The Paddington films are the equivalent of a delicious marmalade sandwich: zesty, nourishing and all-round feel-good experiences. Upcoming threequel Paddington in Peru takes the eponymous bear back to his roots in South America, and he's taking his hapless surrogate family the Browns along for the ride.
Director Paul King has been swapped out for Dougal Wilson, but we expect the magic to be preserved. Ben Whishaw returns to voice Paddington, while Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman join the cast.
Need a recap on the story so far? We're here to bring you up to speed on the events of the irresistibly charming Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017).
Who is Paddington and where does he come from?
- A British explorer trekking through the heart of Peru discovers two marmalade-loving bears, Lucy (Imelda Staunton) and Pastuzo (Michael Gambon), who are capable of human speech
- The explorer gives them his hat when he leaves, which eventually passes to Lucy and Pastuzo's nephew Paddington (Ben Whishaw)
- When Pastuzo dies, Lucy encourages Paddington to travel to London while she prepares to move into Home for Retired Bears
Who are the Browns and how did they meet Paddington?
- Paddington arrives in London from Peru and finds himself lost and alone at Paddington Station
- He meets Mr. Henry and Mrs. Mary Brown (Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins) and their children Judy and Jonathan
- The kindly Mrs. Brown volunteers to take Paddington into their home until the hapless bear finds his feet
- Mr. Brown is an uptight insurance claims analyst who deducts that the risk of taking Paddington into his home is too much; nevertheless, he relents
- When Paddington moves in he becomes an object of suspicion in the eyes of local busybody Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi)
What was Paddington's connection to the Geographer's Guild?
- Paddington's hat is marked with the seal of the Geographer's Guild
- Wanting to know more about his origins, Paddington takes Mr. Brown to the guild where they learn about an explorer named Montgomery Clyde
- Clyde travelled to Peru on a mysterious expedition but the Guild has erased all records of the trip
Who is Millicent and why does she want Paddington for herself?
- Millicent (Nicole Kidman) is a taxidermist at London's Natural History Museum
- Millicent's father was Montgomery Clyde whom she resented for not bringing a Peruvian bear home as a specimen
- She therefore wants to kidnap and stuff Paddington out of spite, ready to receive the plaything she was denied as a youngster
- The Browns ultimately succeed in saving Paddington from Millicent's clutches and adopt him as their own
Who is Phoenix Buchanan and what is his connection to Paddington?
- At the start of Paddington 2, Paddington is looking to purchase a bespoke, priceless pop-up-book for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday
- Paddington finds the book at the antique story of the kindly Mr. Gruber (Jim Broadbent)
- Gruber's shop is later burgled and the book stolen, the culprit being preening actor Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant)
- Once a renowned thespian, Buchanan has fallen on hard times and has resorted to doing dog food adverts
- Buchanan believes the pop-up book contains clues to the location of an invaluable treasure, and utilises the many disguises in his attic to make his way around London incognito in pursuit of the loot
How did Paddington end up in jail?
- Paddington is framed as the chief suspect in the theft of the book even though Mr. Gruber testifies in court that he didn't do it
- Given the lack of witnesses, Paddington is sentenced to 10 years in jail
- He then wins over the rest of the inmates via his affinity for marmalade sandwiches, including the fearsome and intimidating cook Knuckles McGinty (Brendan Gleeson)
- The Browns continue to protest Paddington's innocence, becoming increasingly convinced that Buchanan is the culprit
How did Paddington and the Browns defeat Phoenix Buchanan?
- Mary and Henry Brown search for the stolen book inside Buchanan's house where they discover his stash of secret disguises
- Paddington, Knuckles and two of Knuckles' associates perform a daring jail-break
- Paddington is later abandoned by Knuckles and he reunites with the Browns to stop Buchanan before his discovers the treasure
- They arrange to meet at Paddington station, where a carnival train carrying the hidden fortune is due to leave
- Once the train is moving Paddington and the Browns engage in a struggle with Buchanan who has discovered the loot inside the train's caboose
- With Buchanan subdued, Paddington and the remaining train car plunge into a river where he's eventually rescued by ace swimmer Mary
How are Paddington and Aunt Lucy reconciled?
- Once Paddington is nursed back to health and exonerated, he walks downstairs into the Browns' home where he's greeted in a spirit of solidarity by the loving and empathetic neighbours
- He opens the front door where is he greeted by Aunt Lucy, newly arrived from Peru on her birthday
- Knuckles opens a successful sandwich shop and Buchanan puts his theatrical skills to good use when he's behind bars, staging an all-singing, all-dancing routine of Stephen Sondheim's 'Rain on the Roof'
Paddington in Peru arrives at Cineworld on November 8th. You can book your tickets below.
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