This video adaptation of the classic children’s book by Beatrix Potter is narrated by Carol Burnett.
We begin our story in a sandbank under a large tree, where the Rabbit family lives. There is Mother and her four children: Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail were all good little bunnies and did what they were told, but Peter had an adventurous streak in him and wanted to learn the answers to life himself. When his mother told him not to go to Mr. MacGregor’s garden, because his father was caught there and ended up becoming a rabbit pie, Peter didn’t listen. All he could think about was row after row of delicious vegetables.
Many of us are already familiar with the story, so I’ll summarize rather than elucidate. (I like long words) Peter goes to the garden and has his fill. But then he’s too fat to run very quickly and nearly gets caught by the farmer. He escapes by the skin of his nose and goes home a very repentant bunny.
The movie follows the storyline pretty exactly, but everything has been stretched out to fill a half hour show. Instead of merely telling the rabbits not to go to the garden, Mother sings a long song about all the vegetables Mr. MacGregor grows. (How’s the rabbit supposed to avoid temptation when it’s set to music?) The scene in the garden is expanded to not just one, but several narrow escapes from Mr. MacGregor, including a song by the birds who show Peter the way to the gate.
Overall, it was an okay film. There was nothing particularly thrilling or disappointing in it. My son pointed out something interesting – the animators didn’t spend very much time on Mr. MacGregor and instead concentrated their efforts on the rabbits, so our hapless farmer looks a little . . . underdrawn. I also noticed that they used bright colors for the film, and I do prefer the restful pastels of the books.
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