Peter Rabbit 2018

     This film is based on books by Beatrix Potter.  Peter Rabbit and his three sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton Tail plus their cousin Benjamin live near Mr. McGregor’s garden.  They enjoy harassing Mr. McGregor and taking produce from his vegetable garden.  One day Mr. McGregor has a heart attack?  The rabbits and all the other animals take over the garden and the house.  What they don’t know is that the house was left to a relative of Mr. McGregor.  Now there is a younger Mr. McGregor and he starts to fall in love with Bea who lives next door.  Bea loves the rabbits and doesn’t tolerate anyone being mean to them!!  Secretly, young Mr. McGregor is trying to get rid of all the animals stealing from his garden!!

     I thought this was cute and funny.  The rabbits and other creatures are very realistic but like toy animals brought to life.  Mr. McGregor holds his own against the over the top antics of all the animals.  The only thing that brings everyone together is love!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

95 min, Animation directed by Will Gluck with Domhnall Gleeson, Rose Byrne, Sam Neill, Natalie Dew, Terenia Edwards, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and the voices of James Corden, Fayssal Bazzi, Sia, Colin Moody, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, Daisy Ridley, Christian Gazal, Ewen Leslie. 

Note:  Imdb 6.6, 65% critic 58% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.5* our of 5* with 687 reviews, Metacritic 51 out of 100 with 26 critics 6.5 out of 10 with 64 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed at Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.  The character Bea is a reference to Beatrix Potter.  The scenes with the rabbits and other animals are live action scenes.  They were filmed in Australia and live rabbits cannot be brought into the country.  They are considered to be an introduced pest and in the late 1800’s the country was overrun with rabbits.  There is another live-action animated hybrid film with a rabbit character, Hop released in 2011.  There was some push back from food allergy groups because of a scene with the younger Mr. McGregor being pelted with blackberries and he is allergic to this berry.  Domhnall Gleeson plays General Hux in the Star Wars series.  He is the Commander of the First Order, the nemesis of the Republic.