I hate to begin a review on such a forlorn note. However, as I left my Paddington in Peru screening, I received notices about two deaths. Receiving grim developments after a cheery family film was very disorienting, but we must be cognizant of reality. Emilia Pérez and The Lone Ranger were found dead in a ditch. Apparently, Pérez and Ranger responded with life-ending shock to another movie demonstrating how to properly execute European cinema musical numbers and action sequences set to the William Tell Overture, respectively. Paddington Bear has blood on his paws, but I doubt any jury will convict him.

Paddington in Peru so noticeably leaving other films in the dust artistically is a welcome sign. Not even the absence of director Paul King and live-action performer Sally Hawkins can derail this ursine’s charms. While nowhere near as good as its predecessors, it’s still a pleasant treat.

As author Michael Bond said decades ago, this cheerful critter came from “darkest Peru,” so Paddington is going international this time around. The Brown family–including nervous father Henry (Hugh Bonneville), artist mother Mary (Emily Mortimer), and their two teenage children–and their beloved adopted marmalade appreciator are traveling to Paddington’s South America roots. The impetus is Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) reportedly struggling at the Home For Retired Bears. Unfortunately, by the time Paddington and company arrive, the domicile’s leader, The Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman), says Lucy has gone missing.

Given the endless Peruvian Amazonia, things seem hopeless until a clue suggests the aunt is scouring the jungle for the ancient Rumi Rock. Spurned on by the hint, Paddington and the Browns team with dashing boat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas). As everyone ventures deeper into this land of spiders and towering trees, it dawns on Paddington that the place he once called home has grown far less familiar. Also, Cabot might have some duplicitous gold-fixated reasons for helping our heroes.

The biggest culprit in bringing Paddington in Peru’s quality below its predecessors is Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont’s screenplay. Original Paddington movie screenwriters King and Simon Farnaby only get “Screen Story by” credits here. Their previous work was all about cute Chekhov’s Guns and cathartic character outcomes while still delivering delights moment to moment. Gags about pigeons craving marmalade sandwiches, Paddington’s wind-up ladder for window-washing, or Mary’s fondness for high-diving didn’t feel like they existed only for third-act callbacks.

This installment, meanwhile, is too enamored with “mysterious” elements like gigantic shrubbery-covered creatures following the Browns and third-act “twists”. Only a handful of these details are amusing in and of themselves. More often, they only register as an overt set-up for future payoffs. It reaches a point where key character arcs like Paddington Bear feeling like an outsider in his home country get lost in favor of juggling many quasi- “mystery box” balls. A simpler plot could’ve helped things tremendously.

Thankfully, even with an overstuffed plot, Paddington in Peru is still a cut above typical family movie fare. First-time director Dougal Wilson isn’t as visually creative as previous Paddington maestro King. Nonetheless, he demonstrates solid chops, capturing inviting, brightly lit locales and executing physical comedy. The various practical sets (realizing places like the seemingly endless halls of the Home for Retired Bears) are extremely fun. Additionally, Wilson and cinematographer Erik Wilson aren’t afraid to pull the camera back for pleasing wide shots, giving the film that “worthy of a big screen” feel. Thank God it didn’t dabble in framing primed and ready for youngsters to watch on tablets.

Best of all, that titular bear remains persistently charming, still somehow dodging Flanderization. In hindsight, it’s staggering to consider Colin Firth voiced Paddington until a few months before the first film’s release. Whishaw’s so perfect for this role that it’s difficult to imagine someone else playing the character! That same transfixing warmth and emotional vulnerability he brought to his unforgettable work in films like Passages, Women Talking, and Cloud Atlas manifests without missing a beat in his Paddington voice. The kindness this critter exudes sounds so believable. Lines that might ring didactic or manipulative in another actor’s hands are profoundly moving in Whishaw’s execution.

Whishaw’s refusal to phone it in extends to the rest of the film’s components. Other live-action/CG-hybrid kid’s movie directors like Tim Hill and Raja Gosnell sweatily pander and condescend to youngsters. Paddington in Peru, in contrast, features several sequences radiating authentic craftsmanship. The Mother Reverend’s big song, “Let’s Prepare for Paddington”, for instance, is animated by sharp editing and a hysterically bravura Colman performance. The kind of discouraging self-consciousness plaguing countless modern movie musicals like Joker: Folie a Deux and Emilia Pérez is delightfully absent.

Similarly exciting showmanship informs a thrilling finale involving storylines colliding and chase sequences around ancient Peruvian structures. Meanwhile, references to pop culture’s past encourage youngsters to discover Gioachino Rossini, Buster Keaton, and Werner Herzog. Far better that than making “rizz” references destined to age like milk. As a cherry on top, the climactic bit of pathos manifests with greater deftness (mostly through, again, Whishaw’s voice work) than other kid’s movies detouring into sentimentality like Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, or Dog Man.

Paddington in Peru is a step down from the first two movies. And yet, there’s still charming fun here instead of hyperactive slop. Even if it’s not the second coming of Paddington 2, this ursine still took out Emilia Pérez and The Lone Ranger. It’s always the one with sticky marmalade-laced paws that are the most dangerous.

Paddington in Peru grabs its boarding passes at theatres everywhere starting February 14.

Paddington in Peru Trailer: