This movie is a DELIGHT!
WARNING: sensitive viewers are warned that there is quite a lot of non-damaging violence. Our sensitive nine-year-old didn't like the constant slap-stick violence. Our desensitised five-year-old loved it.
The animation in this movie is gorgeous. GORGEOUS. The fur, the feathers, the shine on rabbits' front teeth. Look how far this industry has come! It's seamless computer-generated astonishment.
The story is very true to the heart of Beatrix Potter's original text in the beginning - some scenes are absolutely replicated: Peter squeezing through the bottom of Mr McGregor's gate; the soil sieve used to trap Peter in the garden; so many of the characters beautifully represented - Jemima Puddleduck, Mrs Tiggywinkle, Jeremy Fisher and Pigling Bland - lovingly rendered.
Even when we veer away from her much-loved text, the spirit is still there.
We sat quite close to the screen and it was so delightful to hear the children further back in the theatre laughing hard at the stunts and prank set-ups. I don't think any of us needed to have had the books in our lives to enjoy the film.
My five-year-old granddaughter likes to visit the bathroom several times during a movie. On our second visit, I asked her if she was enjoying the movie, she said "I love it. I want to buy it. I will be very disappointed if I can't."
“I love it. I want to buy it. I will be very disappointed if I can’t.”
From the opening scene as the sparrows fly onto the screen I loved it. I don't think I need to own the movie but I sure do want to go and see it again as soon as I can.
I'm including the second official trailer that shows WAY more of the movie (so spoiler alert) but also gives a good taste of the type of violence I was talking about earlier. This way, you can decide if your little one can cope or if you have to get a babysitter and go on your own :)
Associated links
- Beatrix Potter (Wikipedia)
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Wikipedia)
- James Cordon as Peter Rabbit (Video)