February 18, 2024 – The nice thing about Paddington movies is that the characters all have good manners, and are nice. Even the villains are nice. In today's world, that is a such a huge relief, and it is why I love the Paddington movies.

In this, the third Paddington movie, Paddington receives a letter from the home for retired bears in Peru, telling him that his Aunt Lucy is troubled. Paddington and the Browns decide to travel to Peru in order the cheer up Aunt Lucy and to find out what is troubling her.

Upon arrival at the Home for Retired Bears, Paddington learns from the nuns in charge that Aunt Lucy has disappeared into the Amazon jungle, and he is determined to find her. The Browns decide to tag along, and hire a boat to travel to a remote area that Aunt Lucy had marked on a map.

The boat, operated by Hunter Cabot (played by Antonio Banderas of “Babygirl”) and his daughter Gina (played by Carla Tous) is equipped with ridiculously luxurious guest cabins. The boat trip soon runs into trouble. The captain is accidentally knocked overboard after deliberately stranding Gina ashore. Soon after, the boat breaks up in some wild rapids, scattering the crew and passengers.

The Browns, Paddington, the crew, and others are soon embroiled in a plot to find the legendary lost city of El Dorado. This involves a trek through the jungle, a magic necklace, an airplane, and a whole lot of bears. Along the way, Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville, reprising his role from the earlier Paddington films) who has avoided danger all his life, learns to embrace adventure, thanks, in part, to a weird back story involving the insurance company where he works.

Many of those actors in previous Paddington films are along for the ride, including Hugh Bonneville, Madeleine Harris as Judy Brown, Samuel Joslin as Jonathan Brown, Jim Broadbent as Samuel Gruber and Julie Walters as Mrs. Bird. They are joined by Emily Mortimer, who takes over the role of Mary Brown from Sally Hawkins, and Olivia Colman as Clarissa Cabot, one of the villains of this story.

There is a funny scene in the movie where Paddington stares down a villain, who asks why he is staring. Paddington explains that it is a “hard stare” that is reserved for people who have forgotten their manners. Paddington is a bear with impeccable manners, and so are the Browns.

Paddington is also wise. He teaches the villain, who is obsessed with finding the golden city of El Dorado, that gold is not a real treasure. Paddington also knows that a person who has good manners is much more likely to find the real treasures of life, family and friends. Finding this movie is like finding a spring of cold delicious water in the desert. It rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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