Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Paddington in Peru.
Paddington in Peru ends with a family twist and a major decision made by the тιтular bear. Family is at the center of the third Paddington movie’s story as Paddington (Ben Whishaw) and the Browns search for Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) in Peru. Before living in London with the Brown family, Paddington was raised by the bears Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo (Michael Gambon) in the jungles of Peru, which must now be traversed to find the missing Aunt Lucy. This change in setting makes it necessary for Paddington to take more of the lead than the Brown family.
Some of Paddington in Peru‘s new characters are more concerned with finding the fabled city of gold known as El Dorado than they are in finding Aunt Lucy, but the two missions become intertwined. What follows is a thrilling and ultimately heartfelt journey that feels as though Paddington and the Browns are on an Indiana Jones-style adventure. This includes the plot twists in Paddington in Peru‘s ending about the bear’s family history and what he decides to do after these revelations.
Paddington In Peru Reveals Paddington Wasn’t An Orphan
He Was Born Among The El Dorado Bears
Paddington was believed to be an orphan before he was found and raised by Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo. The opening scene in Paddington in Peru seems to confirm this when a young Paddington falls into a river after trying to get a delicious-looking orange and is rescued by the two bears who become his guardians. However, Paddington in Peru reveals that he was not an orphan before this and that he was originally from the community of bears known as El Dorado.
He was not on his own before falling into the river, but was living among the bears of El Dorado, and this is where he was born. El Dorado is an orangery, which explains the orange that Paddington was trying to reach before his fall, and gives further weight to his lifelong love of marmalade. After finding El Dorado, and discovering that the bears there are his biological family, he spends time with them as they make marmalade, and it momentarily seems as though this location will become his new home.
How Paddington In Peru Retcons Paddington’s Family History
A Bracelet Is Integral To The Retcon
Having Paddington be descended from the El Dorado bears retcons what was previously established in the Paddington franchise about his family history. He now has a past with family before Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo that was not incorporated into the previous movies. Paddington in Peru makes this retcon work through the importance of a bracelet that Aunt Lucy wore and that Paddington begins wearing. Antonio Banderas’ character, Hunter Cabot, notices Paddington wearing the bracelet and recognizes it as the key to finding and entering the mythical city of El Dorado.
Antonio Banderas also plays Hunter’s ancestors that haunt him in Paddington in Peru.
The bracelet does end up being the key to gaining access to El Dorado. More importantly, it is revealed that all the bears born in El Dorado have bracelets like this one, and young Paddington had this bracelet on when Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo found him all those years ago. The revelations surrounding El Dorado and the bracelet recontextualize what the characters and the audience previously knew about Paddington and his family tree, although there are still questions about Paddington’s past that can be explored.
