The lovable Paddington Bear goes to Peru
In the latest Paddington film, the brown bear heads back to Peru to visit his Aunt Lucy. And while there, he finally discovers where he belongs.
You can take the bear out of Peru, but you can never take Peru out of the bear.
After all, Peru is Paddington’s homeland. But is it where he belongs?
The latest installment in Paddington Bear’s story – Paddington in Peru – takes viewers back to Peru as Paddington is summoned to visit his Aunt Lucy – the bear who saved him when he was just a cub.
When Paddington and the Brown family arrive though, Aunt Lucy is nowhere to be found.
So, they set out on an adventure, desperate to save her.
What starts as a quest to find Aunt Lucy though ends up becoming a mission to find the lost city of El Dorado. It’s supposedly where Aunt Lucy is and, as legend has it, the ancient mythical place is said to contain the gold offered by ancient Peruvians to the jungle spirits.
But what Paddington actually discovers, is himself.
The film is endearing to all ages and, at times, there’s a lot that may even go over the children’s heads. But what is never lost is the innate need to know where we come from.
It’s a theme that runs through all of Paddington’s adventures. And has been there from the very beginning.
As the story goes, children’s author Michael Bond, then a part-time writer and BBC cameraman, found a bear left on a shelf at UK-based department store Selfridge’s. Feeling sorry for the bear, Bond took him home and named him after Paddington Station.
Paddington became part of the family, even – much like Paddington Bear – taken on holiday. Bond, apparently, was inspired by the Kindertransport.
During Bond’s childhood, several stations around Britain had become the receiving points for the roughly 10,000 Jewish children who escaped Nazi-occupied Europe through the Kindertransport, travelling ahead of the Holocaust — many of whom would never see their families again. Soon, Bond created a storyline for the bear, basing Paddington’s temporary state of homelessness around his memories of seeing hundreds of these evacuees arriving at Reading station from London, each carrying their possessions in a single suitcase with labels bearing their names and addresses.
Like the children of the Kindertransport, Paddington is an emigrant labelled with a simple appeal for help. Aside from his tag that reads, “Please look after this bear. Thank you,” his suitcase is a persistent emblem of his uncertain status in a foreign land.
And then there’s Mr Gruber. The wise and kindly antique dealer on Portobello Road, who is also Paddington’s best friend, is Jewish. With his twinkly eyes and encyclopaedic mind, it’s easy to see why Paddington enjoys Mr Gruber’s company and visits him every day for a morning tea of buns and hot cocoa. In the first live-action film, he tells Paddington he was sent across Europe by his parents, owing to “trouble” in his home country, to London, where he arrived as a refugee.
The sense of belonging is once again a discussion point between Paddington and Mr Gruber before the former heads off to Peru with the Brown family.
In each film, Paddington searches for where he belongs.
In Paddington in Peru, he finds his tribe and his old home, and without giving any spoilers away, he finally figures it out.
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