Normally, when I see a weather forecast of 36°C I have my complaints ready to go. But with tickets to Moonlight Cinema to look forward to on Sunday, I held them in. The warm evening air after a sticky day was the perfect environment to trot over to Kings Park (near the dinosaur playground) and flop onto beanbags for a showing of Paddington in Peru, the third film in the much-loved British series. Paddington is a Smith Family Favourite, so my brother and I had been eagerly awaiting the next instalment. But first, we had goodies to enjoy!
Sat in our beanbags in the Singapore Gold Grass section, the charming and helpful staff brought us over a bottle of wine, boxes of salted caramel popcorn, and a Connoisseur ice cream each. Delish!
There was food available to purchase or pre-order. We decided to forgo the options available on the menu, not fancying tacos or Mexican-inspired bites. We joined the many people who had set up their picnic rugs and cheeseboards and brought our dinner along. Between each pair of beanbags was a small beanbag table, which was perfect for storing our wine cups and food. Not that the grass wouldn’t have made a good table, too. I am once again compelled to ask, what secrets do the gardeners of Kings Park know to keep their lawn looking film-set-worthy?
We arrived an hour before the ads started to get ourselves a good spot. I was glad we did as most others had a similar idea. There were beanbags to hire (for those not on the plush purple VIP seats) or you could bring seating from home. Either option is recommended. Even for a film under two hours I would have been aching if I had been on the grass the entire time.
About the film:
Speaking of those two hours, Paddington in Peru is a fun adventure film with a lot of good jokes, but it can’t hold a candle to the first two films. Not that I expected it to live up to Paddington 2, which broke the record for the most-reviewed film to ever remain at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It still maintains a 99% approval rating, and is unironically one of the best films I have ever seen. Much like Shrek the Third after the cultural touchstone that is Shrek 2, the third instalment in the Paddington series had a high bar to leap and can hardly be blamed for not clearing it.
The charm of Paddington comes from the incongruence of a talking bear navigating London and accidentally causing social gaffs amongst polite British society. Taking Paddington back to Peru where there are many bears and no one is disapproving of his bear-manners means the onus is back on the plot to keep us engaged. And this story was…fine.
The Brown family’s adventure navigating the jungle to find Paddington’s Aunt Lucy and, on the way, the lost city of El Dorado, is fun but contains no surprises. For example (mild spoiler warning here), there is a dramatic moment where Paddington looks to be about to fall off the side of a steep cliff. But just in the nick of time he…corrects his footing. Inspired.
I don’t want any readers to think I am ragging on a beloved children’s character unnecessarily. I take my critique seriously out of respect for this excellent franchise and it comes from a place of love. There were many moments of hilarity, especially the visual gags that the series does so well. The star-studded cast delivered their performances with gusto.
Newcomers to the Paddington alumni are Olivia Coleman as the intensely cheerful Reverend Mother who never misses a moment to be awkwardly funny. And Antonio Banderas as Hunter Cabot, the handsome gold-hunting boat captain with the enigmatic voice. The two steal every scene they are in, somehow simultaneously embodying their character’s archetypes while also avoiding clichés and keeping us on our toes. Alongside the captain is his tough-but-fair daughter Gina, played by Carla Tous as seriously as if she were in a gritty crime drama.
The character of Mary Brown was recast in this film due to Sally Hawkins’ schedule, replacing her with Emily Mortimer. She plays the doting mother role well. Her style of comedy suited the film’s silliness, but each of the Browns got a lot less development in this film. As a result, her previously fascinating character lacked depth.
What I did not expect from a silly family movie was a commentary on immigration and the immigrant experience. At the start of the film Paddington is granted his British passport. Coupled with the need to return to Peru to save his remaining family, it brings up a lot of complicated feelings about where he belongs.
Is it a particularly nuanced exploration of this complicated topic? No. Is it a positive perspective on immigration in a time when the whole world is fraught with xenophobic rhetoric, in a child-friendly package? Yes. As someone who has gone through a very similar personal crisis, I may have even shed a tear or two when Paddington had to choose between his new home and his old home.
Paddington in Peru is a fun family film that children will enjoy, and fans of the first two movies will appreciate, if not be amazed by. If you accept that no piece of cinema can improve upon Hugh Grant in sparkly pink prison stripes getting his fellow inmates involved in a musical number, then you can be happy with what the third film offers. Especially if it is under the stars at Moonlight Cinema in Kings Park, with a box of salted caramel popcorn in hand.
Moonlight Cinema is on in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne until 30 March 2025.
Tickets for the remaining March program are now on sale at moonlight.com.au
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