Bombay Durpun - Paddington Bear brings out the stars for London premiere

"Paddington in Peru", directed by Dougal Wilson, sees the much-loved bear return to his homeland, capering through the Amazon rainforest in his first film outing in seven years.

The bear, in his famous blue duffle coat and red hat, returns to find his aunt Lucy, who has moved to a retirement home.

Accompanied by his adoptive family, the Browns, he finds himself drawn into adventures in search of the mythical lost city of gold, El Dorado.

Hugh Bonneville once again plays Mr Brown, while his wife is this time played by Emily Mortimer.

Also starring are Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman as a singing nun and Spaniard Antonio Banderas as an adventurous ship captain.

The previous two films, released in 2014 and 2017, raked in more than $500 million at the box office worldwide and received widespread acclaim, scoring critic scores of 97 percent and 99 percent respectively on review website Rotten Tomatoes.

Banderas, Bonneville, Colman and Mortimer were among those at the Odeon Cinema on London's Leicester Square for Sunday's premiere.

A-Lister Hugh Grant, who starred as Phoenix Buchanan -- the main antagonist of Paddington 2 --, was also in attendance.

The friendly but accident-prone teddy bear from "deepest, darkest Peru" first appeared in UK author Michael Bond's 1958 book "A Bear Called Paddington".

The inspiration for the character came on Christmas Eve 1956 when Bond, who died in 2017, saw a lonely-looking teddy bear in a shop near his home close to Paddington railway station in London, and bought it for his wife.

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."

The 2014 movie "Paddington" sparked a resurgence of interest, with exhibitions, statues and the publication of a new book of the bear's adventures.

"Paddington in Peru" opens in the UK and Ireland on November 8, and in the US early in 2025.

R.Kohli--BD