Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

This week at The Tryon Theater, we have “Paddington in Peru” (Wilson 2025), the third installment in the  adaptations of the celebrated book character created by author Michael Bond in 1958. 

Paddington is a talking bear, hailing from Peru, who arrives in England wearing a trademark raincoat and bucket hat. However, as iconic as his outfit may be, or his obsessive love of marmalade, the most defining quality of Paddington is the indelible brightness of his personality. Paddington brings all the usual appeal of an anthropomorphized animal character, cuddly and cute, but transcends those aesthetics with a spirit of charity and curiosity that elevates his adventures into philosophical territory. 

Paddington’s model for behavior is one of kindness, joy, and politeness, an admirable outlook on existence. 

The cinematic adaptation of Paddington is performed with digital animation, bringing the beloved talking bear to life opposite real actors. The first two films in this series received high acclaim for their charm and warmth, successfully channeling the same emotional appeal of the source material. This third film shares its predecessor’s success with a purity of spirit that transcends generations. Children and adults alike have wisdom to gain from the generosity of Paddington’s heart, and the jubilance of his curiosity is irresistibly endearing. The comedy of the Paddington films is predominantly slapstick, derived from his near constant bumbling errors and accidents, all positive intentions and poor execution. This style of comedy is largely kindhearted, Keaton and Chaplin-esque in nature. This allows for the films to be palatable for most all ages, uncomplicated in message and presentation.  

Arguably the most effective quality in translating Paddington to screen was capturing “soul” of the character in the voice, of replicating the right sound that every reader registered in their head when reading the character’s written words. Actor Ben Wishaw provides Paddington’s vocals and does a tremendous job of making Paddington feel authentic, every inch the polite and positively charming character that has captured the hearts of audiences for decades. Wishaw’s performance goes beyond a simple voice; he builds a rounded and fully developed individual, with all of Paddington’s animal sounds, snorts of laughter, and grunts of curiosity, equally realized as his dialogue. 

This third entry in the Paddington franchise finds the titular bear on a journey to his homeland, accompanied by his adoptive family, the Browns, providing a perfect excuse for a tropical holiday. The family, as to be expected, soon encounters many comedic misadventures and one or two buffonish villains, ill bent on spoiling Paddington’s fun. 

While this film will not provoke any deep thought, nor open any eyes artistically, it is almost guaranteed to produce a smile, laughter, and a warmth of spirit that we all need in our life. We hope you all will join us soon for Paddington’s adventure-filled return home in “Paddington in Peru!”