Ranking the Paddington Movies: From Marmalade Mishaps to Heartwarming Adventures

With Paddington in Peru being released last week, I wanted to share my thoughts and ranking of the entire Paddington franchise. I think the Paddington films are delightful. The movies are charming and Paddington is such a fun character. I think that they should start making Paddington movies in each genre. Right now we have a classic family movie (Paddington), a prison break movie (Paddington 2), and an adventure movie (Paddington in Peru). If they kept going on this idea, we could get a Paddington Mission Impossible movie, Paddington in space, Paddington Fast and the Furious, a Paddington spooky movie. The possibilities are endless. With all that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the three Paddington movies.

3. Paddington in Peru

While Paddington in Peru may be the weakest of the Paddington films, it is still a very good movie. Paddington in Peru takes what I loved about the other Paddington movies and brings it to a new setting. It was fun to see Paddington in this Indiana Jones type of story. The movie still retains the Paddington charm while also embracing the structure of an adventure movie. This is the type of movie that I want the Paddington franchise to start making more of. Take Paddington and put him in all of these different genres. Thankfully, Paddington in Peru still manages to deliver the heart and emotion that both of the other films have with an ending that almost makes you want to cry. The thing that keeps this film at the bottom is that there is a bit of a villain issue. There are two villains in this movie and I don't think either are particularly strong and should have been combined into one character. However, even that is a minor issue as one of the movies has to be at the bottom of the list. In the end, this is another sweet addition to the Paddington franchise that retains the Paddington charm while exploring a new setting.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

2. Paddington

Paddington is such a sweet story and a great introduction to the character. This movie feels a bit like a throwback 90s family comedy but with a 2010's setting and the formula still works. The movie has a bit of a fish out of water comedy to it with Paddington trying to adapt to London society and trying to figure out all of these household objects like toothbrushes and bathrooms. The relationship between Paddington and the Browns is also really sweet. The movie does a great job of showing the character slowly warming up to him, especially with Mr. Brown. It was fun to see Nicole Kidman in the villain role. I like that a lot of the jokes in this movie work for both kids and adults. I don't have any issues with this film but something had to come in at number 2 and this movie just isn't as perfect as Paddington 2. Overall, this is just a fun family movie that while made for kids, is also able to be easily enjoyed by adults.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

1. Paddington 2

Paddington 2 is not just a great Paddington movie but it is also just a great movie in general. This movie takes everything that works about the first Paddington movie and cranks it up to eleven. There is more sweetness, more emotion, a more over-the-top villain, and more Paddington shenanigans. This movie blends multiple genres perfectly as it manages to be both a treasure-hunting movie and a prison break movie. The prison portion of the movie is just so much fun. We get to see Paddington use his kindness to infect all of the prisoners and get to meet a bunch of new characters. Hugh Grant is fun as the villain. He just goes all in for the role and totally embraces the goofiness. The ending of the movie is so fantastic. The train sequence is exciting where every character gets their own little moment. The ending of the movie is so emotional that you think Paddington might not make it then finally reach the final scene for a truly satisfying final moment. In the end, this is such a perfect movie and it will be one of my go-to recommendations for both kids and adults.

Score: 10/10 Grade: A+