Keep em coming, England! My heart gets giddy with each new Paddington film that shows up. This one is no different, making the world a little bigger, but keep the fun and sweetness in place that even the Hugh Grant like cynics will open their hearts to our favorite CGI British Bear.
Paddington (wonderfully voiced by Ben Whishaw) is now cemented in his life in London, happily living with Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary (Emily Mortimer; she’s fine but Sally Hawkins, you are missed) Brown and their now teen kids Judy (Madeline Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin). Distress comes to the family from Peru, and the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) of a Peruvian old bears retirement home. Paddington’s aunt Judy (Imelda Staunton) has gone missing, sending the whole Brown family down to the Amazon to help their beloved adopted bear son find his beloved tie to his old home.
Paddington’s specific recipe for silliness is a gift that keeps on giving. It’s always been the modern take on classic comedy. Each Paddington film has homaged an indelible setpiece of cinema past, this one being no different. The films are a love letter to the entertainment of Rube Goldberg devices. I don’t think Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton thought their legacy would end up with a computer generated bear running through a maze with Antonio Banderas, but that sequence is the highlight of the film, reminding everyone how evergreen that silent comedy can be in the right hands. Glommed onto that physical silliness is the fish in the barrel of putting British people outside of England. Hugh Bonneville’s “appalled” face works everytime he has to leave his comfort zone in any way, with some wonderfully wacky whimsy as a result. The other highlight is Julie Walters and Olivia Colman, in their own, very strange subplot that uses British politeness in the most unnerving way possible; Colman’s not quite Hugh Grant’s villian from the 2nd movie, but she finds her own road mostly successfully.
Underneath all the jokes is the real reason these movies work: a big welcoming heart. Paddington in Peru is an important reminder of how strong the themes of the trilogy are. Family is obviously an important part, obviously. This Paddington movie is built more on family legacy and family past, and how it drives your present and future. Paddington obviously has a wonderful, strong family in Peru and the UK, whereas Antonio Banderas is haunted by his, terrified to break the cycle of treasure seeking behavior that he feels he has to live up to. And even though Paddington has a loving family, it’s important to remember he’s an immigrant, now confronted with his past and his present, deciding where he really belongs. That push and pull every immigrant feels is the undercurrent of every Paddington movie, but especially this one, as our beloved bear’s plight dovetails nicely with Mary’s fear of her daughter considering her own adventure, maybe far away from home at uni. At the end of the day, love and care is what matters most, which is where the movies always end up, using the distracting silliness to well up tears we didn’t know were coming but are so happy are here.
Disney, this should be your barometer. Instead of cash grabbing and remaking all your great films into live action CGI garbage, pay attention to what the UK has done with Paddington. Find a cute animal CGI allegory for some type of person in society, build the foundation in the first film, add some fun supporting characters, and then change the location but keep the recipe for success. Instead of trying to one up the incredible Paddington 2, our beloved CGI bear takes that big heart and propensity for clumsiness abroad, creating a rip roaring family adventure Disney wishes it could make with any level of success these days. That’s right Mickey, gauntlet dropped, what’s your next move?