Reel 002-Peter Rabbit (Free Sample) (Patreon)

Oh, So Adorable

While Peter Rabbit is a formulaic and banal retelling of the Beatrix Potter classic, I found the finished product to be utterly delightful and oh, so adorable.  The crux of this modern version is the meta style in which the human characters knowingly wonder why the animals have clothes, while the animals constantly marvel at the humans’ need to keep them from the garden.  Domhnall Gleeson provided welcome comic relief as the bumbling and inept Mr. Thomas McGregor, in contrast to his turn as the bumbling and inept General Hux in the recent Star Wars trilogy. The rest of the cast was filled with Australia’s and the UK’s brightest stars as James Corden, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Daisy Ridley voiced the starring rabbits while Rose Byrne, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Sam Neill fleshed out the human roles.  Director Will Gluck continued his foray into family-friendly fare, following Annie, after starting his career with the more millennial-minded Easy A and Friends with Benefits.  Overall, I had very few expectations for Peter Rabbit, yet I came away with a wonderfully joyous outing to the theater.

Expectations:  ✭✩

Rating: ✭✭✩