Paddington in Peru

Breaking News: Seven Years is Too Long for a Sequel.

That's especially true with Paddington Bear, whose delightful whimsy has been missed during his hibernation. His hibernation ends with Paddington in Peru, in which Dougal Wilson takes up the director's chair previously inhabited by Paul King (who was most likely preoccupied with Wonka at the time).

This time, Paddington (Ben Whishaw) and his human family, the Browns, are summoned to his native Peru when his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) seems down in the doldrums. By the time they get to her retirement home, Lucy has disappeared into the Amazon, so Paddington decides to lead a rescue mission. Their only clue is a spot called Rumi Rock, which is supposedly connected to the fabled city of El Dorado. They hire Capt. Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) to take them up-river to Rumi Rock.

Cabot, afflicted with a hereditary case of Gold Fever, semi-accidentally strands the Browns in the jungle. Paddington tries to echo-locate Aunt Lucy with his roaring, while the Browns look for him with the help of Cabot's daughter, Gina (Carla Tous). Meanwhile, the Browns' housekeeper Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters) discovers that the Retirement Home's kindly Mother Superior (Olivia Colman) is more than meets the eye. That's basically it.

Once the plot gets going, which it does quickly, it asserts itself as a goofy adventure film with some of its predecessors' charming whimsy. During their mission, the Browns contend with a driverless boat, ants, a purple spider and plane trouble, among other things. Cabot is haunted by the ghosts of his ancestors, all of whom died morbidly silly deaths in their pursuit of El Dorado. Paddington gets into a few silly perils, complete with a Buster Keaton homage. It even has time for a weird The Sound of Music parody for the Browns' travel montage. It's all good, even if I preferred its predecessors' deadpan jokes. The plot also teases Paddington's origins, but there's nothing much substantial until the finale teases us with Paddington staying behind. I thought they were serious!

Looking back at my previous Paddington film reviews, I realized I talked more about the visual effects that visualized him than Paddington himself. His personal visual effects are still good here, while Paddington himself is still that ursine model of goodness from the last few films. He only gets mean when he delivers a "hard stare" to Cabot, but he immediately turns polite right afterwards. It's hard to imagine any voice other than Whishaw's soft-spoken voice would fit this version of Michael Bond's most famous bear.

Once again, we have Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville) learn not to be overly cautious. It’s a bit too familiar, but him parachuting from his new boss, Madison’s (Hayley Atwell) office is unique. His wife, Mary (Emily Mortimer, tagging in for Sally Hawkins), has a decent new subplot as she frets about being an empty nester. Mrs. Bird, however, gets the best subplot as she investigates the Mother Superior with some entertaining subterfuge.

Colman’s Mother Superior is the film’s surprise villain, a secret that not even she is good at hiding (she admits as much to Mrs. Bird). Her evil acts would make her detestable if not for her hamming it up. Indeed, her ultimate fate is both goofy and satisfying. Banderas, meanwhile, delightfully hams it up as Cabot and all of his ghostly ancestors, especially a nagging conquistador. The effects for Banderas’s singular double-act are impressive.

Finally, let’s acknowledge a major nitpick. Aunt Lucy is a nice old bear, but the film doesn’t acknowledge Paddington’s Uncle Pastuzo, save for a brief mention at the end. He’s not even shown in flashbacks when Lucy adopts Paddington. Did they not even want him voiceless after Michael Gambon’s death? That just makes Pastuzo’s absence all the more glaring, but I digress. If I nitpick any further, I'd be as old and bitter as Mr. Curry, who's also absent but not that missed.

Paddington's latest adventure may place him into new territory, but Paddington in Peru is still a fun time for all. Those too young or squeamish for even Raiders of the Lost Ark will certainly get their share of family-friendly thrills during its 106 minutes. Its ending would make a great finale for the series, except that there's a fourth film already in the works. Hopefully, that one will maintain its predecessors' charming optimism, even if it doesn't surpass them. That optimism is needed more than ever these days.

That's it for now.