Paddington in Peru (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jun 04, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Dougal WilsonRelease Date(s)
2024 (April 29, 2025)Studio(s)
Sony Pictures Releasing (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
The search for one’s roots is the basis of the third entry in the Paddington franchise, Paddington in Peru, a pleasant if uneven continuation in the adventures of the soft-spoken, lovable bear with an endless fondness for marmalade sandwiches.
Paddington is still living with the Brown family: insurance adjuster Mr. Brown (Hugh Bonneville), Mrs. Brown (Emily Mortimer, replacing Sally Hawkins from the first two films), their children, Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), and housekeeper Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters). The kids are now teenagers. Judy is applying to colleges while Jonathan is busy inventing labor-saving devices and rarely leaves his room.
Paddington gets a letter from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Coleman), director of the Home for Retired Bears in Peru, advising him that his Aunt Lucy (voice of Imelda Staunton) is behaving strangely, likely because she misses him. Paddington suggests a trip to Peru and the Browns, thinking it could be a pleasant family vacation, agree.
On arrival at the Home for Retired Bears, they discover that Aunt Lucy is missing. They decide to sail down the Amazon in search of her, and hire riverboat Captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) to transport them. Cryptic maps point to the ancient Incan site of Rumi Rock. Cabot, meanwhile, has a secret agenda passed down from generations of ancestors—to find the mythical Eldorado, the city of gold.
Ben Whishaw once again supplies the always calm, British-accented voice of Paddington. This is one of the best voice characterizations for an animated character in recent years and continues to convey charm without being cloying.
Olivia Coleman, new to the franchise, is the film’s resident scene stealer as the guitar-strumming Reverend Mother, who may not be exactly what she appears. Singing an entire song in the bouncy style of Julie Andrews warbling through the countryside in The Sound of Music and even concluding with the iconic mountaintop twirl, Coleman delivers a comic highlight of the film.
Banderas has an actor’s dream role. Not only does he play Captain Cabot, he also plays the ancestors whose ghosts spur him to seek the gold that eluded them. Sporting assorted make-ups and costumes, he shares the screen with versions of himself in scenes both funny and surrealistic.
Mortimer is fine in the role that Sally Hawkins created. Bonneville seems to be coasting in a truncated role. Harris and Joslin, as the daughter and son, have little to to do, and Walters’ Mrs. Bird has limited screen time once the family gets to Peru.
By now, we’ve become so accustomed to the wonders of CGI that it seems perfectly normal to see bears mingle and interact with live actors. Director Dougal Wilson gets carried away sometimes with the CGI, but the cast nicely embraces the fantasy. For a film geared to children, it’s a bit too long and could stand some pruning. With a number of familiar characters absent, the film feels disconnected from the world established in the earlier pictures. The Browns are somewhat marginalized and pale beside the over-the-top performance of Banderas, who dominates a good portion of the film.
What I missed most in this latest installment was the emotional aspect. It’s still fun, but with its needlessly complex plot, it seems to lose its way and forget that what makes Paddington so relatable are his innocence, politeness, humility, and optimism. In Paddington in Peru, he’s more a Sherlock Holmes detective and adventurer than the friendly anthropomorphic bear with the old, crumpled hat, well-used suitcase, and duffel coat.
Director Wilson includes some neat homages to classic films. In one sequence, a monstrous boulder bears down on Paddington, channeling the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. In another, Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr. stunt is referenced when a brick wall crashes down over Paddington but doesn’t touch him at all because he’s standing directly over a window opening. Banderas’ cantankerous Captain is reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart’s Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. The musical number in the style of The Sound of Music performed by Olivia Coleman and chorus is reminiscent of classic Hollywood musicals as it blossoms from a lone nun singing and playing her guitar to a huge production number.
Paddington in Peru was captured digitally by director of photography Erik Wilson in the ARRIRAW (4.6K) codec with Arri Alexa 35 cameras with Zeiss Master Prime lenses, finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The picture quality on the Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is excellent with sharp detail and vibrant, bright hues. Greens, reds and blues dominate the color palette and really pop. Visual effects enhance scenes with the animated bears and are integrated seamlessly with the live actors. There are no discernible visual imperfections.
There are several soundtrack options: English, French, and Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; and English and French Descriptive Services. Optional subtitles include English, English SDH, French, and Spanish. Dialogue is clear and distinct, with voice characterizations particularly effective. Julie Walters’ Aunt Lucy has a warm, homey quality with a hint of age. Ben Whishaw deserves a great deal of credit for bringing Paddington to life. His calming voice conveys the bear’s gentle, humble personality. Sound effects enhance action sequences.
In addition to a Digital Code on a paper insert within the package, the disc-based bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment include the following:
- Let’s Prepare for Paddington Sing-Along (3:14)
- Adventure Awaits! Create Your Own Treasure Map (4:38)
- Bracelets and Bonds: Make Your Own Friendship Bracelets (7:04)
- Set Tour: The House of Retired Bears (2:00)
- Set Tour: The Browns House (2:38)
- The Making of Paddington in Peru (14:10)
- The Garfield Movie Preview (2:31)
- Harold and the Purple Crayon Preview (2:02)
- Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Preview (2:25)
- Peter Rabbit 2 Preview (1:06)
Let’s Prepare for Paddington Sing-Along – Olivia Coleman, as Reverend Mother, sings and plays guitar, as words to the song appear at the bottom of the screen, karaoke-style.
Adventure Awaits! – This step-by-step guide shows how to make up a map and select various “treasures.”
Bracelets and Bonds – Instructions for two kinds of bracelets are provided in easy steps: the staircase friendship bracelet and the Peruvian friendship bracelet.
Set Tour: The House of Retired Bears – Madeleine Harris, who plays Judy Brown, shows us around the elaborate, “massive” set, pointing out interesting details.
Set Tour: The Browns House – Hugh Bonneville, who plays Mr. Brown, shows exteriors at Primrose Hill in North London as well as interior sets, shot in the studio.
The Making of Paddington in Peru – Cast members describe the film as a “fish out of water” picture. Paddington is taken out of a world he knows as home and thrust into an exotic, unfamiliar locale. Crew members discuss filming the musical number in stages. Many of them returned from earlier Paddington films. In addition to his riverboat captain, Banderas played several characters and had to undergo extensive make-up preparation for each. The boat was 60 feet long and was used with backgrounds digitally added.
Paddington in Peru is about the bear’s return to his origins. The film has a lot of action, but might be a bit too ambitious. It introduces some new characters to freshen up the franchise, but its focus on plot and CGI effects deflects attention away from the title character. Those who’ve come to love Paddington might resent that he’s become an ensemble player rather than star.
- Dennis Seuling