![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Peter Rabbit
Apr. 16th, 2020 10:51 amWe love cartoons and somehow we missed Peter Rabbit in theatres. It was slightly controversial for making a beloved literary character into a jerk and it is more Bugs Bunny than Beatrix Potter. It's perfectly acceptable family entertainment if you don't mind some fart jokes and a little violence. Sony's cartoons aren't quite PIXAR level in terms of story, but the fur textures and blended animation was really well done as well as expressive. The movie is loaded with pop songs and in some ways it's PETER RABBIT EXTREME!!! but one does have to stay relevant with the young folks. There's always the books, the ballet and the 90s The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends...there's plenty of Peter to go around. I liked the parts where the movie was true to Beatrix Potter's illustrations, such as when Benjamin hides under a flower pot and Peter slips under a fence gate.
We watched it a few days ago because we needed something silly and carefree. The slapstick and sight gags were awesome--there was even an homage to stepping on rakes. The next morning I realized it was all about toxic masculinity. Grumpy Old Farmer McGregor has a heart attack after catching Peter and a new rabbit-hating McGregor soon shows up, Thomas. He soon becomes charmed by country life and next door neighbour Bea, who is the protector of Benjamin Bunny, Peter and his three sisters. Thomas and Peter literally battle for Bea's affections until things escalate and neither cares about what Bea wants. Eventually Peter realizes that his behaviour has endangered his sisters and cousin and makes amends.
I think it's a rare story, especially for a children's movie, that shows a character changing so fundamentally while still retaining their personality. Yes, Peter is a jerk, but he's also clever and loves his family. He experiences deep remorse for the suffering he has caused and has a good heart. That's the kind of teachable moment that's missing these days. Either characters are too lucky or too clever or too this or too that. Peter grows and changes and it's rewarding.
The movie puts the spotlight on Peter's sisters which was always missing from the books. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail are triplets and you know...sisters are going to squabble! Flopsy is the narrator and "oldest", Mopsy is the ever suffering middle child and Cotton-Tail, perhaps appropriately voiced by Daisy Ridley, has a warrior heart.
We watched it a few days ago because we needed something silly and carefree. The slapstick and sight gags were awesome--there was even an homage to stepping on rakes. The next morning I realized it was all about toxic masculinity. Grumpy Old Farmer McGregor has a heart attack after catching Peter and a new rabbit-hating McGregor soon shows up, Thomas. He soon becomes charmed by country life and next door neighbour Bea, who is the protector of Benjamin Bunny, Peter and his three sisters. Thomas and Peter literally battle for Bea's affections until things escalate and neither cares about what Bea wants. Eventually Peter realizes that his behaviour has endangered his sisters and cousin and makes amends.
I think it's a rare story, especially for a children's movie, that shows a character changing so fundamentally while still retaining their personality. Yes, Peter is a jerk, but he's also clever and loves his family. He experiences deep remorse for the suffering he has caused and has a good heart. That's the kind of teachable moment that's missing these days. Either characters are too lucky or too clever or too this or too that. Peter grows and changes and it's rewarding.
The movie puts the spotlight on Peter's sisters which was always missing from the books. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail are triplets and you know...sisters are going to squabble! Flopsy is the narrator and "oldest", Mopsy is the ever suffering middle child and Cotton-Tail, perhaps appropriately voiced by Daisy Ridley, has a warrior heart.
