Certificate: PG
Running Time: 95 mins
Star Rating: 3/5
THE subterranean thumping you can hear throughout Will Gluck's family-friendly adventure isn't Beatrix Potter's eponymous floppy-eared creation and his anthropomorphic clan as they bound excitedly around their warren. It's the author spinning in her grave as iconic characters are merchandised for quick and easy laughs. Peter Rabbit buries the sweet, simple charm of Potter's beautifully illustrated books, which were first published at the turn of the 20th Century, and unearths a brash and brazen battle between country and city, laden with pop culture references. Young audiences won't care about the disparity between Potter's elegant source material and the film's emotionally manipulative script. To them, what matters is the four-legged protagonists are undeniably cute and impeccably realised with state-of-the-art computer effects that seamlessly meld technical wizardry and live action.
Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden), sisters Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cottontail (Daisy Ridley), and cousin Benjamin (Colin Moody) regularly steal produce from the garden of Old Mr McGregor (Sam Neill). The film chomps merrily through universal themes of romance, regret and reconciliation, embellished with lively vocal performances and energetic set pieces including a final reel detour back to the capital. If only the film had more heart and soul.
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