The director of the previous two films, Paul King, decided not to direct this installment
Tale
Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved aunt Lucy, who now lives in the Retired Bears Home. With the Brown family by his side, a thrilling adventure begins as a mystery sends them on an unexpected journey. However, he was the one who came up with the idea for this third film and was brought on board as an executive producer.
The Paddington we never needed
Follow Paddington (2014). My son was 7 when Paddington 2 came out and it is one of my all-time favorite films. So the 7-year wait for the third installment raised hopes that Paddington in Peru might be as good as the first two films.
It is not
The kids are young adults now and there is very little dialogue. Jokes about main characters like Mrs. Bird are virtually non-existent.
The legacy of the series would have been better served by omitting or simply dropping Mary Brown from this adventure
Sally Hawkins brought such a charming quirk to the character of Mary Brown that, no matter what the franchise says, she was truly irreplaceable. The slapstick brilliance of the second film is all but gone, or its recreation is repeated, but not as well. I may be alone in this, but I actually wanted to see a bit of Paddington’s relationship with his Aunt Lucy and that’s not delivered either.
Also bring back Sally Hawkins for Paddington 4 and then end the series
Bandera and Gina’s character don’t work either, though I don’t think it’s because of the actors. I was relieved to see “and Phoenix Buchanan as Phoenix Buchanan” in the credits. The shift from brilliantly charming and funny to Paddington in Peru is a real shame.