Paddington in Peru (2024)

With "Paddington" now happily ensconced with the "Brown" family, and replete with his own British passport, all is going swimmingly until he gets a letter from distant Peru. The mother superior of the retirement home for bears (Olivia Colman) is concerned that "Aunt Lucy" is losing the plot a bit. Conscious that they are gradually drifting apart, mum "Mary" (Emily Mortimer) decides that what they all need is the excitement of a trip - so off they head to the jungle. That's where they encounter "Capt. Cabot" (Antonio Banderas) who runs a local river boat with his daughter "Gina" (Cala Tous) and who agrees to take them on their cruise. They arrive at their destination only to discover that the elderly bear has gone missing and they are soon amidst some mischievous machinations that might take them on a perilous journey to the famed El Dorado. Thing is, of course, with a legendary treasure to be found, "Paddington" isn't quite sure whom he can trust as the trail leads him deeper and deeper into the wilderness! It's a fun adventure this one but it is a bit slow, the humour isn't so plentiful and the plot is a little derivative with not enough bear and too much of "Jungle Cruise" (2021) meets "Sound of Music" (1965) to it. I thought Banderas and Colman rather hammed it all up a bit and there also wasn't quite the cosiness of the family-led escapades with much less opportunity for Dame Julie Walters to get actively involved. The narrative is all just a bit disjointed without the charm of the two earlier cinema outings for Michael Bond's character. It's still a watchable and enjoyable enough family film, but I am not sure I shall recall it for long. Stick around for the credits - there's a nice wee cameo in there from you know who.