The first reviews for Paddington in Peru are calling it a step down from the first two movies.
While Paddington in Peru doesn’t hit United States theaters until this coming January, the film is being released in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2024, from StudioCanal UK. The third film in the Paddington franchise is directed by Dougal Wilson, while Paul King, who directed the first two movies, has a story credit.
The first reviews for Paddington 3 have now been unveiled and the majority of critics seem to think that it’s not quite as good as 2014’s Paddington or 2017’s Paddington 2.
What are critics saying about Paddington in Peru?
The Hollywood Reporter’s Leslie Felperin noted that, while “the sequel is certainly no disgrace” and has “many charming elements and quality,” it also “lacks the absurdist wit and decidedly dark edge that elevated the first two Paddington movies.”
IndieWire’s David Ehrlich said he “can’t be too upset that Dougal Wilson’s Paddington in Peru is a pale imitation of its predecessors, to the extent that Paddington 3 makes Paddington 1 look like Paddington 2.” He further noted, “Scribes Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont do a valiant job of squeezing some extra jam out of the formula that King and co. left behind, but it can be hard to stomach the taste of old marmalade in a movie so eager to celebrate what really preserves.”
Variety’s Guy Lodge called Paddington in Peru “more conventional kids’ entertainment” when comparing it to the first two movies, as the new movie features a more “contrived quest narrative that lands the franchise further than ever from the modest, homey spirit of Michael Bond’s original books.”
BBC’s Nicholas Barber expressed similar feelings, saying that Paddington in Peru is “trying its hardest to replicate the blissful magic that Paddington 2 seemed to conjure up so effortlessly.”
Paddington in Peru will be released in United States theaters on January 17, 2025, from Columbia Pictures.
