This is the third film in this delightful series and the first for seven years. Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin and Imelda Staunton have reprised their roles from the previous films, with Emily Mortimer replacing Sally Hawkins as Mrs Brown. Paddington and his adopted family, the Browns, decide to visit his Aunt Lucy in Peru. When they arrive at the Home for Retired Bears, they discover that she has gone missing, so they embark on a search for Lucy in the Amazon rainforest and the Peruvian mountains.
I found myself watching with a big smile on my face, as the mischievous bear is as lovable as always. All the cast do sterling work with Olivia Colman a hoot as the nun who runs the home. However, I don’t think that the heights of the first two films are reached. Partly that is because a lot of the humour derives from Paddington being in London. A fish out of water, or should I say, a bear out of the jungle!? This time, back in his natural habitat, those laughs are not there. Also, the story felt much more like a generic kids action film plot, lacking both the invention and the slapstick set pieces of the previous series entries.
Despite those quibbles, this is still much better than the vast majority of movies aimed at a family audience, and be sure to stay for the credits for the welcome, and hilarious appearance of a certain Phoenix Buchanan.
Rating: 7 out of 10