Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey. A film by Dougal Wilson, starring Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Imelda Staunton, Carla Tous, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, and Ben Whishaw.

Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) receives a letter from Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) at the Home for Retired Bears in Peru. It turns out this home is actually real, not just something Lucy made up! The letter informs Paddington of worrying news – his Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) misses him terribly, and Reverend Mother is concerned that something seems off.

Worried about his aunt, Paddington expresses his wish to return to the Peruvian jungle to visit her. Mary Brown (Emily Mortimer), who lately feels that her children Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) have grown up so fast and rarely spend time with their parents anymore, thinks a family holiday to Peru with Paddington would be perfect.

Though Henry (Hugh Bonneville) is initially hesitant, he recalls his new American boss Madison (Hayley Atwell) telling him that success requires embracing risk, not avoiding it. With this in mind, Henry agrees that the Brown family should make the trip to Peru together.

Paddington stops by Gruber’s Antiques to share his exciting news about the Peru trip with Mr. Gruber (Jim Broadbent) and proudly shows off his passport, now that he’s officially British.

While Mr. Gruber searches for a Peru guidebook, Paddington becomes mysteriously drawn to a wooden bear statue in the shop’s Peruvian collection. Suddenly, he experiences a strange vision that briefly transports him back to the jungle.

Upon arriving at the Home for Retired Bears, Paddington rushes to Aunt Lucy’s cabin, only to find it empty. Aunt Lucy is nowhere to be found. The Reverend Mother informs the Brown family and Paddington that Aunt Lucy has gone missing, presumably embarking on a mysterious quest she had been obsessed with — searching for something. One evening, the nuns discovered that Aunt Lucy had simply vanished.

The Reverend Mother explains that they sent out a search party, but all they found were Aunt Lucy’s bracelet and her broken eyeglasses, washed up by the river. Paddington grows worried, fearing something terrible might have happened to her. He insists that Aunt Lucy would never have taken off her bracelet.

Paddington is determined to find Aunt Lucy, even though he has no idea where to begin. While searching her cabin, he discovers a map tucked behind a photo frame. He deduces that Aunt Lucy must have gone to a place called Rumi Rock, located deep in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, a few days upriver from the Home for Retired Bears.

Paddington brings the map to the Reverend Mother, who explains that Rumi Rock is a sacred Inca stone circle. Henry suggests that someone local with more experience should lead the search for Aunt Lucy, rather than them venturing blindly into the dangerous and unfamiliar jungle. However, the Reverend Mother insists that neither she nor her nuns will enter the jungle, as she finds it deeply unsettling. Before they set off on the rescue mission, the Reverend Mother gives Mary a Saint Christopher pendant necklace, saying it will keep her family safe.

Paddington spots a river tour boat called Leon de Oro at the local market and approaches Captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) to ask if his boat is for hire. Hunter calls over his teenage daughter Gina (Carla Tous), who begins listing their tour services – pink dolphin sightseeing, Inca ruins, piranha feeding. But when Paddington mentions wanting to go to Rumi Rock, Gina quickly cuts him off, insisting they don’t offer tours there.

Hunter looks frustrated and tells Gina they could make an exception, but she firmly objects. Paddington explains that the Browns aren’t just ordinary tourists – this is an emergency because his Aunt Lucy is missing. After his heartfelt plea, the Cabots reluctantly agree to take them to Rumi Rock.

During the trip, Hunter is haunted by visions of his ancestors demanding he complete their mission. The film later reveals that Hunter comes from a long line of treasure hunters obsessed with finding the lost city of El Dorado. Each generation bears the family crest tattoo – the fist of gold – and each died during their relentless quest for the mythical golden city.

During dinner, Hunter tells the Browns about a local legend – that Rumi Rock is the first step to finding El Dorado, the mythical lost city. He explains that when Spanish invaders came and plundered Peru’s treasures, they never found the gold that the Incas valued above all else. According to the tales, the Incas entrusted their precious gold to Los Espiritus del Bosque – the spirits of the jungle – who promised to keep it hidden in the forest forever.

El Dorado is a mythical city of gold, supposedly located in South America, which has captivated explorers and adventurers for centuries. The legend of El Dorado originated from the story of a king who would cover himself in gold dust and dive into a sacred lake as part of a ritual. This story was first recorded by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century and is believed to have been inspired by the Muisca people, skilled goldsmiths who lived in what is now Colombia. Over time, the term “El Dorado” has come to symbolize any place of great wealth or opportunity, often used metaphorically to describe a highly desirable destination or situation. Despite numerous expeditions to find the fabled city, its existence remains a myth, and it continues to inspire imagination and adventure.

Henry voices his skepticism about El Dorado, wondering how such a fabled city could remain undiscovered if it truly exists. Hunter explains that entering El Dorado requires a special Incan bracelet believed to contain clues to the city’s location.

When Hunter notices the bracelet Paddington is wearing – Aunt Lucy’s bracelet – he realizes it matches exactly with the legendary bracelet depicted in his book. He asks to borrow it for a few hours, hoping to translate the Quipu, an ancient Incan knot language used for secret messages hidden in riddles, which might reveal Aunt Lucy’s whereabouts.

Quipu is an ancient system of communication and record-keeping used by various cultures in the central Andes, most notably the Inca Empire. The term “Quipu” comes from the Quechua word for “knot,” reflecting its core component: knotted strings. These strings, often made from cotton or camelid fibers like llama hair, were used to convey a wide range of information, including numerical data, historical events, and possibly narrative stories. Quipus were used extensively during the Inca Empire period (1438–1533) but declined after the Spanish conquest, as European writing systems were introduced. Today, quipus remain an important part of Andean cultural heritage and continue to be studied for their unique contribution to pre-Columbian communication systems.

While trying to translate the Quipu, Hunter becomes increasingly haunted by his ancestors’ ghosts. The film later reveals that Hunter had once sworn off treasure hunting after barely surviving his last expedition, choosing instead to spend his remaining years with his only daughter. But now, the obsession returns.

He tricks Gina into leaving the boat so he can pursue the city of gold without her. In an ironic twist, Hunter accidentally falls overboard. The now-unmanned boat crashes into rocks, suffering significant damage. The Browns have no choice but to abandon ship, swimming to shore and continuing their journey through the Peruvian Amazon jungle on foot.

Directed by British filmmaker Dougal Wilson in his directorial debut, PADDiNGTON IN PERU features an original screenplay by Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont. Inspired by English author Michael Bond’s beloved Paddington stories, the film serves as a continuation of PADDiNGTON 2 and is the third installment in the PADDiNGTON film series.

While PADDiNGTON IN PERU is entertaining to watch, the narrative isn’t quite as intriguing as the first two installments, which featured a polite talking bear traveling from the deep Peruvian jungle to London to live with the Brown family. The idea of witnessing a wild bear in the city interacting with humans was both exciting and delightful. The third installment takes Paddington Brown, now an official British citizen, back to the Peruvian Amazonia jungle, feels less interesting despite having some comedic moments and suspense thriller elements.

PADDiNGTON IN PERU lacks the magical spark that made its two previous installments so beloved and memorable. I believe PADDiNGTON 2 is arguably one of the best movies ever made. Something is missing from PADDiNGTON IN PERU, and it’s never going to be the same or better without the original director Paul King and Sally Hawkins’s portrayal of Mary Brown.

At times it feels like we should question whether we really needed a third installment, or if the studio just wanted to make another PADDiNGTON film to sell a trilogy edition package. In this third film, the origin of Paddington (which was supposed to be a mystery) is revealed to be from the mythical city of El Dorado.

The El Dorado storyline feels tired and unoriginal – we’ve seen it countless times before, notably in the Indiana Jones franchise. By shifting into treasure hunting territory, PADDiNGTON loses its unique charm without offering anything fresh in return. The film even borrows iconic scenes directly from other movies: the rolling boulder sequence is straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, while the collapsing gate moment simply recreates the famous house collapse from the 1928 classic Steamboat Bill, Jr.

The biggest surprise in the film isn’t the revelation that El Dorado’s real treasure is actually orange, but rather seeing Hugh Grant return as Phoenix Buchanan. That unexpected cameo alone bumped up my rating by half a star.

PADDiNGTON IN PERU was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 8 November 2024, by StudioCanal.