“Peter Rabbit”: A lively, funny, 21st-century adaptation

"Peter Rabbit." Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment

This February, Beatrice Potter’s beloved story of mischievous Peter Rabbit and his friends was brought back to life on our screens.

Will Gluck, director of Easy A, took the story, which is over one hundred years old, and put it into a charmingly funny modern context. The animals are re-imagined as anthropomorphic digitized photo/animation hybrids. It sounds awful in theory, but Peter Rabbit remains adorable and there is something very sweet about the vast display of human emotions on his little rabbit face.

The story follows Peter Rabbit’s feud with Mr. McGregor as they rival for the affections of the animal lover next door. James Corden does a wonderful job voicing Peter and the movie has largely been received better than expected. The feature is lively, funny and brings a new 21st-century touch to the original and widely loved tale.

Naturally, not everyone will appreciate watching Peter Rabbit adopt millennial text lingo like “homies” and “chill” and the digital adaption might seem a little crass for some. Arguably, however, the movie succeeds in keeping the story alive by bringing it to a new generation in a way which it will be cheerfully received. A charming movie that will probably split Peter Rabbit fans down the middle, but at least has the potential to entertain all.