Peter Rabbit (2018)

Peter Rabbit is a 2018 live action re-imagining of Beatrix Potter’s famous works, combining animation with real scenes to bring her characters to life. With a cast including Domhnall Gleeson and Rose Byrne, and the voices of Daisy Ridley and Margot Robbie, it was released to mixed reviews, with many critical of the way it deviates from the source material.

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I was given this copy by my Aunt, and I hadn’t seen the film properly before watching this DVD. I must say I was skeptical at first, because many animation-action hybrids are nothing more than a marketing gimmick to make money, but I think this contribution has its merits. It begins with a musical number by four birds that continually serenade the film, only to be cut short at every opportunity. We’re quickly reminded this isn’t your typical fairytale, as bold Peter crashes through the quartet and weaves amongst the environment - the way the camera follows him is really dynamic, simulating the impulsive movements of our long-eared friends. You can tell research has been done to understand the body language of rabbits, as we see them communicate throughout the movie using their ears and pressing their heads together.

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Along the way, we meet other animals from Beatrix’s world, including Jeremy Fisher and Mrs Tiggywinkles, who are masterfully rendered to look life-like. The viewer soon learns Peter’s objective, as he unites with his siblings and cousin Benjamin Bunny to pull a heist on Mr McGregor’s vegetable patch - a mission that got his father killed in the past. James Corden lends his voice to our protagonist, a choice some weren’t pleased with, but I think his cadence suits the unabashed nature of Peter Rabbit very well. He may not be as sweet or innocent as many were hoping for, but this is a modern tale set in the real world, and a fresh perspective away from the serene adaptations we’ve seen before.

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At first their operation runs smoothly, until Peter accidentally triggers a trap set to ensnare one of them. The entourage almost evade McGregor’s notice, but our cheeky hero can’t resist playing tricks and nearly gets himself caught, losing his trademark denim jacket in the process. He jumps into the waiting arms of Bea, as played by Rose Byrne, who has an affinity for her hoppy neighbours, often defending their right to live freely in their natural habitat. I think the film does a great job at navigating human-wildlife conflict, and the way animals are punished for following their instincts and challenging authority. Byrne has always been one of my favourite actresses, and her performance really is wonderful to behold.

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Bea lives next door, where she indulges in her work as an artist, painting abstract pieces and portraits of the local wildlife - this gives a lovely nod to the original books, as the illustration style switches to that of Potter’s own drawings, giving us some backstory of Peter’s younger life. It’s easy to see how this version of the character has become so rough around the edges, having grown into his teenage years now and still plagued by a childhood filled with grief at the hands of McGregor. It serves as a good metaphor for how life can steal away the innocence we hold as children through the experiences we go through. The protagonist uses Peter’s denim jacket to intimidate him by placing it on the scarecrow, though our rabbit soon bravely returns to take it back, it being a memory of his late father. This is another reference to the books, as this does happen in ‘The Tale Of Benjamin Bunny’.

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He almost pulls off the rescue mission, but not before being caught by McGregor again, who would have handed Peter a similar fate to his fathers, had it not been for his untimely death of a heart attack. It’s a short part for Sam Neill, but one I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing. Peter goes back to the burrow with plenty of food to share, boasting that he’s foiled their enemy, and soon word spreads that the McGregor residence is a free-for-all. Animals far and wide appear to take stock of the garden, before claiming the house as their own too. ‘Steal My Sunshine’ by alt rock band ‘Len’ plays through the sequence, with additional lyrics to bolster the plot of the film. The soundtrack is brilliant, with a great selection of songs and original compositions by Dominic Lewis taking inspiration from classic British artists like The Beatles and The Who.

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Peter continues to tell people he was responsible for disposing of McGregor, standing up to the bully himself, whilst we’re given some subplot that it was dietary choices that led to his sudden demise. This may be a way for the film to encourage younger viewers to make healthier choices, but it also introduces food shame which can be very damaging. Pigling Bland is too presented as gluttonous, and ridiculed for eating celery, one thing I can agree with. After having an amusing encounter with Mr Tod, the fox that once tried to eat him, our rabbit settles in to the new life he’s found, assured that his days of living in fear are truly over.

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Jumping over to London, we visit Harrods, where McGregor’s Great Nephew Thomas works as a head of staff, desperately longing to be promoted to Assistant General Manager. Domhnall Gleeson fills the role, capturing the nuances of the character very well - I’ve not always been appreciative of his skills, perhaps because of the parts he’s cast in, but it’s easy to see from Peter Rabbit he’s adept at his craft. After meticulously organising the store, he’s called into the managers office, certain he’s scored the new job he’s been hoping for. However, the meeting is actually to inform him his Great Uncle has died, yet he’s more distraught that the promotion has been given to Nigel Bannerman, the lazy nephew of the Managing Director. Some social commentary is given on bureaucracy in the UK, and the way unqualified parties are often given great power simply because of their lineage.

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After being goaded by his replacement, who never wanted the position to begin with, Thomas trashes the store and is left on the doorstep, advised to make the most of his empty schedule and get some rest. Not long after, he receives mail informing him of his inheritance of the McGregor estate, sceptical at first about countryside living, until he learns the value of property in Windermere. Whilst he’s on the train towards his new real estate, the latest residents settle in, unaware their paradise is soon to be broken. During his taxi journey we witness how insufferable the McGregor heir is, Jemima Puddle Duck barely managing to warn her friends a human has arrived - one thing I really like is that the actors in the film get the opportunity to voice animated characters too, with Rose lending hers to Jemima, Domhnall as Jeremy Fisher and Sam as Tommy Brock.

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The animals do their best to hide, Tommy’s attempts painfully funny as he tries to disguise himself as a candelabra, and their cover is blown when Pigling Bland rises under a sheet on the sofa like a ghost; he and McGregor scream at each other, our hog letting out the most unnatural sound which becomes a running gag in the movie. Thomas furiously expels the wildlife from the house, and spends the next day cleaning up the mess and reinforcing security around the perimeter. The niche comedy of the movie continues, as we see a deer put in a trance by the headlights of a car, and a cockerel excitedly screaming about the arrival of a new day. Peter and his possè are worried when they see Bea welcome her new neighbour, though the anti-speciesist thread in the film continues to be sewn, as she argues the rabbits primitive claim to the land.

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Undeterred, Peter and Benjamin enter McGregor’s garden again, as the younger and much faster descendant chases them into a shed, where they manage to escape once more; though this time Benjamin doesn’t make it past the gate, and plays dead in the hope this will save his life. Thomas takes the supposedly dead rabbit to a river, his bunny companions in tow who do everything they can to disrupt his plan. In a rage he intends to throw Benjamin into the water, but finds some compassion at the last moment - only to realise the contents of his knapsack have been replaced with binoculars, which he accidentally drops off the bridge. After begrudgingly retrieving them from the stream, our rabbits hope they’re heading home, only to find McGregor is driving into the city.

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Flopsy, as played by Margot Robbie, is quick to assume they’re in London, a Grandfather clock outside a charity shop serving as Big Ben. She also serves as the narrator for the film, and helps to keep things flowing. He pulls up at a hardware store, which is concluded to be Harrods, the workers in their aprons hilariously deemed hedgehogs like Mrs Tiggywinkles by the siblings. Mopsy’s attempts at lip-reading are disastrous, as Thomas buys the supplies he needs to rid his land of what he defers to as ‘vermin’, and our long-eared friends are almost left behind before Bea halts McGregor in his tracks and grabs herself a ride home. Peter and the gang watch in disbelief as the pair fall in love, until our protagonist can’t take it any longer as he throws himself at the enemy in Bea’s conservatory, only for her to catch him in time. She introduces them politely, but as she leaves the room Thomas and Peter begin to fight. It’s scenes like this that drive home the brilliance of the film, as it’s easy to forget Domhnall is reacting to something that isn’t there. After faking amnesty for Bea’s sake a couple of times, she returns to find one of her paintings ruined, McGregor quick to point a finger at his nemesis.

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This leaves Peter no choice but to declare war, and we’re given a montage of the rabbits preparing themselves physically, as the sparrows return to deliver a brilliantly rousing rap before being knocked out of the air by Flopsy wielding a slingshot. Thomas wakes the next morning, blissfully unaware his house has been boobytrapped - this might be my favourite sequence of the film, because I can’t imagine how many times it would have been rehearsed to make sure everything runs smoothly. It’s perfectly choreographed to ‘Cousins’ by ‘Vampire Weekend’, and after being bombarded by rakes and bear traps, McGregor falls down the stairs in a wheelbarrow and vows to take things a step further. While the gang revel in their victory, Thomas puts an electric fence around the property, which Mrs Tiggywinkles is eager to test out for a taste of peanut butter. The animals outwit their adversary once more, as they reroute the current to his door handles - he’s smug until noticing the rabbits climbing the fence without being zapped, and things soon become serious as he’s thrown across the room by his own deterrent.

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We get another wonderful dance routine from the bunnies, as they celebrate beating McGregor again, and they think they’ve had their final laugh when one shock too many throws their opponent off the roof and leaves him unresponsive on the floor - though much to their chagrin, he awakens later that evening and disturbs their slumber, filling the burrow with explosives. Before he gets the chance to detonate it, he’s interrupted by Bea, and Peter isn’t willing to share his adopted mother. He returns with his posse the next day to pelt Thomas with tomatoes and berries, and this is one scene in the film that received huge backlash upon release; knowing McGregor has an allergy to blackberries, they manage to fire one into his mouth, causing him to require an epipen. Whilst this might seem like brutal rivalry, it’s dangerous to trivialise anaphylactic shock as a tool for revenge.

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Our antagonist does quickly recover, and proceeds to throw dynamite at the rabbits, destroying his garden as he goes. He gets his hands on Peter and threatens him once more, though when Bea arrives to find out what the raucous is all about, he pretends he’s been trying to save her long-eared friends’ life. The feud can’t stay hidden for much longer, and Peter uses Thomas’ plan against him, as he triggers the detonator destroying his burrow and Bea’s house when a tree falls on it. This is enough to sever her relationship with McGregor, something Peter has been dreaming about since the start, but it doesn’t leave him feeling good when Bea decides to move away. Accepting humility, our leading man declares he’ll put things right, as he follows Thomas to London where he’s been given his job at Harrods back. We’re still offered some light relief from the heavy atmosphere, as the resident cockerel now has lots of chicks to keep him busy, who are equally ecstatic when dawn approaches.

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Benjamin accompanies his friend to find McGregor, as they enlist the help of Johnny Town-Mouse, who gets them to their destination after a full tour of the capital city. When they are reunited with their former foe, he isn’t too pleased to see them, his reinstated position hanging in the balance as he smashes up the store again trying to eliminate them. After eventually reaching an armistice, Thomas is convinced to return to Windermere, while Peter’s sisters stall the taxi waiting to whisk Bea away. McGregor heroically travels land, air and sea to halt his love before she departs, as Peter shows her that rabbits are more clever than humans might perceive, taking responsibility for his role in the explosion. The new owners of Thomas’ house arrive, and the bunnies get to work scaring them off. The credits appear with an animated montage, giving another nod to the original illustrations, and we’re given a post-credits glimpse at how things pan out, as McGregor gets his own quaint toy shop and Bea sells her paintings.

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The special features includes the short movie ‘Flopsy Turvy’, capturing the rivalry between siblings but also the loving bond they share. There’s also a featurette about the process of creating the film, a trailer for the film ‘The Star’, and a dance-along video for ‘I Promise You’, the original song written for the film and sung by James Corden. Whilst an adaptation that split opinion, I’m certainly a fan - everything from the music to the casting and script come together beautifully, to entertain kids and adults alike. It might not be the quaint and idyllic story Beatrix is known for, but it brings the tale into the 21st century and relies on classic slapstick comedy to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I look forward to watching the sequel in the future.