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‘Paddington in Peru’ Review: A Diverting Threequel Sets a National Treasure on a Treasure Hunt
The third outing for the well-mannered ursine hero, 'Paddington in Peru' is pleasant kids' fare, but lacks the anarchic sparkle of its predecessors.
The setup is swift, with a prologue detailing how the young, unclothed Paddington (voiced, once again, with winningly nervous cheeriness by Ben Whishaw), in clumsy pursuit of a perfectly ripe orange, got separated from his Peruvian rainforest tribe, and swept via fast currents and waterfalls into the rescuing arms of his adoptive Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton). The comedy, however, stays mostly back at base camp with Colman, a hoot whether twirling, Von Trapp-style, with a guitar in hand during the film’s single musical number, or deflecting the queries of the Browns’ housekeeper (Julie Walters) with a blithe, unprompted insistence that her operation is “not at all suspicious.” A protracted hilltop climax juggles familiar slapstick tropes — the failsafe juvenile laugh-getter of a man getting whacked in the groin — and obstacles from a vintage era of adventure matinees, ahead of a marmalade-sticky emotional resolution that reminds us (of course) that home is both movable and where the heart is.
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