I went with lots of my family yesterday to see Paddington in Peru, the latest Paddington film - or the third Paddington film. Overall, it was a really, really lovely day out, a really lovely family experience, but it might be swayed by the fact that our three year old sat really well in his chair, and that my Mother-in-Law paid for the tickets, and that she got the best seats I've ever sat in with loads of leg room and a perfect view. And that she had vouchers for half price popcorn. We also added M and M's to the popcorn, which I thought was just a weird thing that was on offer, but actually it was surprisingly good! We don't normally buy anything when we go to the cinema; it's always so expensive. But because we had the vouchers and my brother-in-law put M & M's on his kids' popcorn, we did the same and it was a great shout as it really was an enhancement, not just more sugar. Plus, that also meant the kids weren't nagging for treats because they got some fun popcorn.
We went to Vue in Worcester and we were in screen three, row F if you ever get a chance to sit there. Big comfy seats and a walk way in front of you so you could leave easily if you needed to and have plenty of room. The game changer for the 3 year old, I realised afterwards, was that the seats didn't tip up - they were normal chairs, rather than the traditional cinema chairs with the folding seats. Little people who want a bit of a squirm in their seat can get repeadely stuck down the back of them, but that wasn't the case here. So, 'note to self' to buy the good seats another time if I'm going with someone small.
Paddington in Peru: PG
Paddington in Peru is a PG with the warning on the screen that there is mild threat. We went with a 10 year old, 2 7 year olds, a four year old and a three year old and none of them were particularly worried. My seven year old daughter can get a bit nervous in films and she was clinging onto her dad's arm through some of it, but she still said afterwards that she didn't like it - she "loved it". The three year old really loves Paddington and whilst he said it was scary, he also watched all of it, very happily. Our 3 were all super tired that weekend so the fact that it held their attention and no one was squirming or wanting to leave is a really good testament to it.
I've read another report that suggested it's not as funny as the previous Paddington films, but I certainly found it very entertaining. In our party we were smiling or smirking or giving the odd chuckle, but there were plenty of people in the cinema who were laughing out loud at a lot of it. My 10 year old certainly did some cute giggles at some of the parts.
The only bit my children mentioned being slightly scary was a dream sequence where Paddington is dreaming about seeing his Aunt Lucy and then the background goes dar. They just found it a little bit mysterious and spooky.
Olivia Coleman and Antonio Banderas joined the cast for this third Paddington film and on the way home in the car, we were commenting how well the storyline goes together to bring them in and introduce their characters. And as you might expect both of them acted their parts brilliantly. Speaking to someone else who's seen it, they felt the story could have been more interesting and the script could have been more imaginative, but we actually felt the story came together very well. Even with a pivotal little side plot for Mrs Bird.
The use of language in the opening scenes is incredibly, incredibly English. And I don't know if that's partly just Paddington's thing, using English expressions and sayings (I'm not an aficionado enough on the previous Paddington films to remember if they are very, very English), or if it's because they're appealing to an American market, or if it is just to stress the difference between London, England and Peru.
Emily Mortimer as Mrs Brown
There's a new Mrs Brown for this film - Emily Mortimer replaces Sally Hawkins. You might know Mortimer as Auntie Jane from Mary Poppins Returns - the grown up version of Jane of 'Jane and Michael' fame. Ha! And as I write this I remember that Ben Whishaw - the voice of Paddington - of course played Michael in Mary Poppins Returns, so they're old buddies.
Mortimer was perfect in this new role, although it is slightly odd when there's a flashback to when she first meets Paddington and speaks to him and you see it from her point of view. And that reminds you how the last time we saw that exact scene it was with the other actress playing Mrs Brown. Apparently Hawkins just felt it was time to step back from the role.
Tear jerker
Myself and my sister-in-law either cried or came very close to tears. My mother-in-law found it very touching and someone else she's spoken to cried at the end. A friend I saw in the toilets afterwards said she had a good cry. So it really, really does pull on the heartstrings - of women at least. As the men in our group were really surprised to hear how emotional we all found it!
There's a strong theme of 'Flying The Nest' throughout the whole film and that's what got me right at the beginning. It starts off very much about how the Brown children are growing up and looking at universities or spending all their time in their room, with Mrs Brown pining after the times when they all used to be able to fit on the same sofa. If you've got kids, it really does make you feel like you just want to come home and cuddle up with your babies on the sofa whilst you still can (but I don't think it'd be too arduous to watch if you were watching it and didn't have kids as it's not that long a section).
So there is that really emotional theme of flying the nest, but of also family and connection. And then that also leads into a really strong theme of belonging. It talks about how it doesn't matter where in the World you're from; where you're from doesn't need to be the same as where your home is now. And that comes up throughout the film. Overall it's packed with a really warm feeling of inclusivity and love and family (blood or otherwise).
My husband felt that there was a tad too much CGI for him to be fully engrossed in it. There are plenty of scenes when they're in Peru sailing down a river where you kind of know the background isn't real, but maybe that's what, on a certain level, stops it being so scary for children when someone's falling in a river. But it's probably not because I don't think children would notice that it wasn't real - it is very well done.
Overall it's a really lovely family film and definitely a good one for a range of ages to go and see. I know it's a cliché but there really is something in it for everyone, from Olivia Coleman's Sound of Music reference, and tugging at heartstrings for the mums, through to quirky bears with funny growls for the kids.
Don't be too quick to leave - otherwise you'll miss a great little scene with Hugh Grant at the end. (I say great, because personally I think any scene Hugh Grant is in is great.)
The thoughts and views expressed in this blog post are the author’s own and not that of Activibees.com or it's operators.
