The Paddington In Peru Trailer Gives Paddington An Indiana Jones-Style Adventure
There's no such thing as a "perfect" movie, but "Paddington 2" comes pretty darn close. Writer/director Paul King's sequel to his original, itself a damn fine film too, was the best reviewed movie of all time on Rotten Tomatoes for a while, right up until someone who may or may not be the Brown family's boot-licking, prejudiced neighbor Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi) in disguise decided to change that. Since there's no use wasting a hard stare on them, let's turn our attention to what's on the horizon — namely, "Paddington in Peru," the third entry in the live-action film series inspired by Michael Bond's cherished literary character.
Since King was preoccupied with last year's "Wonka" movie musical (finally dealing with that itch he started to scratch with the enchanting mid-credits jailhouse song-and-dance number from "Paddington 2"), directing duties on "Paddington in Peru" fell to seasoned music video helmer Dougal Wilson in his feature debut. However, King and his writing partner Simon Farnaby are still credited for penning the movie's story with longtime Aardman Animations scribe Mark Burton (who also wrote "additional material" for "Paddington 2"), with Burton and Jon Foster and James Lamont — creators of the animated "Adventures of Paddington" series — handling the script. Will they stick the landing and give us that all-too-rare specimen that is a great trilogy capper? We won't know the answer for a minute, but in the meantime you can watch the new "Paddington in Peru" trailer seen above.
Paddington and the Browns set off on a jungle cruise
They say you can never go home, but nobody told that to our dear Paddington. After some classic Paddington slapstick involving his bumbling attempts to take a photo for his passport, the "Paddington in Peru" trailer sees our furry hero (a marmalade sandwich tucked beneath his red hat as always, just in case of an emergency) and the Brown family heading off on a trip to Paddington's South American homeland to visit his dear Aunt Lucy ... only for them to discover that the formerly retired bear is off on an adventure of her own, prompting them to venture out in search of her. What ensues has the makings of a much better "Jungle Cruise" movie than the actual one we got back in 2021, complete with Olivia Colman as a joyful, musically-inclined nun who helps them on their quest. Also, does Antonio Banderas just play dashing, seasoned boat captains now? I'm not complaining, but between his role here as "Hunter Cabot" and his turn in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," he seems to have found himself a most unexpected new niche.
Paddington himself is once again voiced by the inimitable Ben Whishaw in "Paddington in Peru," with Hugh Bonneville, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, and Julie Walters all back as the members of the Brown clan and Mrs. Bird, respectively, albeit with Emily Mortimer taking over as Mary Brown from Sally Hawkins. Per usual, all you stickin' lucky Brits across the pond will get to see Paddington's latest big screen outing a few months before the rest of us, with the film slated to hit the UK later this year before opening in the U.S. on January 17, 2025.