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AS UK CINEMAS REOPEN TO SOCIALLY DISTANCED AUDIENCES WE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS WEEK’S BIG-SCREEN OFFERINGS
BELOVED Beatrix Potter character Peter Rabbit bounded onto the big screen in 2018. Like its predecessor, this sequel employs slick digital effects to realise the eponymous scamp and his anthropomorphic chums, melding furry and feathered creations with human cast and live-action elements in bucolic harmony.
In a freewheeling script, penned by returning director Will Gluck and Patrick Burleigh, characters lament the insidious impact of Hollywood on literary adaptations, Peter (voiced by James Corden) jokes about the unlikeness of this second film, and when Bea (Rose Byrne) is pressed on plans following the publication of
The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, she shows dazzling foresight in outlining a 23-book series featuring 109 creature inhabitants of Hill Top Farm.
Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) and neighbour Bea enjoy a storybook wedding with Peter as their ring-bearer.
The newlyweds illustrate and print a book about the boisterous bunny and are thrilled when publishing heavyweight Nigel BasilJones (David Oyelowo) invites them to Gloucester to discuss the possibility of an initial print run of 5,000 copies. Bea asks Nigel to promise that he will protect the integrity of her literary world.
“I give you my word. I will be your ferocious guardian,” he beams. It transpires that Nigel intends to warp Bea’s vision to boost sales by casting Peter as the bad seed of the stories.
The bunny is crestfallen and abandons level-headed cousin Benjamin (Colin Moody) and sisters Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cottontail (Aimee Horn) for a contemplative stroll around the city. There, he encounters thieving rabbit Barnabas (Lennie James) and his criminal associates Whiskers (Rupert Degas), Tom Kitten (Damon Herriman) and Mittens (Hayley Atwell).
They encourage Peter to unlock his villainous potential with a daredevil heist of dried fruit from a farmers’ market.
Peter Rabbit 2 is more cohesive and emotionally satisfying than the original – by a cat’s whisker.
■ In cinemas now