A few years ago, Paddington was just an orphaned bear living in the jungle of Peru. He was rescued by Aunt Lucy, who taught him manners and how to speak like a human. Then, when she was no longer able to care for him, Lucy sent Paddington to England, hoping he would find a family to care for him there.
Paddington did find a family, the Browns. They’ve had quite their share of adventures since adopting Paddington, dodging a mad taxidermist and rescuing Paddington from wrongful imprisonment. But through it all, the Brown family, including Paddington, has only grown closer.
But lately, it hasn’t really felt that way.
Mr. Brown, ever the risk-assessor, has a new boss forcing him to throw caution to the wind. Son Jonathan sequesters himself in his room, using his inventions to enable his lazy lifestyle. Daughter Judy is applying for university, hoping to move out on her own. And Mrs. Brown is missing the times when her whole family could fit on a single couch, loving and laughing together.
So, when Paddington receives a letter informing him that Aunt Lucy has gone missing, Mrs. Brown announces that the whole family will help him find her. It’s the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together, she reasons.
When they arrive in Peru, Paddington learns Aunt Lucy was searching for an ancient Incan monument called Rumi Rock. Rumor has it that Rumi Rock is the first step toward finding the legendary (and lost) city of El Dorado.
The Browns hire a local riverboat to guide them to Rumi Rock, captained by Hunter Cabot and his daughter, Gina. Unfortunately, they soon learn that Hunter has his own history with the Incan monument. For centuries, his family has obsessed over the rumored gold located in El Dorado.
And Hunter will do just about anything—including abandoning his daughter and kidnapping Paddington—to get his hands on the gold.
Paddington loves being a part of the Brown family and his new status as a British citizen. However, after learning that Aunt Lucy is missing, he begins to wonder if perhaps he has abandoned his roots in Peru. His journey to find Lucy helps him to discover things he never knew about his past. However, he learns that it’s OK to have these mixed feelings. He can respect his history in Peru while still embracing his present and future in England.
Paddington is also undoubtedly one of the most polite bears you’ll ever meet—even to folks who are none too kind to him. He always tries to do the right thing. He’s loyal, brave, kind, gentle and never cross. In fact, even when Paddington levels Hunter Cabot with a “hard stare,” it’s only for the man’s own benefit, to help him realize he’s done wrong.
And speaking of Hunter, he’s not nearly so terrible as he seems. True, his obsession with finding the lost gold of El Dorado causes a bit of a rift between him and his daughter, Gina. (With good reason, since he abandoned her for 13 years while searching for the gold.) However, when push comes to shove, Hunter puts his daughter first.
The Cabots aren’t the only family with a nice little redemption arc though. The members of Paddington’s adoptive family, the Browns, start the film further apart than ever. Not because of any rifts, mind you, but rather because life sometimes just has a way of pulling families apart. Parents get new jobs; children grow up and move out. But journeying to Peru strengthens their familial bond. And they prove just how far they’re willing to go—how much they’re willing to sacrifice—to demonstrate their love and devotion for each other.
Each member of the Brown family also learns how to conquer new challenges and fears.
Aunt Lucy lives at a home for retired bears, which is run by a convent of nuns. The nuns wear habits and long robes. The Reverend Mother wears a cross necklace and carries a rosary. She gives Mrs. Brown a medallion of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travel, for their journey through the jungle. Mrs. Brown later prays for a miracle while holding the necklace.
Some people cross themselves in prayer. We hear some praise-filled exclamations, such as “Hallelujah!” and “The Lord be praised!” Someone jokes about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from Revelation. We hear that a plane has a papal blessing.
The Reverend Mother tells someone that “the Lord works in suspicious ways.” The person she’s talking to tries to correct her, stating that the phrase is “mysterious,” not “suspicious.” And the Reverend Mother says this person knows her Scripture. (It should be noted, however, that this phrase is never used in the Bible.)
We eventually learn that one nun isn’t a nun at all: She’s a crook in disguise. (Someone calls her behavior “unchristian” before learning this fact.) However, as Paddington later informs us, the Church decides to forgive her, provided she becomes a real nun and serves in another bear retirement home as penance.
Paddington imagines that he sees a bear statue roaring. He later admits he’s been dreaming of that same statue, but it’s not mystical. Rather, it’s the result of long-forgotten memories from before he was rescued by Aunt Lucy.
Gina tells the Brown family that her own family is cursed with “gold madness,” which is why her father is obsessed with El Dorado. She says Hunter sees the ghosts of their ancestors, and we indeed see this is true. It appears that at least one of these ghosts may be corporeal since he smacks Hunter around. One of her ancestors was also a priest who led his flock to doom in search for the gold.
Rumi Rock is called a “sacred” Incan monument. Paintings depict monsters attacking nuns near the monument. But we later see these aren’t monsters at all but rather bears in disguise.
There are a few jokes about how handsome Mrs. Brown finds Hunter Cabot. Hunter lifts his shirt to show the Browns a tattoo on his belly. We don’t see his stomach, but Mrs. Brown covers Paddington’s eyes. A sleeping Mr. Brown mistakenly believes his wife is kissing him when an anteater licks ants off his face.
For a bear that isn’t trying to cause any mischief, Paddington finds himself in peril quite a bit more often than one would expect. He and the Browns find themselves careening down a river in a boat with no one at the helm. Paddington is held over the edge of a cliff by a madman (though he’s saved from a long drop by his trusty umbrella). He and Hunter sprint down a hill away from a falling boulder. A tree branch snaps, sending Paddington off a cliff and into the river below. Etc. But the bear is never injured in any of these hijinks.
A woman holds several characters at gunpoint, but before she can fire the weapon, she’s hit in the head with a wooden beam. (She’s rendered unconscious but otherwise unharmed.) Hunter is similarly knocked off his boat when a swinging beam hits him in the face.
We hear that everyone who searches for El Dorado dies. and Paddington bravely declares that they can’t allow that fate to befall poor Aunt Lucy. Mrs. Brown charges into bushes armed with a twig when she believes her family is in danger. Offscreen, she strikes the assailant in the head only to learn it’s Gina, who meant no harm.
Flashbacks show us how Gina’s ancestors all met their ends while searching for El Dorado. One was a conquistador who drove himself and his soldiers to exhaustion. Another accidentally blew himself up with dynamite. One was attacked by a tiger, another died in a plane crash. And one fell victim to quicksand.
The ghosts that haunt Hunter tell him he should kill and eat Paddington. A woman attempts to kill Aunt Lucy by putting her in a boat on a river called “El Diablo” (translated as “the Devil”) without her glasses, without which Lucy cannot see. We hear that Paddington was orphaned at a young age.
A boat capsizes on a river. A plane crashes elsewhere, though no passengers are hurt. When they get lost, Judy Brown morbidly wonders how long it will be until her family resorts to cannibalism.
A man conquers his fear of a deadly purple tarantula. But rather than crush the large spider beneath a book (which context suggests he was considering), he chooses to simply move it aside and later returns the ominous arachnid to its home. Paddington purposely trips Hunter after the man attempts to kill him, but he apologizes for his actions. When a piranha bites Paddington on the nose, he simply pulls the creature off and tosses it back into the river.
When a woman says, “What in God’s name,” she’s scolded by a nun for her language. Twice, people earnestly exclaim, “Thank God!” Someone calls bears “mangy fur bags,” which Paddington finds rude.
Several characters, including Paddington, drink a purple liquid from glass goblets. Some might mistake it for wine, but according to a Plugged In reader, it’s actually a non-alcoholic drink called Chicha Morada. A globe opens up to reveal champagne inside. Hunter hides barware and alcohol among his boat’s emergency supplies.
Characters sometimes lie. Paddington accidentally breaks a photo booth, releasing all the coins paid by previous users.
Jonathan Brown isn’t the most hygienic teen, repeatedly using a body spray in lieu of bathing. And we see him spray a pair of underpants while packing for a trip.
There’s a lot to love about Paddington. He’s kind to everyone he meets, even those trying to do him harm. He’s exceedingly polite, never forgetting his manners. And he’s about the most loyal, loving bear a family could hope for.
In Paddington in Peru, Paddington, who has been adopted by the Brown family, learns some nice ways to honor his Peruvian origins while still fully embracing his new British citizenship and identity. And his trek into the jungle reminds him all the more just how much he loves the Browns—and how much they love him, too.
We also witness a man’s transformation as he learns that his treasure isn’t the gold he’s sought all his life but rather his precious daughter instead.
Families with young or sensitive children should be aware of some mildly perilous moments, though nobody is injured in this film beyond a few scrapes and bruises. A woman poses as a nun for most of the film, though she’s held accountable for her actions. Mystical elements are mostly revealed to not be mystical at all, but it seems a man is genuinely haunted by some ghosts (or at least he thinks he is). And there are a couple of misuses of God’s name.
Those small caveats are largely navigable for most families. And even the cautious Mr. Brown would likely consider Paddington in Peru to be a risk worth taking.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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