Paddington in Peru (2024)

We’re two weeks in, and this isn’t going to be my favourite film of the year. It was noticeably different to the two previous entries in the franchise and that’s very likely down to the changes in the writing team.

I think the reason that this film didn’t work as well as the previous films is because it lost too much realism. Paddington is an absurd concept, and the world within the film has always been an absurd world, but the only ridiculous thing is the talking bear. But this film added a bunch of magical elements and took the absurdity a step further, and suddenly this isn’t a charming world where a marmalade-loving bear from deepest darkest peru ends up in london, it’s just another fantasy film.

Although the film isn’t bad, it’s not as compelling as the first and second films. It’s probably best to stick to them if you want the best of Paddington.