Film: Paddington in Peru

I like to think that when I watch a movie geared toward a specific audience, I see it through their lens. It helps me view the movie for what it is, and not what I expect it to be. I believe this method is best practice when viewing a kids-friendly movie, their sensibilities are more innocent than those of pretentious adult film fans. I never realized how special a film experience can be for a child until I saw it through my godson’s eyes.

I was lucky enough to participate in a special family preview for Paddington in Peru, the third installment in the Paddington films directed by Dougal Wilson. We sported our red hats and sat in the ever-entertaining Alamo Drafthouse (his first Alamo visit as well), and snuggled in as we waited for our film journey to unfold.

In Paddington in Peru, Paddington and the Brown family travel to Peru in search of missing Aunt Lucy. It turns out to be a complicated search, and they encounter many obstacles and a rag-tag group of characters along the way. Soon the search becomes a quest to uncover a century-old Peruvian mystery, and that’s when the adventure truly begins.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched movies with kids before. I’ve got a few stellar Tia Film Badges for sharing my childhood favorites that became their childhood favorites with my niece and nephew, as well as some red marks for the films that were shown a little too early. But this experience was different. I’m not sure if it was because I was excited to share a movie event with my godson, or the fact that the Paddington films bring out the child in all of us. Either way, it was a wonderful way to view this film.

It helped me see Paddington in Peru for what it was, whimsical and entertaining and heartfelt. It’s so much more than an animated bear movie based on British children’s literature. The essence of what those books expressed, what a generation of children aspired to, permeates through the film. Through all the antics and silly bear fumbles, compassion is always at the center of the situation. 

That’s not to say that Paddington in Peru is void of harsh elements of the real world, like selfish villains and disconnected families, but they are never presented with malice. You can’t go through life without being exposed to these elements, unfortunately, but that doesn’t mean flight has to be taught to be the first reaction. Paddington helps to show you that you can fight, and that fighting for someone or something can be conducted with empathy. The Paddington films are helping to raise a new generation of kids with kindness as the focus for our interactions with others.

As it is in other great kid’s films, Paddington in Peru has some wonderful moments for the adults in the audience. My bestie and I found several laugh-out-loud occasions others missed, as it is our style. Proof that moments of laughter are just waiting around the corner, some are obvious and some are more subtle, something for everyone. The thing that made adult-centric humor so entertaining was the supporting cast they brought in for this film. I love Olivia Coleman in everything that she’s in, but to have her play the Reverend Mother of a Peruvian Home for Bears was brilliant. She was sweet, yet there was a little spicy underneath her habit. On top of that, you have the ever-charismatic Antonio Banderas as their Amazon river guide, with his complicated explorer’s ancestry, you add a bit of sass. While they both have appeared in other kid’s movies, this one seems to be the one they are having the most fun in, and it shows on screen. It put it simply, it’s entertaining.

Paddington in Peru, like the other two Paddington films, was an unexpected enjoyment for me. I was not prepared for the overwhelming feeling of joy I felt throughout, and definitely at the end. I had a wonderful time and was grateful I got to experience such a heartwarming film with someone who means the world to me. Paddington shouldn’t be overlooked, and Paddington in Peru should be on your next family outing agenda if you need a pick-me-up in this chaotic world.

Paddington in Peru opens nationwide on February 14th.

Written by Lisa M Mejia
Images provided by Sony Pictures