Paddington 3 is finally hitting cinemas, seven years after the beloved bear’s last outing – but why has it taken so long to catch up with him and the Browns?
Officially titled Paddington in Peru, the new movie features the return of franchise stalwarts Hugh Bonneville, Dame Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington, as well as newcomers Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas.
Paddington 2, which memorably featured Hugh Grant as flamboyant villainous thespian Phoenix Buchanan, has been celebrated as one of the most popular movies in recent memory, surpassing even the first film of 2014 in terms of its standing.
Because of that, as soon as it was announced Paddington 3 was happening, fans became desperate for updates, even when it appeared as recently as February 2023 that things were distressingly uncertain.
With the cast promoting Paddington in Peru though, we’ve able to secure some answers as to the seven-year delay.
‘Obviously, the pandemic got in the way, and then there were all sorts of behind-the-scenes ups and downs, but at the heart of it was always Dougal Wilson doggedly with his storyboard and his ideas and constantly revising them,’ Bonneville told Digital Spy recently of director Wilson’s determination to push Paddington’s third movie adventure through.
Producer Rosie Alison, who the actor also credited with being determined, also said she ‘always believed it would happen’.
‘It was always just going to take its time until we had it right, until we had the right script or we could find the right director,’ she added to the publication.
Wilson is making his feature film directorial debut with Paddington in Peru, stepping in for original director Paul King, who remained onboard as an executive producer.
‘There was the little matter of Covid in the middle that delayed things a bit, but it wasn’t a project to rush at after Paddington 2,’ explained Alison. ‘We couldn’t make this film without it having all due consideration.’
It’s clear that the immense success and love for Paddington 2 was on the production team’s minds too, after it was dethroned from an incredible 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes by one single negative review.
At 99% though, it is still rated as on a par with Citizen Kane on the review aggregator site, which is traditionally considered one of the best films ever made.
When asked by why he thought the Paddington franchise was so beloved by both critics and fans ahead of Paddington in Peru’s release, star Whishaw suggested: ‘They’re made with a great deal of love, real love and affection for the character of Paddington, for the world that he’s in, and a lot of attention to detail.
‘I think they’re really honed, they’re really chiselled away at, so that there’s no fat on them.’
A joke, a moment, a poignant beat – as Whishaw advises, ‘there’s nothing there that doesn’t need to be there, which is true of all really good storytelling’.
‘And then I just think that Michael Bond’s creation, this character, speaks to some really decent part of human beings or something we could at least aspire to be. I don’t know. It’s a bit of a mystery.’