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Peter Rabbit (film)

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Peter Rabbit
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWill Gluck
Screenplay by
  • Will Gluck
  • Rob Lieber
Starring
CinematographyPeter Menzies Jr.
Edited byChristian Gazal
Music byDominic Lewis[3]
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[4]
Release dates
  • February 3, 2018 (2018-02-03) (The Grove)
  • February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09) (United States)
  • March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22) (Australia)
Running time
93 minutes[5]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[6]
Box office$26.5 million[5]

Peter Rabbit is a 2018 3D live-action/CGI animated adventure comedy film directed by Will Gluck from a screenplay by Gluck and Rob Lieber, based on the stories of the character of the same name created by Beatrix Potter. The film stars Domhnall Gleeson, Rose Byrne, and Sam Neill with the voices of James Corden, Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie, and Elizabeth Debicki.

The film was released on February 9, 2018. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $26 million.

Plot

Peter Rabbit, his cousin Benjamin, and his triplet sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, spend most of their days picking on Mr. McGregor and stealing his vegetables from his garden. They are friends with a local woman named Bea who spends her time painting pictures of the rabbits as well as the surrounding nature. Bea takes on a mother-like relationship with the rabbits due to the passing of their mother and father. One day Peter, accidentally leaves his jacket back in McGregor's garden and goes back to retrieve it. McGregor spots and catches him, but suddenly dies of a heart attack. Enthralled, Peter invites all his woodland friends who have now taken over McGregor's old house.

Meanwhile in London, McGregor's nephew Thomas works at the Harrod's department store where he awaits for a promotion. He coldly accepts the news about his uncle's death, but is infuriated over not getting the promotion and is fired. When he learns that his uncle's house is valuable, he decides to refurbish it so he can sell it and start his own toy store to rival Harrod's. He kicks out Peter and his friends and begins to secretly wall up the garden, despite Bea's objections. When Peter and Benjamin sneak back into the garden, Thomas catches the latter and attempts to drown him. Peter and the triplets rescue him and Thomas accidentally tosses the binoculars that Bea had given him earlier.

Thomas and Peter start a war with each other by setting up traps and other offensive nuisances. Thomas and Bea end up falling in love with each other which causes Peter to become jealous and wanting to separate them more. Bea soon gets mad at Peter for unintentionally ruining her paintings during one excursion and soon she also turns on Thomas when his violent tendencies begin to show. This all culminates when Thomas throws dynamite at Peter's burrow, and uses it to attack Peter in the garden, before telling him that his antics caused him to become aggressive. When Peter detonates the dynamite to prove to Bea that Thomas was using it, he ends up knocking down the tree on top of the burrow, which crushes Bea's art studio. Thinking that Thomas was responsible for the detonation, Bea breaks up with him, and he goes back to London to work at Harrod's again.

Peter feels bad for what he has done, and upon learning that Bea intends to leave Peter and his family, he and Benjamin head to London and finds Thomas at the store. They make up and rush back to the country where Peter reveals that he had activated the detonator, and he and Thomas apologize to Bea for their fighting. Thomas discovers that he cannot go home because a snobbish couple, whom Thomas had an ugly encounter with prior, had just bought the house. Peter and his friends use their tricks to kick the couple out of the house.

During the end credits, it is shown that Bea, Thomas, and the rabbits eventually moved to London together where Thomas has his own toy shop and Bea begins to write and illustrate books based on Peter and his friends.

Cast

Voice cast

The Singing Sparrows were voiced by Jessica Freedman, Shana Halligan, Katharine Hoye, Chris Man, Chad Reisser, and Fletcher Sheridan

Production

The film was first revealed in April 2015 through email leaks as a result of the Sony Pictures hack.[7] The official announcement of the film came that December.[8]

On August 4, 2016, it was reported that Will Gluck would be directing the live action/animated film from a script by Gluck and Rob Lieber, with James Corden cast to voice Peter Rabbit and Rose Byrne to play one of the live-action roles.[9] Gluck will also be producing the film along with Zareh Nalbandian of Animal Logic, which will be providing the visual effects and animation for the film.[9]

On September 26, 2016, Daisy Ridley and Elizabeth Debicki had joined the cast, with the live action production scheduled to commence in Sydney, Australia in January 2017.[10][11][12] On October 18, Domhnall Gleeson was cast as Mr McGregor, known for chasing rabbits out of his vegetable garden, and on October 24, Margot Robbie joined the cast, expected to voice a bunny.[13][14] On November 7, Sia was casted to join the film as Mrs Tiggy-Winkle.[15]

Filming

On December 18, 2016, a first image of the title character, along with the movie's logo, had been revealed.[16] Production began in December 2016.[17][18] Live action scenes were filmed at Centennial Park in Sydney.[19] In March 2017, filming took place at Central railway station, Sydney which was depicted as London Paddington station.[20]

In April 2017, a film crew were seen in Ambleside and Windermere in the Lake District. A local toy shop on Compston Road, Ambleside, was adapted to be Mr McGregors'.

Release

Peter Rabbit was originally scheduled to be released on March 23, 2018,[8] but it was moved up to February 9, 2018.[21]

Trailer criticism

The first trailer was met with negative reception from critics and fans of the character, many of whom labelled the film as being too modern and insulting to Beatrix Potter's works. Collider slammed the trailer as "garbage" and a "low brow 'comedy' cringe fest".[22]

Stuart Heritage from The Guardian stated that "the Peter Rabbit film looks like the result of some blisteringly inept manhandling [...] there's something genuinely harrowing about the sight of Peter Rabbit – gentle, Edwardian Peter Rabbit – thoughtlessly injuring some birds, or grabbing a pile of lettuce leaves and making it rain like a banker in a strip club, or literally twerking" and argued "there is no way on Earth that [Beatrix Potter would] have ever given the green light to a slow motion car crash like this."[23]

Metro writer James Baldock found that the trailer was "so gut wrenchingly bad" and that "if the movie lives up to its two minute preview – [it] is set to be the greatest abomination to grace the big screen since The Emoji Movie." He finished by writing "Listen carefully, and you can just about hear the sound of Beatrix Potter, turning furiously in her grave."[24] On November 7, a new trailer for the United Kingdom was released.[25]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Peter Rabbit was released alongside Fifty Shades Freed and The 15:17 to Paris, and was projected to gross around $16 million from 3,725 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates as high as $25 million.[26] It ended up making $25 million over the weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Fifty Shades ($38.8 million).[27]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 57% based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Peter Rabbit updates Beatrix Potter's classic characters with colorfully agreeable results that should entertain younger viewers while admittedly risking the wrath of purists."[28] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[27]

Accusations of condoning allergy bullying

In the first week after the film's release, groups in multiple countries criticized it for "allergy bullying" and called for an apology from Sony. The accusations focused on a scene where Thomas McGregor—whose character has a known severe allergy to blackberries—is, in an act of self-defense by Peter Rabbit and his cohorts, pelted with the berries until one enters his mouth, causing him to enter anaphylactic shock and grab for his Epipen.[30][31][32] In response, Sony published a statement saying "We sincerely regret not being more aware and sensitive to this issue, and we truly apologise".[33]

References

  1. ^ "Peter Rabbit (2018)". AllMovie. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  2. ^ "Peter Rabbit film set takes shape in Sydney".
  3. ^ "Dominic Lewis to Score 'Peter Rabbit'". Film Music Reporter. September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Peter Rabbit (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Pressburg, Matt (July 17, 2017). "Why Sony, LStar Movie Finance Deal Fell Apart: Flops, 'Ghostbusters' and Feet on Desk (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Tweedie, Steven (April 17, 2015). "Leaked Sony emails reveal 'Peter Rabbit' feature film is in the works". Business Insider. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Perry, Spencer (December 22, 2015). "Emoji Movie, Animated Spider-Man and Peter Rabbit Get Release Dates". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Kit, Borys; Siegel, Tatiana (August 4, 2016). "James Corden, Rose Byrne in Talks to Star in Sony's 'Peter Rabbit'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 26, 2016). "Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki Join 'Peter Rabbit' Live-Action/Animated Pic (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  11. ^ Gaul, Lou (October 14, 2016). "'Wish' list: Bruce Willis to fill Charles Bronson's shoes". Burlington County Times. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  12. ^ Evry, Max (September 26, 2016). "Peter Rabbit Movie Coming from Columbia Pictures". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  13. ^ Galuppo, Mia (October 18, 2016). "Domhnall Gleeson to Play Mr McGregor in Live-Action 'Peter Rabbit'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  14. ^ Kit, Borys; Ford, Rebecca (October 24, 2016). "Margot Robbie in Talks to Join 'Peter Rabbit' Film (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  15. ^ sia. "The new UK trailer for #PeterRabbitMovie has arrived! Catch Sia as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle in 2018 - Team Siapic.twitter.com/2fNIdnJwX5".
  16. ^ "Peter Rabbit Images Offers First Look at New Beatrix Potter Adaptation - Screen Rant". December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  17. ^ "PETER RABBIT". Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  18. ^ Anderton, Ethan (December 17, 2016). "Peter Rabbit First Look Photo Shows Off The Bunny Voice by James Corden". Slashfilm. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  19. ^ "Rose Byrne, look alike body double, Domhnall Gleeson begin filming for Peter Rabbit in Centennial Park". The Daily Telegraph. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  20. ^ These new signs at Central station are freaking Sydneysiders out Smoothfm March 8, 2017
  21. ^ "Peter Rabbit". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  22. ^ "First 'Peter Rabbit' Trailer Gives Us Another Reason to Be Mad at James Corden". Collider. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  23. ^ "James Corden's Peter Rabbit: another kids' classic wrecked forever". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Here's the trailer for the new Peter Rabbit movie – and it's a total disaster". Metro. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Sony launches trailer for upcoming Peter Rabbit film". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Worldwide Opening Weekend Will Steam Franchise Past $1 Billion – B.O. Preview". Deadline.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  27. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 11, 2018). "'Fifty Shades Freed' Builds E.L. James Trilogy To $1 Billion Climax; 'Peter Rabbit' Bounces To $25M Opening". Deadline.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  28. ^ "Peter Rabbit (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  29. ^ "Peter Rabbit reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  30. ^ "Peter Rabbit film criticised for depicting allergy bullying". The Guardian. February 11, 2018.
  31. ^ Seselja, Edwina; Dawes, Samantha (February 11, 2018). "Peter Rabbit: Calls for Sony Pictures to apologise after food allergy bullying scene in new movie". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  32. ^ "Peter Rabbit film accused of food bullying as rabbits pelt allergic man with blackberries". The Daily Telegraph. February 11, 2018.
  33. ^ "Peter Rabbit film producers apologise over allergy scene". BBC News. February 12, 2018.
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