In this sequel, the world's most beloved bear goes back to his roots in Peru. Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is still living happily with the Brown family, Henry (Hugh Bonneville), Mary (Emily Mortimer), Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), in Windsor Gardens. When he receives a letter from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman), the blithe guitar strumming nun who runs the Home for Retired Bears, informing Paddington that Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) misses him dearly, he knows he simply must visit her as soon as possible. With his shiny new British passport in hand, Paddington is joined by the Browns, including the ever-resourceful Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters), on an epic journey that none of them will ever forget. Along the way the group meet new friends, including the dashing riverboat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous). They join them on their thrilling escapades through the Amazon rainforest and up to the stunning mountain peaks of Peru, together they encounter unexpected challenges, and Paddington begins to uncover surprising secrets about the past. Throughout the ups and downs, his unwavering optimism and kindness shine brightly in this brand new Paddington cinematic adventure that reinforces the importance of family, and the joy of embracing one's heritage.
Others to round out the cast are Hayley Atwell as Madison, Jim Broadbent as Mr. Gruber, Amit Shah as Zayden, Jessica Hynes as Miss Kitts, Ben Miller as Colonel Lancaster, Robbie Gee as Mr. Barnes and Sanjeev Bhaskar as Dr. Jafri.
This was whimsically and charmingly directed by newcomer to feature films, Dougal Wilson (shorts, music videos and videos). Considering his limited experience, this filmmaker was able to pull off these characters and give its audience that similar feel how these characters were developed that coincided with its sequels. This is not an easy task. His other work obviously served him well. What really gave this film that direct familiarity was that it being written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont and being based on a screen story by Paul King, Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton, which is based on "Paddington Bear" by Michael Bond, is that several of these writers are directly connected with their predecessors in one way or another. So we, the audience, felt very much at home with this continued story of Paddington's adventures. With the exception of one very small area of slowness which wasn't enough to take away any of the story, this script was spot on and was a joy to watch. Also, the visual effects predominantly designed by Framestore were seamless and the photography, production design, editing, and musical score were elements that simply connected all aspects of the production. The ensemble cast with Ben Whishaw continuing to voice Paddington was believable as it was supportive. Banderas' Captain Hunter was a hoot and the more he hammed it up, the better it was.
Certainly if you liked the predecessors of this film, you'll revel with this as well. It has it all: adventure, thrills, humor, charm, and completely heartwarming, all rolled up in a story for the whole family. At the end, it looks like there may be yet another sequel in the works, but who knows? It is presented in an IMAX format as well for your liking. Why can't we see more films like these that are so entertaining?
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG 106mins.
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