There’s nothing like a comfort movie. The first two features in the Paddington franchise, directed by Paul King, elevated audience expectations for the heartwarming family movie. Bringing warmth, heart, familiarity, laughs and a decidedly British sensibility to American audiences through the beloved bear’s legacy, the films gave Americans a reason to appreciate this very un-American staple of pop culture. I love the Paddington movies because they’re essentially a story about a refugee, and a story about the power of human kindness. And we, unfortunately, find ourselves as Americans, once again in a time in history where the importance of kindness is more pronounced than ever, as the world around us keeps getting more hateful and cruel. So I jumped at the chance to catch an early screening of the third Paddington film, now helmed by first-time director Dougal Wilson, Paddington in Peru. 

Everyone’s favorite marmalade-loving, polite to a fault bear Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is still living with the Brown family. One day, after coming home from getting his passport photo taken, he receives a correspondence from the Home for Retired Bears where the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) informs that his aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) isn’t doing well and would like to see him. Paddington and the Brown family head straight out on a plane to Peru, where they head out on an adventure to reunite Paddington with his biological family.

Each Paddington film is a tough act to follow, as these are very sweet, very genuine films about human kindness, that also have a lot on their minds as well. I was nervous when I heard that Paul King wouldn’t be returning as the director, and someone making their feature directorial debut would be replacing him. I would have been even more concerned had I’d known going in that Sally Hawkins would not be reprising her role as Mary Brown, being replaced by Emily Mortimer. However, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen either Paddington film, and my stupid American brain failed to even notice the difference between the two actresses. Allegedly there was no bad blood, and Hawkins simply chose to move on from the franchise. Not to worry, however.  Dougal Wilson does a splendid job at capturing the joyous and emotional wonder of these films, and Mortimer is a delight. 

Apart from Mortimer, all the cast members from the previous two films return to this one. Hugh Bonneville returns as the patriarch, Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin return as their two children. Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent also return. And Ben Whishaw’s voice performance is once again as delightful as ever. Plus we’ve got some fun new entries in our supporting cast. Olivia Colman as the nun who might not be what she says she is, is fantastic and even has her own ode to The Sound of Music musical number. And we have Antonio Banderas as our de facto villain this time, and he’s clearly having a ball. 

The choice to film Paddington in Peru in parts of Colombia and Peru give this cast a nice getaway, and typically it annoys me when a film is seemingly designed around the chance to give its cast a vacation. How many bad Adam Sandler Netflix movies have we seen that are secretly or not so secretly business fronts to send Sandler and all his friends on a vacation to some exotic destination and then they just write a ‘movie’ around that? Luckily, that isn’t happening here. There’s a fun sense of adventure in the third Paddington movie, and it’s a lovely piece of escapism. But there’s also a bit of genuine stakes and tension here, but Paddington in Peru is never anything short of delightful.

The Paddington movies all feel like warm hugs and each of them has entered my life in a time when I really needed one. So, forgive me if I’m rating this one on a bit of a curve. Maybe it’s not as great as the first two Paddington films, maybe there’s a small dip in quality – if there is, it’s a small one. But I was just as enamored with Paddington in Peru as I’ve been with every other delightful entry into this franchise. Paddington in Peru is a warm, lovely, hopeful and genuinely delightful piece of family entertainment, and it keeps the high bar of quality this franchise has established at the same level. This is close to a perfect trilogy, and I’m delighted to report we have another Paddington film destined to become a comfort movie for me. I hope they continue to make more of these for years to come.