Paddington in Peru: Andean Bear, British Bear – Immigrant, Icon or Ignorant?

At this time of year, Britain is in darkness and cold, and Peru becomes the apple of its eye. Paddington in Peru (Dougal Wilson, 2024) tops the box office by offering comforting nostalgia for British fans – a teddy bear that was part of many childhood homes. However, behind this seemingly innocent adventure, there are layers of complexity that deserve to be explored.

Paddington, an immigrant who arrives from a distant and unknown country, has always been a symbol of welcome and acceptance. His story, from the beginning, deals with themes such as immigration, adaptation and coexistence between cultures. When he settles in the Brown house in London, Paddington becomes a reflection of the immigrant experience — someone who, although different, has a pure heart and an intention to do good. His journey in the film Paddington in Peru, however, reveals another facet of immigration: the way in which outside cultures are often represented as “exotic”, mysterious and even primitive.

By taking Paddington back to Peru, the land from which he came, the film presents a country that is in many ways portrayed as a “faraway land,” steeped in mysticism and archaic traditions. What is missing from this representation, however, is the presence of a truly authentic cultural “other,” a Peruvian who actually lives and speaks of his own land. Instead, the film uses Spanish figures as a reflection of the country’s colonial heritage, and maintains the vision of a distant, exotic, and mysterious Peru—a setting in which modernity and the archaic coexist in a simplified way.

This view reflects a colonial gaze that still prevails in representations of non-Western cultures, where the immigrant or the “other” is not represented through their own voices, but filtered through the lens of the European gaze. Although Paddington’s story in the film is, in many ways, a celebration of peaceful coexistence between different cultures, it also reveals how there is still a process of otherization involved, by presenting Peru as a land full of exoticism, rather than a place with a rich history and multifaceted culture.

On a deeper level, the film touches on a much broader theme: how cultures and immigrants are represented in the collective imagination. While Paddington is the embodiment of acceptance and adaptation—being warmly welcomed in London despite his differences—the film’s journey to Peru reveals how the “other” is often stigmatized and reduced to a mere “exotic setting,” without the complexity of local experiences and identities.

This process of exotification and otherization ultimately perpetuates the idea that local culture often needs to be filtered or reshaped to fit into a narrative that makes it more consumable to the eyes of the “outsider.” In other words, the film suggests that even when dealing with a friendly and welcoming immigrant character like Paddington, there is still a challenge in the way outside cultures are represented and how their realities remain invisible or stereotyped.

Paddington in Peru is a story that, despite its seemingly harmless and charming intentions, reflects how the dynamics of power, exotification and stigmatization of non-Western cultures are still present, even in family entertainment spaces. The bear may be a symbol of welcome and kindness, but his journey also invites us to reflect on the untold stories and stereotypes that are still perpetuated behind the adventures that capture the attention of the general public.

However, Peru's representation in Paddington in Peru not only ignores the cultural complexities of the region, but also hides the country’s historical and natural richness. The Peruvian Amazon, with its unique biodiversity and indigenous peoples who have inhabited the forest for millennia, is completely absent from the film, replaced by a vision of a Peru reduced to ruins and distant mountain landscapes. The Amazon rainforest, one of the greatest natural treasures on the planet, and the communities that live there, with their ancestral knowledge and sustainable ways of life, are neglected in favor of a more convenient and simplistic portrayal of an “ancient” and “mysterious world.” This erasure of the Amazon is not just a geographical omission, but a failure to recognize the vitality and complexity of the region in the contemporary global scenario.

On the other hand, the Inca people, who were one of the most advanced civilizations in pre-Columbian history, are also portrayed in a superficial and mystical way. The Inca empire, with its sophisticated social organization, impressive architecture, and innovative agricultural systems, is often reduced to a stereotype of “ancient mysteries” and “hidden treasures.” This approach ignores the fact that the descendants of the Incas continue to play a central role in contemporary Peruvian life, preserving their traditions, languages, and forms of cultural resistance. Instead of focusing on a richer and more grounded narrative about these people, the film chooses to present a “primitive” Peru, as if its past civilizations were merely ruins of a lost time, far removed from its current reality. This colonial vision continues to marginalize and exoticize indigenous cultures, while perpetuating a gaze of strangeness and mystery toward the “other.”

Another interesting aspect of Paddington is the fact that he is actually inspired by the Andean Bear (Ursus ursinus), an animal native to the Andean regions of South America, particularly Peru. Known for its distinctive coat and more shy behavior, the Andean Bear is a fascinating and endangered figure, but one that rarely receives the same attention as other large animals of the South American fauna. However, in the context of the film, this connection with the Andean fauna is almost ignored, since Paddington, although a bear native to the region, is portrayed as a “foreigner” in his own land. His representation in Peru seems more like a Western adaptation of a mythical figure than a true reflection on local biodiversity and ecosystems. Rather than being an opportunity to explore the bear's connection with the natural environment of the Andean region and with the environmental issues that affect the Amazon and the Andes, the film ends up treating Paddington's origins superficially, as part of an exotic and distant context, more focused on children's enchantment than on an authentic portrait of Peruvian fauna and culture.

Although Paddington is, in fact, inspired by the Andean Bear (Ursus ursinus), an animal native to the Andean regions, its representation in the film seems to disregard the cultural and linguistic richness of Peru. The little bear, with his unmistakable British accent and his gentlemanly attitudes, not only lacks any Peruvian traits, but his identity seems disconnected from his Andean origins. Interestingly, despite being originally from Peru, Paddington never shows any influence of Spanish or local culture in his behavior or speech. Instead, he maintains an unchanging British accent and a clearly Westernized posture. This choice, although it can be seen as a way to make him more accessible and sympathetic to a global audience, ends up ignoring the opportunity to explore a cultural fusion that could reflect the complexity of Latin America, where Peru is a meeting point for diverse indigenous, Spanish and contemporary influences. The absence of any blend of Peruvian and British in the character of Paddington suggests a more stereotypical and less authentic representation of the “other,” as if the bear’s Peruvian roots were something that could be erased in favor of a more “universal” version palatable to Western audiences.

Their primary target audience is children, which is worrying when you consider the perpetuation of these values ​​and the risk of conditioning them to retrograde ideas. This becomes even more relevant today, when young people have easy access to screens and can be influenced by what they see, shaping their behavior accordingly. With children as their target audience, storytellers have significant power, as they carry the weight of the future.

This text is also available on SOMOS blog: https://blog.somoslatinos.co/paddington-no-peru/