Peter Rabbit is an unexpected delight for all

ADAPTING a beloved children’s classic is always fraught but this movie is surprisingly charming. In fact, you may even find yourself cackling along.

THERE are so many risks that come with taking a beloved children’s classic and giving it the big-screen 21st century treatment using computer animation.

Happily, for the most part, Peter Rabbit gets it right.

It’s been 116 years since Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit first appeared on paper, and now that mischievous button nose has twitched his way into his first narrative feature film, a movie that will not only delight kids with its physical comedy and bright palette but one that adults will find surprisingly charming.

Peter Rabbit is perfectly cast, from its live action humans to its voice actors, appropriately led by British comedian James Corden as the naughty and cocksure Peter.

Rose Byrne as the kind and effusive Bea.

Peter and his sisters Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cottontail (Daisy Ridley) live with their cousin Benjamin Bunny (Colin Moody) next to Mr McGregor’s (Sam Neill) farm. Mr McGregor’s vegetable garden proves too tempting for Peter who brazenly raids it despite the threat of capture and becoming rabbit pie.

One day, when Mr McGregor has a heart attack and dies, his farm is inherited by his city-dwelling nephew, Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson). Thomas turns up only to be terrifyingly greeted by a right old mess left by the woodland creatures who can party better than any American fraternity.

Thomas wants Peter and his friends out, but he also wants to woo neighbour Bea (Rose Byrne), a warm and friendly illustrator who considers Peter her family. It’s war as Peter and Thomas fight for Bea’s affections and for their homes.

Domhnall Gleeson as a sympathetic human pitted against Peter’s antics.

The choice to pit Peter against Thomas, is a smart one — Thomas is a genuinely good guy who wants to be helpful and to get to know the ebullient Bea better. Instead, he’s beset by an animal problem on his property. He’s not curmudgeonly and mean just a little uptight — a type Gleeson has perfected — and it doesn’t make him a villain. Which means Peter isn’t automatically the hero, and that’s a clever proposition in a genre that too often oversimplifies things.

With Peter’s recklessness and brattiness front and centre, the movie is set up to have a real character journey. Yes, shock horror, these characters learn to grow — and that silly kerfuffle over the so-called “allergy bullying” is part of that arc.

Filmed primarily in Australia (with Sydney’s Centennial Park doubling as the English countryside), Peter Rabbit is a modern update that doesn’t lose the allure of the original stories. It boasts plenty of laughs and doesn’t shy away from meta references, even breaking the fourth wall at one point, but it maintains the message of family and kindness — something kids and adults can both get behind.

The blend of animation and live action feels natural and even at its most ridiculous points, the film is still irresistibly likeable. It may not look like much at first but Peter Rabbit is an unexpected pleasure.

Rating: 3/5

Peter Rabbit is in cinemas from Thursday, March 22.

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