23/29

The director of the previous two films, Paul King, decided not to direct this installment

Chronology

Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who is now residing 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. However, he pitched the idea for this third film and was brought on board as an executive producer.

It is not

Featured in Graham Norton I liked: Billy Crystal/Emily Mortimer/Hugh Bonneville/Pharrell Williams/Michael Kiwanuka (2024). The Paddington we never needed. My son was 7 when Paddington 2 came out and it is one of my favorite movies of all time, so waiting 7 years for the third installment brought with it the hope that Paddington in Peru might be as good as the first 2 films.

Bird are practically non-existent

The children, now young adults, have been reduced to very little dialogue. The jokes we get from staple characters like Mrs. Sally Hawkins brought such a charming quirk to the character of Mary Brown that, regardless of what the franchise says, she really was irreplaceable.

Banderas’s character and Gina’s character also don’t work, although I don’t think that’s the fault of either actor

It would have served the legacy of the series better to simply have Mary Brown absent from this adventure or to have her done away with. The brilliant slapstick of the second film is largely gone or its recreation is repeated but not as well. I may be alone in this opinion, but I really wanted to see some of Paddington’s relationship with his Aunt Lucy and that doesn’t deliver either.

Going from brilliantly charming and funny to Paddington in Peru is a shame

I was relieved to see in the credits “and Phoenix Buchanan as Phoenix Buchanan.” Bring back Sally Hawkins for Paddington 4 as well, and then end the series.