Peter Rabbit (film)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"Born to be Wild."

Peter Rabbit is a Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation film directed by Will Gluck and released on February 9, 2018. The film is based on the Peter Rabbit stories created by Beatrix Potter. The movie combines Live Action, CGI, and 2D Animation. Peter (and his family)'s feud with the McGregor ascends to newer heights when they both want the affections of their neighbor, Bea, a kind animal/nature lover.

Not to be confused for "The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends," "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" (This is one of the short stories were the movie was inspired from), and other works made by Beatrix Potter.

Tropes used in Peter Rabbit (film) include:
  • Achilles' Heel: Once Peter and the others found out about Tom's allergic to blackberries, they exploit this.
  • Adaptational Heroism: In the books, Tommy Brock, the badger, kidnapped Benjamin Bunny's kids with the primarily intent of having them for dinner...Literally. Here he doesn't do a thing and appears to be on good terms with Peter and his family.
  • Adapted Out: The Rabbits' Mother, Josephine Rabbit, and Mr. Bouncer, Benjamin's father, are no where to be seen. Partially justified, since Josephine died before the movie's events.
    • The same can be said of Mr. Bouncer and Mrs. McGregor, who appears in a cameo.
  • Anachronism Stew: The setting is modern day, but the woodland animals all wear Edwardian clothing.
  • And There Was Much Rejoicing: After Old McGregor died from a heart attack, the woodland critters all run wild in the garden and mansion and threw a wild party.
  • Art Shift: Some of the sequences told are through Bea's paintings that are in the style of the original books.
  • Author Avatar: Bea, who is very kindhearted, is an animal and nature lover, and paints for a living, is a modernized/fictionalize version of Beatrix Potter.
  • Badass Decay: Mr. Todd. In the books, the rabbits have good reasons to be terrified of him. The movie has Mr. Todd as one of the woodland neighbors.
  • Bad Liar: Bea thinks Tom is this, because When both the Rabbits' borrow and her country house got destroyed, Tom truthfully tells her that it's Peter, who has the detonator.
  • Bag of Kidnapping: Thomas McGregor stuffs Benjamin into a small bag.
  • Blown Across the Room: This happens to Tom several times after when Peter and his friends rewire the new electric pest device. And this happens to the couple that was planning to buy the mansion.
  • Brick Joke: In the Rabbit Burrow, the Rabbits have a growth chart to measure Peter and his sisters. The wall that has the growth chart is one of the few parts of the Burrow that survived the explosion.
  • British Businesses
  • British Royal Guards: The changing of the Guards appear briefly when the Rabbits' tour guide took them to Buckingham Palace.
  • Broken Aesop: The message about sharing is really undercut by the animals' selfish behavior and numerous thefts.
  • Canon Foreigner: Mainly the humans. - Thomas McGregor, who is the great-grand nephew of the original Mr. McGregor.
    • Bea, who is a local animal lover, counts as well.
  • Carnivore Confusion: Involving some of the more meat-eating animal characters, like Mr. Todd, who in the beginning was even hunting down Peter Rabbit. Also, in the books, he tried to turn Jemima Puddle-Duck into roast duck and would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling dogs.
  • CGI
  • Chaos While They're Not Looking: In one scene, whenever Bea's back is turn (i.e. out of the room), Peter and Tom drop the nice guy act and duke it out of each other. Just when the younger McGregor was about to smash Peter with a book, they hear Bea coming back...

"Tom"(to Peter):And that's what separates us from the French.

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  • Character Title: Peter Rabbit
    • Averted in a minute, when it's shown that it's not just Peter Rabbit, there's his cousin Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle Duck, and many other Beatrix Potter characters.
  • Chain-Reaction Destruction:After Peter proved to Bea that Thomas was using explosives, the Rabbit's tree borrow blew up and then fell on Bea's house.
  • Civilized Animals: Many of the forest creatures.
  • The City vs. the Country: Played straight. Thomas McGregor mentions that he hates the countryside and just wants to clean up the McGregor mansion to sell it.
    • Averted. Thomas encounters some people that called him the equivalent of a "Country Bumpkin."
    • Averted again. Thomas McGregor got rid of his prejudices entirely at the end to the point that he came back for Bea and doesn't want to sell the McGregor house.
  • Cock-a-Doodle Dawn: Even having JW Rooster II to crow.
  • Creative Closing Credits: Not only does it go into a style that resembles Beatrix Potter's watercolor paintings, it shows Thomas McGregor, Bea, and the woodland animals repairing their damage homes, placing the tree upright and back on the Rabbits' Burrow, and repairing the roof of Bea's house to name a few.
  • Denser and Wackier: This movie hams it up and is currently more over-the-top compare to the books, which are just whimsical. Plus, the movie has a heavy emphasis on pop culture references and slapstick humor.
  • Disappeared Dad: Benjamin Bunny's father, Old Mr. Bunny.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: This happens to Thomas McGregor, he only half listen to Bea's "Please leave the garden gates unlock for the animals." Suggestion, since he was distracted.
  • Don't Explain the Joke: Peter hears his cousin, Benjamin, saying this to him, when he's really explaining a joke he told.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Peter getting jealous and seeing the new McGregor as a threat, because Bea is spending more time with him, instead of hanging out with her animal friends. Sort of resembles a family pet getting jealous at the new significant other/spouse.
  • Driver of a Black Cab: The friendly cab driver that took Thomas McGregor to the countryside. The same driver agrees to drive Bea, when the latter wants to leave, but ran into "some animal problems."
  • Due to the Dead: Old McGregor was shown visiting the grave of Mrs.McGregor...While scarfing down some food.
    • Indicating that Old McGregor also lost the will to live and probably gotten worst after she died.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Mr. MacGregor has Mrs. MacGregor. Also, has Thomas as his nephew somewhere in his family tree.
  • Entitled Bastard: The animals really think they have the right to take whatever they want from the McGregor's garden, since it's part of "their home," forget the fact that they don't grow, plant, tend, weed, and etc. the fruits and vegetables themselves.
    • Until, they and McGregor found a middle ground and he started allowing them into the garden and allow Tom's romance with Bea to grow more at the end.
  • Evil Sorcerer: One of the characters exclaims that Tom's "A Witch!" Once Tom's adrenaline injector medicine begins to work. To the animals, it seems that the younger McGregor's Unexplained Recovery is bordering on The Dark Arts.
  • Flanderization: Most of the characters are "updated" versions of their book counterparts, even though the movie references Beatrix Potter's works a lot.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Thanks to a stone brick wall, we don't see in dept details on Old McGregor killing Mr. Rabbit. Though we do see Mrs. McGregor serving rabbit pie to her husband.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Other than being prevented from raiding the garden, Peter is jealous of the younger McGregor, since the latter quickly charms and wins over Bea.
  • Groin Attack: While the animals are pelting Thomas with fruits and vegetables are this, hence the reason why he was kneeling.
  • Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Many of the woodland animals are CGI characters that are half-dressed in Edwardian garb.
  • Hurting Heroes: It's been reveal that Peter Rabbit and his sisters are still grieving that their mother, Josephine Rabbit, passed away recently.
    • Same with Benjamin Bunny, who lost his father prior the film's events.
  • Interspecies Adoption: According to Peter, the Narrator, the Rabbit family, and some of the other wooodland critters, they looked to Bea like a second Mother and say that she kinda adopted them.
  • It's All My Fault: Peter made an apology speech, but another character states that he just flatout sucks with apologies.
    • When Peter shows Bea the detonator, clearing Thomas's name.
  • Harmless Electrocution: This form of electrocution happens to Mrs.Tiggly-Winkle when she licks the peanut butter and bites the electric wires.
    • Several times with Thomas, it knocks him out and he didn't wake up until nightfall.
    • Also, happens to the couple mansion buyers.
  • Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: This happens to Bea and Thomas McGregor as the movie progress.
  • The Merch: In Universe example. Peter and Benjamin Bunny are seen some scene later with patriotic Union Jack and other British merch, once they finally made it to Harrods.
  • Moral Dissonance: The forest critters are generally upset that both McGregors kept them from eating food that they didn't work for, so having an insane party after Old Man McGregor dies and going so far to attempt murder on his nephew by purposefully inducing an anaphylactic shock.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Both the Rabbits and Thomas McGregor when their feud hurt Bea, a innocent person who is a bit unaware of the garden warfare going on between them.
  • Nude-Colored Clothes: Invoked by some of the characters, regarding Benjamin Bunny. Since his brown jacket, according to them, camouflages with his equally brown fur to the point that it appears that Ben is in his birthday suit.
  • No One Should Survive That: This trope applies to several characters, like Ms. Tiggly Wiggly licking peanut butter from electrical wires. Thomas McGregor and the McGregor Mansion buyers getting electrocuted repeatedly and being victim to the various traps. In real life, this would otherwise be lethal.
  • Nonverbal Miscommunication: Happens to the Woodland creatures, they thought that Bea was apologizing to Thomas McGregor, when actually she's showing him some non-verbal rabbit talk.
  • Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date: Thomas McGregor and Bea did this and made a short trip in the nearby river, Bea doesn't use a parasol though.
  • PG Explosives: The small dynamite that Thomas bought from , he then puts some of these in the Rabbit Burrow.
    • Peter uses the detonator to blow up a part of the garden.
    • And the tree that forms the Rabbit Burrow...
    • Which falls into Bea's art studio that's also part of her country house.
  • Product Placement: Ranging from Beanie Babies and whatnot, it's Up to Eleven, 'cause this is Harrods.
  • Power Walk: Peter, Thomas McGregor, and Benjamin does this in an alleyway. A rare case since there's no explosion in background.
  • Race Against the Clock: Peter Rabbit and his friends realized that they have to bring McGregor back to fix things straight with Bea, since she's leaving and both parties will never see her again. They are pressed with short amount of time.
  • Reactive Continuous Scream: Happens two times: the first was when Thomas McGregor uncovers Pigling Bland, who is hiding underneath a sheet. The second time is Pingling Bland fell from the ceiling, this freaks the couple, who bought the McGregor house when Thomas changed his mind, despite how the sale was a final thing.
  • Running Gag
    • The Mouse Trap-ish traps which are all concocted by Peter Rabbit.
    • Pigling Bland's table manners whenever food's around.
    • The Rabbit Triplets doing their own share of brilliance, i.e. Getting the wheelbarrow on the stairs.
    • Mopsey and Flopsey arguing who is the oldest.
    • Felix D'eer, the moose,'s stopping in the middle of the road and staring hypnotically at the beam of headlights. It takes his fellow animal friends and later on, Bea to push and walk him to safety.

Felix D'eer: "Headlights."

    • The ridiculous way that the Rabbits, the other animals, and Thomas all traveled back to the countryside to ask Bea not to leave.
  • Second Act Breakup:When Bea found out about her boyfriend blowing something up and being horrible to the animals. Bea decided to break up with him.
  • Setting Update: As mentioned earlier, the film takes place in current year - 2018. Whereas the original books were written and took place during the Edwardian Era.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: The Looney Tunes way this film does these is this.
  • Surveillance as the Plot Demands: Peter and co. does this, a few of the animals and Peter pakour up on Bea's roof, just to spy on her and Tom.
  • Talking to Himself: Old Mr. McGregor and Tommy Brock share Sam Neil.
    • Mr. Jeremy Fisher and Thomas McGregor both have Domhnall Gleeson.
    • Rose Byme does both Bea and Jemima Puddle-Duck.
  • Toilet Humor: Too many to list, there's:
    • Peter can't resist the ramming a carrot at Old McGregor's butt crack. Leads into a very that's not funny heart attack.
    • How neat Thomas wants things to be, especially having the purest toilet water to drink out of using a straw.
    • Thomas McGregor meeting the Woodland locals for the first time.
  • Training Montage: Peter trains his family and friends to practice on how to shoot, strategize plans, and etc. whenever we are shown this montage.
  • Updated Rerelease: Kinda. According to interviews, this film designed the characters as an "updated" version of the Beatrix Potter characters. Fitted for the 21st century.
  • Ultimate Universe: Despite the title, both the trailer and the film shows almost every character from every Potter story.
  • Underside Ride: The Rabbits attempted this, but were thrown off in a minute.
  • Unexpected Inheritance: When the previous McGregor died, Thomas inherited the mansion and garden quite unexpectedly.
  • Villains Out Shopping: When Thomas makes good use of the bird watching kit that Bea gave him earlier.
  • Wild Teen Party: Turning this trope into an animal version, once Old MacGregor died. The animals threw an insane party at the manor.
  • Trope: Thomas was about to drop the small bag over the bridge when he realizes that Benjamin wasn't there, instead it's the binoculars.
  • Trope: Bea thought that Thomas was lying about Peter and co. having a part with blowing up their houses. She didn't believe him, because the younger MacGregor was lying earlier, so why trust his word now? Also, Peter is just a rabbit, which are not smart enough to rearrange the electric wiring, leave bear traps, and booby trap the mansion.