- Date of Release: 14 February 2025
- Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Mystery
- Language: English
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Paddington In Peru
Introduction
He is furry, sincere, polite and quite civilized with his approach. He also indulges a marmalade sandwich, while hiding one under his red hat! And there is a certain sense of charisma that heightens his aura. It is really not hard to like Paddington, a cute little grizzly bear named after one of the metro stations in London. Yet when he marches into his third outing with Paddington In Peru after Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017), it all feels a little vanilla. One of the reasons why the first two films of the Paddington franchise had worked was because of the timing – they were released perfectly in the era that was the onset of the social media. And hence, the basic thumb rule of basic conflicts meets basic solutions, was a genre that was meant for a captivating audience minus the cell-phone generation. Paddington In Peru doesn’t necessarily do too much wrong – it is watchable, it is harmless and a film worth existing in isolation (well, not quite but you would still be able to follow the story here without having any context to the previous two films). But I couldn’t help but think that the conflicts remained mid and catered to a demographic age that may not be willing to buy into the same, neither does it offer a solid commentary for adults to indulge it. It is serviceable and for the large parts just that!
Story & Screenplay
A stark difference between the live-animation in the Paddington franchise and the Disney remakes remains the soul of the films. While the latter simply boast of technical prowesses that are largely soulless, the former cautiously has worked on the emotional core of the animated protagonist. As I said, the appearance is such that it is hard to dislike the protagonist. But more so, an animal straying away from his homeland and stranded in an alien city, is a palpable emotion that any adult would connect with. And because the base is so strong, you are committed to believe that Paddington In Peru is a natural succession of the sentiments that the previous films have to offer. For starters, Paddington has received his British passport here. He is a legal citizen and a core member of the Brown family, wherein he is ‘technically’ the only member who is ‘Brown’. But the drama steers from any traces of a racism angle, given how all humans around Paddington are at their sweetest best! It is a happy film that way!
The basic conflict in the drama is a direct offshoot to the emotional bond that Paddington shared with his Aunt Lucy, who is now disconnected and staying at a Home of Retired Bears in Peru. And hence when Paddington does get a worrying letter from Reverand Mother (Olivia Colman), the immediate response is to fly from London to Peru and meet his Aunt Lucy in person. But on his arrival, Aunt Lucy goes missing thereby setting stage for another adventure for Paddington, this time in the Amazonian Rainforrests in Peru, and in the secret area of El Dorado and the stony trek of Incan Fort (resembling the Machu Pichu). There are basic checks in the screenplay – a river captain Hunter (Antonio Bandares) suffering from the gold syndrome and his plucky daughter Gina (Carla Tous), both of whom provide balance acts of opposite proportions in the context of the drama.
We live in times today wherein a harmless family-entertainer wouldn’t necessarily co-exist with the more complexities that are in store on celluloid. And Paddington In Peru falls prey to exactly this. It doesn’t do too much wrong – a misplaced trek involving the protagonist who is in search of his beloved Aunt, a potentially intimidating setting of the Amazon Rainforest, a handful of obstacles that throws the protagonist off his trail only to miraculously get him back on track, a handful of ‘surprises’ with respect to characters that you see coming from a distance, and a heartwarming finale. Yet, I couldn’t brush off the fact that the predictability of the drama didn’t completely hold my attention throughout the film. There were instances wherein the simplicity of the drama came back to haunt it. The writing felt cliched and convenient, the conflicts didn’t necessarily hold footing after a point, it all felt too vanilla.
I could conclude that the only factor that allowed the drama to paddle on was its emotional core that somehow held the narrative together. I could also conclude that the conflicts showcased here were similar to the simplicity that it portrayed in the earlier films of the franchise. And this remained the biggest issue for me – the storyline did not necessaily adapt to the changing times (the last Paddington film was out 8 years ago). The screenplay overall is still immensely watchable and immensely crowd-pleasing but it only ends up being a serviceable family-entertainer primarily due to its emotions. It aims for the ‘Marmalade’ but ends up being ‘Vanilla’!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are harmless and coated with saccharine that oozes of simplicity and warmth. The BGM is decent but all too generic with just a basic trait of elevating the drama in the required moment (and that is how the film was also designed in the first place, so not necessarily a flaw). The cinematography is excellent comprising of frames that also integrate the live-animation portions pretty well, while adding depth to the proceedings from a setting standpoint. The editing is sharp wherein the drama doesn’t overstay its welcome. Director Dougal Wilson does a good job in tapping into the emotional core, something that keeps the drama afloat. This does paper over some of the cracks in the writing owing to the predictability of the drama. The setting was a crucial ingredient that wasn’t exploited to its full potential, and neither was the conflict strong enough to hold your attention through and through. And these stuttering shortcomings ensure that the direction is decent but never going beyond the obvious.
Performances / Voiceovers
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast. Madeleine Harris as Judy, Carla Tous as Gina and Samuel Joslin as Jonathan are good and have their moments to shine. Julie Walters are Mrs Bird, Hugh Bonneville as Harry and Emily Mortimer as Mary are sincere and earnest with their respective performances. Antonio Banderas as Hunter Cabot is clearly seen having a blast in a performance that grows on you over a period of time. Olivia Colman as Reverand Mother is an absolutely joy to witness in a mysteriously cheerful character that reminded me of Julie Andrews from The Sound Of Music (in a completely different context). She was brilliant to the core here. Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington is wonderful to witness, and he does manage to add the required set of emotions to the animated cut-out with a lot of flair!
Conclusion
Paddington In Peru is a serviceable family entertainer that aims for the ‘Marmalade’ but ends up being ‘Vanilla’. It is still watchable but can’t think of another franchise that worked as a charm with respect to its storyline in the past but now needs a major upgrade in its future installments to survive the onslaught of predictability. Available in a theatre near you.
