The 2024's Paddington in Peru, the final film in the trilogy of live-action stories based on the lovable young bear.

As evident by the film's title, potential story of Paddington 4. With each film being highly thought of, many will question how they measure up against one another after Paddington's first trilogy comes to a close.

3 Paddington in Peru (2024)

Directed by Dougal Wilson

The weakest of the Paddington trilogy is its third installment, Paddington in Peru. It is worth noting, however, that there is not a single bad move in the trilogy and all of them are great at worst. Where Paddington in Peru is concerned, it is less about what the film itself does that ranks it as the "worst" of the trilogy and more about what its predecessors simply do better. Paddington in Peru has the same emotional and comedic heartbeat as the first two movies, proving to induce tears as much as it does laughs.

Unfortunately, Paddington in Peru is ever so slightly longer than its predecessors, meaning the story somewhat loses track midway through. It quickly regains its footing but, without the experienced hand of Paul King behind the camera, it cannot quite match the lofty heights of Paddington or Paddington 2. Overall, though, new director Dougal Wilson makes an irable attempt to do so with Paddington in Peru, crafting a very solid, funny, emotionally impactful story that is bolstered by the returning cast and Ben Whishaw's voice work as the ever-adorable Paddington.

2 Paddington (2014)

Directed by Paul King

The first movie ranks as the second-best in the Paddington trilogy. 2014's Paddington is best described using one word: wholesome. Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville lead the charming cast in an incredibly cute story of a bear simply trying to find a home. This simple story and immensely heartwarming vibe creates a film that is very easy to love, but also one that is much more stylish than it has any right to be. Paddington in Peru was lacking in director Paul King's visual flair, which was evident in Paddington.

The camera shots and choices are incredibly dynamic and stylish for what could have been a very conventional family film. Instead, Paddington's long takes and cinematic shots make the movie as beautiful to look at as it is emotional to experience. Nicole Kidman's cartoonishly evil villain is great and allows the film to convey its central themes beautifully.

Paddington works on almost every level, and it is only the strengths of its successor that stop it from topping this list...

Paddington provides the touching, and still very timely, message that love, family, and home can be found regardless of one's species, in Paddington's case. Speaking of the bear himself, Whishaw is excellent as Paddington and imbues the fluffy protagonist with as much charm, politeness, and kindness as one might expect. The CGI is nearly flawless, and Paddington is undeniably one of the cutest protagonists in recent years. Overall, Paddington works on almost every level, and it is only the strengths of its successor that stop it from topping this list.

1 Paddington 2 (2017)

Directed by Paul King

As alluded to, Paddington 2 takes everything that worked about the first one and does exactly the same again, only with a bigger story, a better villain, more heart, and more laughs. It would be difficult to list everything that works about Paddington 2 on a broader scale without simply repeating everything that was written about Paddington. That said, the sequel does what all sequels should by improving on its predecessor without losing what made it so special in the first place.

This is bolstered by Hugh Grant's career-changing villain role in Paddington 2. Grant is absolutely excellent in the film, having the time of his life as a cartoonish, down-on-his-luck actor who makes an enemy of Paddington, who only wishes to provide his Aunt Lucy with the best possible birthday gift. It is this simple motivation for Paddington that makes Paddington 2 so easy to love, as it typifies the theme of the movie that may seem obvious, but unfortunately, is a message that needs to be conveyed in today's world.

Paddington 2's end-credit scene involving Hugh Grant is one of the best in modern cinema history and somehow imbues the film with yet another perfectly fitting genre: musicals.

Paddington 2 is about being polite and kind where possible, changing the world around you as a result. The way Paddington 2 depicts how Paddington's environment - be it Windsor Gardens in London or a literal prison - improves because of his kindness will never stop being tear-jerking. On top of this simple yet timely message, Paddington 2 has all of the visual flair and cinematic greatness of its predecessor, only on a larger scale.

Paddington 2 is so many different movies in one, from a heist to a prison break to a high-speed train chase. Despite this bigger scale, the kindness of Paddington is never lost as all of those things are only happening because of his desire to give Aunt Lucy a birthday present. It would be impossible to list everything great about Paddington 2, but there is a reason it is ranked as the best Paddington movie and one of the best sequels, and films in general, of all time: everything about it works, and its uplifting message proves that everyone should be more like the titular lovable bear.