2018 is rapidly generating blockbusters with the new Avengers: Infinity War (2018) taking the box office by storm and Disney’s greatly anticipated Incredibles 2 (2018). On a smaller, but just as epic scale, is our fluffy bunny hero Peter Rabbit who hopped onto our screens earlier this year. James Corden plays the loveable memorable character of cheeky and mischievous Peter Rabbit, who is accompanied by his sisters: Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton Tail, to invade Mr. McGregor’s vegetable garden. You may remember these childhood characters from the books of Beatrix Potter.
The humour of the garden animals is updated to make Peter a bunny with a modern attitude and self awareness of his protagonist self in the story. He even points at his sisters to tell them they are the ‘look outs’ in his mission and he is of course ‘the hero’. Often he breaks the fourth wall by winking at the audience and commenting on his appearance in reference to the original book illustrations. The film keeps its respectable status though because it doesn’t update the world of Peter Rabbit too much.
Other children’s features have featured the characters engaging with mobile phones, selfies, the world of hashtags, and so much more that didn’t feature in their books because those inventions weren’t around during their original creations. Even if some references are updated to engage a new audience, it doesn’t disrupt the character world that was already created and this removes the generation understanding limit of the film.
The adventures also get updated by becoming bigger than ever as the animals find themselves travelling away from the country and into the city! Taking these characters out of their natural habit and into the human world has occurred in many children’s loved classics over the years, including Garfield, Paddington Bear, and with Winnie the Pooh in Goodbye Christopher Robin. Audiences are attracted to these new adventures of characters we hold so dearly and know so well. It takes the heroes out of their comfort zones and into situations were the storyteller has never taken us before.
A must watch for all the family this full length family fun motion picture shows this unforgettable bunny on the big screen for the first time, honouring the old Beatrix Potter children’s books fans and introducing a new generation to the adventures of this blue cardigan rabbit.