CARTOON CAPERS

‘HEARTBREAKINGLY disrespectful’ is how the pressure group Global Anaphylaxis Awareness and Inclusivity describes a scene from the new Peter Rabbit film, in which bunnies pelt a man with blackberries, knowing he is allergic to them.

The group has started a petition asking for the film’s maker, Sony Pictures, to apologise. Let’s be clear, severe allergic reactions can kill — and do kill — people and must never be belittled. But to describe these animated antics as ‘grossly offensive’ seems, to me, deeply misguided and also to have missed the point — that rather than belittling allergies, the scene emphasises how serious they can be.