. That causes the ship to wreck, but the Browns are able to survive the ordeal when reaching shore. Paddington gets separated from them in the process, but he does stumble to Rumi Rock where Hunter awaits. When the cub accidentally sits on flowers with thorns, he roars so loud he assumes his aunt is responding back. He and Hunter follow the echoes that take them to the passage of El Dorado. With Mrs. Bird standing by at the retirement home, she finds Clarissa in her secret room where she was checking on the rest of the family with a tracker she gave Mary. Seeing that they’ve gone off course, both ladies fly a plane to rescue them, who in turn also reunite with Gina. Once reaching the summit of El Dorado, Hunter would chase Paddington for the bracelet until the Browns and Reverend Mother arrive after almost crashing. Upon landing, Clarissa reveals herself to be Hunter’s long lost cousin who has been playing the long haul to find El Dorado all for herself, by pretending to be a nun and staging Aunt Lucy’s disappearance, knowing Paddington will go out of his way to look for her wherever & however. She proves seriousness when threatening to kill Gina for it. Hunter almost takes the bracelet for himself, but after the cub gives him a hard stare to remind him the gold is not worth the obsession, he takes it with heart by incapacitating her cousin, getting rid of his ancestors’ curse. The Browns would go through the passage with Paddington and discover the place’s true treasure to be a home for other bears surrounded by marmalade trees. Aunt Lucy is there waiting for her adopted nephew who finally explains this is where he came from. He does fit in with the other bears, but he prefers going back to London with the Browns, which inspires the other bears to visit. Mrs. Bird would also stay in Peru to help out the Home for Retired Bears get refurbished. Upon retiring home, Henry would embrace his fearlessness at work that he gained in Peru, Jonathan would start selling his indoor inventions at conventions and Mary would start showing support to Mary wanting to expand her horizons for her educational purposes. The film ends with Paddington taking the other bears to visit Phoenix Buchanan in prison, who pitches a production of ‘Goldilocks’ with them.


THOUGHTS


It was very hard to imagine the franchise going on without Paul King who got caught up helming Wonka, but Dougal Wilson was a solid choice in his theatric debut, because the magic and joy I felt before was still before. As long as Ben Whishaw is still voicing the adorable bear and the visual effects look great, there really is nothing to worry about. The comedy is still good enough for me to laugh at because it’s hard to not laugh at a bear failing to sail a boat in the midst or damaging a photo booth of an Indiana Jones-like adventure. That alone makes the cinematography by Erik Wilson quite dazzling. Putting that aside, I think this one is gonna stand out for reminding us that family is more precious than any material we choose to claim for ourselves. Paddington teaches us this because all he cares about is expressing gratitude to those willing to take care of him. The first of which is of course Aunt Lucy because he’ll always owe his life to her, but the Browns are just as important for showing a world past his imagination. In return, he reminds the family there is more to life than what they’re used to. I didn’t think I would relate to Henry at this point, but I’m sold with arachnophobia. Hugh Bonneville has always made the patriarch the mediator in when to change things up, but this trip taught him to let it all go when it matters most. Had he not learned that, he would never be pleased as he gets older. Emily Mortimer was a good replacement for Sally Hawkins to play Mary because she matched the nurturing aura she was always about. She really is a second mother to the bear and doesn’t see a reason not to at this point. She and her husband were so relieved Paddington chose to stay because their lives wouldn’t be the same without him. Madeleine Harris is still great as Judy for emphasizing the determination to what she desires, but I was surprised with the twist that was made for Jonathan. Samuel Joslin does show off the boy to have a creative mind like his sister, but the motivation was lacking and the trip definitely gave him a wake up call. Julie Walters was a blast again as Mrs. Bird because apart from having a consistent routine she enjoys, she’s also self aware when something is up, which is what made it so easy for her to catch on to Reverend Mother’s suspicions. She’s also the life of the party since she knew how to have a good time after her own chores are done for and it felt fitting for her to stay in Peru because the things she can do will be just as fun. Moving into new characters, it’s not hard to not enjoy Antonio Banderas in family features because he’s an enigma you can’t get enough of. He was great as Hunter Cabot because he was a bitter guy that was desperate to succeed when his ancestors all came up short. Carla Tous was far from that as Gina because she never had that burden due to his absence. All she wanted was to be with him and once he realized he was pushing her away, he finally gave up all the glory for the real deal. The true villain though is Clarissa and Olivia Colman was a delight in making her one who lacked hiding her true colors because she wanted people to know who she was just when she was close to succeed and rub it in. The fact she played the long haul depending on Paddington to come back to his birthplace is top tier obsession for any villain, where you would definitely call Buchanan the tamest one in the franchise. I stand by that since Hugh Grant shows him to feel quite rehabilitated. Had she not been worse than her cousin, I don’t think Hunter would redeem himself the way he does. Again, I’ll still give credit to the bear because if he didn’t tell him what was more important, it’s hard to know what he would’ve done. That would still prove the point however that family is the real treasure. This movie is still fun, but there were moments that made me prefer the first two. For example, how did a pigeon get in Paddington’s hat while he was caught up in the photo booth? I know the train station is well open, but it’s odd for only one pigeon to do so when it’s usual a flock that harass him for his marmalade. Also, was Peruvian collection new Samuel Gruber to the antique shop? Since it’s a big place, it’s hard to bet on when exactly Paddington should’ve noticed at least once before now. Moving on, why doesn’t Clarissa leave without Mrs. Bird? If she knew where to find the Browns, there was no reason to tell the half truth at that point. And why hasn’t Paddington tried out a hamper before? I mean I feel like that is something he should’ve known about for a while now since he learns new things everyday. It’s also on him to not look where he was sitting when it came to those thorns. It even felt stupid for Hunter to trip over a rock that was visibly in front of him since Paddington left it there before the chase. What even felt weirder than Mrs. Bird messing with the buttons on the plane is the fact Clarissa kept the job of Reverend Mother for years without a background check. The latter was even lucky to have tied up Gina so fast with no one noticing. Ignore this, then you’ll still have a good time as expected. In short, Paddington in Peru is another good family flick for warming our hearts just the way we like it. If you love bears like this, check this out.