Missing Hugh Grant in Paddington 3? Don’t worry — his successors understood the assignment

The Paddington movies are full of whimsical joy because of the polite and wonderful bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) at their center — and also because of the absolutely over-the-top villains who scheme against him. Yes, audiences went gaga for Hugh Grant as pompous fading actor Phoenix Buchanan in 2017’s Paddington 2, but Nicole Kidman as a cutthroat taxidermist in the original 2014 Paddington movie was just as bombastically evil. And the third installment of the Paddington movie universe, Paddington in Peru, adds another campy villain to the canon — with a fun twist. [Ed. note: This post contains some setup spoilers for Paddington in Peru.] [Image: (L-R) Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Paddington, Emily Mortimer, Hugh Bonneville, and Julie Walters in PADDINGTON IN PERU. https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/4096x1716-126_SE1_2000x838_thumbnail.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Helmed by Dougal Wilson — taking over from Paul King, who directed the first two installments — Paddington in Peru picks up a couple of years after Paddington 2. In the years since, there’ve been many changes for the sweet bear’s adoptive family, the Browns. Those include an actor swap for family mother Mary Brown, from Sally Hawkins to Emily Mortimer, as well as a focus on the kids growing older, and their parents grappling with them preparing to leave the nest. But when Paddington gets a whiff that something might be up with his beloved Aunt Lucy (a bear voiced by Imelda Staunton), the Brown family decides to take a family vacation to Peru. First, they just mean to cheer up Aunt Lucy. But when they arrive at the Home for Retired Bears, where she lives, they learn she’s gone missing. While there, they encounter the suspiciously cheerful Reverend Mother (The Favourite Oscar winner and Wicked Little Letters co-star Olivia Colman), who runs the home, and the broodingly handsome Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), who captains the river boat that the Browns hire to explore the Amazon as they set out to find Lucy. In true Paddington movie fashion, both of these comically exaggerated personalities spark suspicions and suggest villainy. However, what makes Paddington in Peru particularly fun is that there are reasons to doubt both of them and wonder which one is really the villain. Sure, Hunter is talking to ghosts in his head about his insatiable desire for gold, and about how he’ll stop at nothing to make his conquistador ancestors proud. But what the heck is up with the Reverend Mother and her mysterious secret room? [Image: https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/ebbc0448-7398-4529-8bde-5878102a3ef6_2000x838_thumbnail.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Paddington in Peru smashes an archaeological adventure into a family escapade, because apparently, Paddington has a clue that’s vital to finding the lost city of El Dorado. Sure! Stranger things have happened in the Paddington world, to be totally honest. And a proper Paddington take on a well-trodden genre is as scrumptious as a marmalade sandwich. It’s also amusing to see the Brown family out of its London comfort zone — some of the movie’s best jokes come from the juxtaposition of their sedentary urban lifestyle against the calamity that comes with a jungle adventure gone wrong. Still, the dueling maybe-villains provide the most gags. Banderas and Colman both have amazing comedic timing, and know how to fully sell their characters’ exaggerated screen personalities. Colman in particular does a smashing job of keeping the same unnerving smile plastered on her face the entire time. For instance, she gently tells the Browns’ housekeeper Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters) that she does in fact have a secret room behind a pipe organ, but no, she cannot possibly tell Mrs. Bird what is behind it — because it’s a secret. All while smiling without a break. [Image: Oliva Coleman https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/190197ab-3af8-4ce4-90a3-86f67c92b45a_2000x838_thumbnail.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Since there are few characters outside Reverend Mother, Hunter Cabot, and the Brown family, there’s not as much room for the signature Paddington sweetness, wherein the adorable bear can melt the heart of even the toughest thug in prison with his big brown eyes and unflappably polite manners. But what Paddington in Peru lacks in that department, it makes up for with humor, with some of the funniest moments in the franchise. Unlike the previous Paddington movies, where it’s pretty clear from the get-go who the Big Bad is (even if Paddington and his family don’t realize it until long after the audience does), Wilson doesn’t reveal the real villain until the movie’s final act. That isn’t simply a lazy gotcha plot twist, or a move meant to obscure anyone’s true motives; it just means we get two hilarious antagonists for the price of one, going back and forth on who’s more villainous. Their grandiose performances, coupled with the general fish-out-of-water hijinks of the buttoned-up Brown family exploring the jungle, and the sheer hilarity of a setting where “Home for Retired Bears” is a real thing no one questions, packs Paddington in Peru full of giggles. While it doesn’t hit as emotionally hard as the other movies, it’s still a beary good time with its cackling, cartoony villains. Paddington in Peru is out in theaters on Feb. 14.