In a world of sequels, prequels and spinoffs, the “Paddington” franchise is doing something right.
The third installment in the franchise, “Paddington in Peru,” was released in theaters on Feb. 14 and early reviews of the movie are mostly positive — a rare happening for a threequel.
In the third movie, Paddington Bear’s (Ben Whishaw) beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) goes missing from her care home and he embarks on a journey through Peru to track her down, which “moves its star into the action-adventure genre,” per The New York Times.
Previous Paddington movies, “Paddington” and “Paddington 2,” set remarkably high expectations. The first film has a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the second boasts a 99% critic score.
“Paddington in Peru” trails slightly behind its predecessors with a 94% critic score — but critics are saying it’s still a worthy watch.
“Well, the bad news is that Paddington in Peru isn’t as good as Paddington 2. The good news is that Wilson has made an entertaining and endearing yarn that is worth 106 minutes of your time,” wrote the U.K. newspaper The Times.
The Seattle Times warned moviegoers the threequel “doesn’t quite reach the levels of lovable lunacy reached by ‘Paddington 2,‘” but assured, “it’s a joy all the same.”
Here is what critics are saying about “Paddington in Peru.”
Critics' reviews of ‘Paddington in Peru’
- “It’s the windy, offbeat, hairpin-turn detours that Paddington in Peru takes on the way to them that makes this threequel such a dopamine overdose. A few up-the-sleeve aces help, of course,” praised Rolling Stone.
- “Though the third round can’t top the magic of the first two Paddingtons, it’s still an exuberant gift of family fun that takes our bear home to Peru for new adventures and a tangle with a sinister singing nun played to the hilarious hilt by Olivia Colman,” wrote ABC News.
- “If ‘Paddington’ hinges on blundering and ‘Paddington 2′ on relentless civility, the third stages a more personal journey of self discovery,” reviewed The New York Times. “But the experience is still a worthy one for our furry leading man.”
- “The new film has some heart, but it’s buried beneath a lot of hackneyed writing and tedious padding. Like, a ton of padding. A padding ton,” The Wrap wrote in a more critical review of the movie.
- “‘Paddington in Peru’ is, as any Paddington adventure should be, fast and buoyant and disarmingly sunny in a way that viewers who weren’t alive — or at least of cinemagoing age — for the 2017 release of ‘Paddington 2′ will lap up,” per Variety.
- “Paddington’s charms remain as potent as ever,” lauded the Sydney Morning Herald.
- “The Paddington series goes ‘Raiders of The Lost Bear,’ swapping Primrose Hill for the savage jungles of Peru,” Empire Magazine said. “It’s a decent threequel, though a little of the enchantment has been lost in transit.”
- “Like the others, this latest entry in the Paddington saga is visually enchanting, charmingly funny, surprisingly wise, and genuinely heartwarming,” applauded Movie Mom. “I admit I teared up near the end.”
- “It’s still the trilogy’s second-best entry — and that’s no back-pawed compliment," wrote The Washington Post.