Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit
"First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes."
First appearance The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
Last appearance The Tale of Mr. Tod (1912)
Created by Beatrix Potter
Voiced by Rory Carty (1992-1994)
Mark Lockyer (1995)
Cam Clarke (1995)
Colin de Paula (2012-2014)
L. Parker Lucas (2014-2015)
James Corden (2018)
Sienna Adams (2019)
Information
Species European rabbit
Gender Male
Family Mr. Rabbit (father, deceased)
Mrs. Josephine Rabbit (mother)
Benjamin Bunny (cousin/brother in-law)
Flopsy Rabbit/Flopsy Bunny (sister/cousin-in-law)
Mopsy and Cotton-tail (sisters)
Relatives Bouncer (uncle)
Benjamin and Flopsy's children (nephews and nieces/cousins-once removed)
unnamed brother-in-law by Cotton-tail
Nationality British English

Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by Beatrix Potter.[1] He first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902 and subsequently in five more books between 1904 and 1912. Spinoff merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, and dolls. He appears as a character in a number of adaptations.

Background

The rabbits in Potter's stories are anthropomorphic and wear human clothes: Peter wears a jacket and shoes. Peter, his widowed mother, Mrs. Josephine Rabbit, as well as his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail live in a rabbit hole that has a human kitchen, human furniture, as well as a shop where Josephine sells various items. Peter's relatives are Cousin Benjamin Bunny and Benjamin's father Mr. Bouncer Bunny.

Peter Rabbit was named after a pet rabbit whom Beatrix Potter had as a child, and whom she called Peter Piper. The first Peter Rabbit story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was originally created in 1893 as a letter to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess, Annie Moore. The boy was ill and Potter wrote him a picture and story letter to help him pass the time and to cheer him up. The letter included sketches illustrating the narrative.

In June 1903, a trade edition of the tale was published by Frederick Warne & Co, and by the end of the year, 28,000 copies were in print. Over the years, The Tale of Peter Rabbit has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and as of 2008, the Peter Rabbit series has sold more than 151 million copies in 35 languages.[2][3]

Books

Grown up Peter in his nursery garden, from The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies

Peter Rabbit made his first appearance in 1902 in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Peter disobeys Josephine's orders and sneaks into Mr. McGregor's garden, eating as many vegetables as he can before Mr. McGregor spots him and chases him about. Peter manages to escape, but not before losing his jacket and shoes, which Mr. McGregor uses to dress a scarecrow. Peter returns home weary, ill, and naked and is put to bed with a dose of chamomile tea.

In The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, first published in 1904, Peter's cousin Benjamin Bunny brings him back to Mr. McGregor's garden and they retrieve the clothes Peter lost in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. But after they gather onions to give to Josephine, they are captured by Mr. McGregor's cat. Bouncer arrives and rescues them, but also reprimands Peter and Benjamin for going into the garden by whipping them with a switch. In this tale, Peter displays some trepidation about returning to the garden.

In The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies, first published in 1909, Peter has a small role and appears only briefly. He is grown up and his sister Flopsy is now married to their cousin Benjamin. The two are the parents of six little Flopsy Bunnies. Peter and Josephine keep a nursery garden[lower-alpha 1] and the bunnies come by asking him for spare cabbage.

In The Tale of Mr. Tod, first published in 1912, Benjamin and Flopsy's children are kidnapped by notorious badger Tommy Brock. Peter helps Benjamin chase after Brock, who hides out in the house of the fox, Mr. Tod. Mr. Tod finds Brock sleeping in his bed and as the two get into a scuffle, Peter and Benjamin rescue the children.

Peter makes cameo appearances in two other tales. In The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, first published in 1905, Peter and Benjamin are customers of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, a hedgehog washerwoman. The two rabbits are depicted in one illustration peeping from the forest foliage. In The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, first published in 1909, Peter and other characters from Potter's previous stories make cameo appearances in the artwork, patronising the shop of Ginger and Pickles.

To mark the 110th anniversary of the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit,[4] Frederick Warne & Co. commissioned British actress Emma Thompson to write The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit, in which Peter ends up in Scotland after accidentally hitching a ride on Mr. and Mrs. McGregor's wagon. The book was released on 18 September 2012.[5] In autumn 2012, it was reported that Thompson would write more Peter Rabbit books.[6] Her next tale, The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit, was released in 2013, followed by The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit in 2014.[4]

Merchandising

Potter created a soft doll depicting Peter Rabbit and a Peter Rabbit board game shortly after the tale's first publication. The character has been depicted in a multitude of spinoff merchandise such as porcelain figurines and dishes. Peter Rabbit had also appeared on the packaging of the infant formula Enfamil.

Peter Rabbit was the first soft toy to be patented, in 1903, making Peter the oldest licensed character.[7] Frederick Warne & Co owns the trademark rights of the Beatrix Potter characters.[8] However, most of the stories are in the US public domain, as they were published before 1923.

The Peter Rabbit (rather than other Beatrix Potter characters) stories and merchandise are very popular in Japan: many Japanese visit the Lake District after becoming familiar with Potter's work at an early age at school. There is an accurate replica of Potter's house and a theme park in Japan, and a series of Mr McGregor's gardens in one of the largest banks. Merchandisers in Japan estimate that 80% of the population have heard of Peter Rabbit.[9]

Adaptations

In 1936, Walt Disney expressed interest in making a Peter Rabbit film. He proposed his idea of a feature-length film to Beatrix Potter, but she refused and did not give him the rights.[10]

Peter Rabbit appears in the 1971 ballet film, The Tales of Beatrix Potter. He also was featured in HBO's 1991 Storybook Musical adaptation of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, narrated by Carol Burnett. Several of the stories featuring Peter Rabbit were also animated for the 1992 BBC anthology series, The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends and two edutainment titles published by Mindscape The Adventures of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny in 1995[11] and Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit's Math Garden in 1996.[12] A CGI-animated children's TV series Peter Rabbit premiered on Nickelodeon and CBeebies in December 2012, with Colin DePaula voicing Peter in its first season (American version) and L. Parker Lucas taking over the role for the second season, respectively.[13]

In 2012 Quantum Theatre produced a new stage adaptation of the tales of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny. Written by Michael Whitmore the play toured the UK until 2015

In 2016, Peter Rabbit and other Potter characters appeared on a small number of collectors' 50p UK coins.[14]

An animated/live-action adaptation, Peter Rabbit, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, was released on 9 February 2018.[15][16] James Corden voices Peter Rabbit and Rose Byrne stars in the live-action role of the lead female named Bea (based on Potter herself).[17] Other cast members include Margot Robbie,[18] Daisy Ridley and Elizabeth Debicki.[17] Will Gluck directed and produced the film and Zareh Nalbandian also produced, while Lauren Abrahams oversaw the project for Sony Pictures Animation.[17]

More recently, John Patrick has adapted a number of Beatrix Potter's tales into a live-action/animated musical feature film for his brand-new film studio, called Storybook Studio.[19] The film is titled Beatrix Potter's The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends[20]and was released on July 28, 2018. Peter is voiced by child actress Sienna Adams. John Patrick released several preview clips of the film to YouTube.[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In the original frontispiece, a sign at the garden read, "Peter Rabbit & Mother-Florists-Gardens neatly razed. Borders devastated by the night or year."[1]:40

References

  1. 1 2 MacDonald, Ruth K. (1986). Beatrix Potter. Twayne's English Author Series. Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-6917-X.
  2. ↑ "United Media Licensing – PETER RABBIT". United Media Licensing. Archived from the original on 24 March 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2006.
  3. ↑ "Beatrix Potter goes green". CCTV International. 13 June 2008.
  4. 1 2 Kirby, Iona (3 October 2014). "Quirky Emma Thompson plants herself in the spotlight with baggy leaf printed dress while promoting new Peter Rabbit book". Daily Mail. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (September 16, 2011). "Emma Thompson to Give Peter Rabbit a New 'Tale'". ArtsBeat blog at NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Emma Thompson Revives Anarchist 'Peter Rabbit'". Morning Edition. NPR. October 11, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Beatrix Potter's Life". Peter Rabbit. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Frederick Warne applauds the Beijing Xicheng District Administration of Industry and Commerce's commitment to the protection of international intellectual property rights". PRNewswire.co.uk (Press release). London: Frederick Warne & Co. 30 August 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  9. ↑ Williams, Francesca (13 November 2013). "Peter Rabbit: Why the Japanese love Beatrix Potter, Francesca Williams". BBC.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Chronology". bpotter.com.
  11. ↑ "The Adventures of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny video game". museumofplay.org. The Strong. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit's Math Garden video game". museumofplay.org. The Strong. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Nickelodeon Premieres Peter Rabbit with Holiday Special". People Magazine. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Royal Mint: Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit on new 50p coin". BBC.co.uk. BBC News. 29 February 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2017. Four coins will be made featuring different characters from her stories, and a special collector's 50p coin showing a colour image of Peter Rabbit will also be released.
  15. ↑ Perry, Spencer (22 December 2015). "Sony sets release dates for The Emoji Movie and Animated Spider-Man". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Collinson, Gary (18 October 2015). "Sony working on a live-action/animation hybrid Peter Rabbit movie". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 Doty, Meriah (26 September 2016). "Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki Join 'Peter Rabbit' Live-Action/Animated Hybrid". Variety. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  18. ↑ Kroll, Justin (24 October 2016). "Margot Robbie Joins 'Peter Rabbit' Adaptation". Variety. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Storybook Studio". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
  20. ↑ "Will Peter Rabbit Come to Netflix? - What's on Netflix". What's on Netflix. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
  21. ↑ Storybook Studio (2017-08-11), Beatrix Potter's The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends - The Tale Of Peter Rabbit - Clip, retrieved 2018-09-01
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