Paddington In Peru (2024) Dir: Dougal Wilson

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The first two films of this trilogy were unexpectedly good, and have both been extremely popular. The prospect of a third film seemed like a good idea to me, although I knew there were a couple of changes, including a change in director, from Paul King to Dougal Wilson. Even so, I was fairly certain I'd enjoy this newest adventure of Britain's favourite bear.

What this film did very well was to retain that wonderfully innocent, family-centric feel, which was a big factor in the other two film's successes. This was achieved through both its writing and visuals, as it maintained a light and colourful aesthetic to accompany its lighthearted and not too serious story. The animation for the bears hasn't changed or improved much, but it didn't really need to, in fairness.

The aforementioned narrative was fun and full of adventure, although, it must be said, it did not match up to either of the film's predecessors. The main reason for this was a bit of a lack of depth in both the story and its characters. The Brown family, with the exception of the father, had next to no character development whatsoever, which was a little disappointing. It made it feel as though there were far too many excess characters who were simply there to fill up screentime.

Ben Whishaw's third vocal appearance as the titular marmalade-loving bear was as entertaining as ever. He has an appropriately light touch and gentle voice with the role, which he has really cultivated over the course of the three films. He has really made the part feel his, and the performance provided in this threequel was as worthy as any to voice the bear.

The supporting cast had some of the most famous names in British film and television, far too many to name, but those who stood out the most, unsurprisingly, were the most featured ones. Hugh Bonneville provided just the right amount of silly Englishman and clumsy dad to make his role very fun, whilst Emily Mortimer, who took over from the popular Sally Hawkins, did a wonderful job of feeling soft and motherly, in my opinion.

For me, the pair of Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman stole the show, especially Colman. They were absurdly silly, but undoubtedly amusing. Colman in particular was great value, and utilised her always entertaining facial expressions to great effect. The other members of the Brown family, played by Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, and Julie Walters, didn't have a lot of serious acting to do, but they were still enjoyable enough, I suppose.

Overall, whilst I still thought this was a wonderful family adventure, I don't think it was quite as wonderful as the first two films. It just lacked a little of the cohesive storytelling that made those other two films so brilliant, particularly the second one. Even so, this was undeniably a good time and a very digestible film that I certainly don't regret watching. And considering its target audience is mainly children and families, I'd say it serves its purpose pretty well.