How ‘Paddington in Peru’ Harnessed the Power of Queen Elizabeth II, a First-Time Director and Olivia Colman for the Beloved Bear’s Big-Screen Comeback
variety.comAlex Ritman In a cinematic first, both Queen Elizabeth II from “The Crown” and the real Queen Elizabeth feature in “Paddington in Peru.” Olivia Colman’s all-singing, guitar-wielding and “The Sound of Music”-inspired nun — who runs a “home for retired bears” — is one of the noisier (and wildly entertaining) new additions to the franchise.
But the late monarch’s appearance is a little more subtle — a brief glimpse of a photo showing her having afternoon tea with Paddington taken from a short video that was made as part of her 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Blink-and-you-miss-it maybe, but it’ll likely stir up a few emotions. For many, Her Majesty pulling a marmalade sandwich out of her handbag in the Jubilee sketch (“I keep mine in here — for later,” she says after Paddington offers her one from under his hat) was their last image of the Queen.
When she passed away just a few months later, among the flowers and cards left across the U.K. in tribute were hundreds of Paddington Bear dolls and marmalade sandwiches.
Read more on variety.com