Paddington is back and he has lost none of his "charm" and "high jinx", according to Hugh Bonneville who again guides the trouble-prone bear through the third film in the hit series that saw its premiere on Sunday.
Bonneville, the Oscar winning Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas appear in "Paddington in Peru", directed by Dougal Wilson, that comes out seven years after the second movie in the live action-animation series.
"Downton Abbey" star Bonneville is again Mr Brown, the father in the British family that adopted Paddington as he returns to his South American roots in the latest adventure. The film goes on general release in Britain on November 8 and in January in North America.
Paddington goes on holiday to Peru to visit his Aunt Lucy, with the Browns in tow, but they end up on an adventure hunting for the mythical golden city of El Dorado.
Bonneville acknowledged there had been a long gap from the last film, which he said was partly because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
"It was really lovely to come back and see our furry friend again," Bonneville said as he arrived at the premiere.
"He's lost none of his charm or his high jinx or mischievousness, and to be reunited with the family was very special indeed."
Wilson replaced Paul King who directed the first two films in the series -- in 2014 and 2017 -- which earned more than $500 million around the world.
"I was very apprehensive because, obviously, it's a bit of a tough act to follow the first two films, which are great. So I really hope people like this one and feel it's a fitting third instalment," Wilson told AFP.
Paddington had been a hit because "he's got a lovely outlook on life, a lovely optimism, he's got a lovely indefatigable way of seeing the best in other people," the director said.
Paddington is voiced by Ben Whishaw again, while Emily Mortimer replaces Sally Hawkins in the role of Mrs Brown. Olivia Colman plays a singing nun, while Banderas is the captain of an adventure ship.
Hugh Grant, who starred as Phoenix Buchanan -- the main antagonist of Paddington 2 --, was also at the premier.
Author Michael Bond, who died in 2017, created Paddington in the late 1950s after seeing a toy bear in a shop window. He bought it and gave it to his wife as a Christmas gift, naming it after the nearest London railway station to their home.
In the books, the impeccably polite stowaway turns up at Paddington station with a battered suitcase containing a nearly-finished jar of marmalade, and a label on his blue duffle coat reading: "Please look after this bear. Thank you."
Since "A Bear Named Paddington" came out in 1958, the books series has sold more than 35 million copies and been translated into more than 40 languages.
