The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends
UK DVD cover
Genre Animation
Written by Beatrix Potter, Dianne Jackson
Theme music composer Colin Towns
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 9
Production
Running time 24 minutes
Production company(s) TVC London, Frederick Warne & Co, BBC, Pony Canyon, Fuji Television, Grand Slamm Partnership
Release
Original network BBC (UK)
Fuji Television (Japan)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia)
ABC2 (Australia)
The Family Channel (U.S.)
Three (New Zealand)
RTÉ Two (Ireland)
SABC 2 (South Africa)
M-Net (South Africa)
SSTV (Jamaica)
NTV7 (Malaysia)
Kids Central (Singapore)
Premiere 12 (Singapore)
Treehouse TV (Canada)
YTV (Canada)
Original release 13 May 1992 – 21 June 1995

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends is a British animated anthology television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. It was originally shown in the U.K. on the BBC between 13 May 1992 and 21 June 1995 and subsequently broadcast in the U.S. on Family Channel from 1993-1995 (with some of the characters' voices dubbed by actors with more American-like accents). The series has also been released on VHS by Pickwick Video from 1992 to 1995, on DVD by BBC Home Entertainment in 2006 and by Abbey Home Media in 2016.

Production

The show was produced by TVC London for the publishing company Frederick Warne & Co in association with the BBC and the Japanese companies Pony Canyon Inc and Fuji Television Network Inc. The first six episodes cost approximately US$11 million to produce. Dianne Jackson, director of the 1982 Christmas special The Snowman, was involved in the planning of the series and received series director and writer credit on the first six episodes, but she died of cancer on New Year's Eve 1992.

Contents

Each episode opens up with a live-action Beatrix Potter, portrayed by actress Niamh Cusack, coming to her farmhouse out of the rain, either after finishing a watercolor painting and running home with her pet dog, Kep, or after doing the shopping and hitching a ride home on a horse-drawn vehicle, sitting down to some tea with her pet rabbit, Peter, and then setting up the featured story. Once the story is finished, Potter either posts the picture letter herself or asks a boy to do it. An exception to this is The Tailor of Gloucester episode, which is set at Christmas time. The Tailor of Gloucester begins with Potter's maid, Daisy, serving out mince pies to some carol singers who sing the Sussex Carol while Potter and her pet cat, Simpkin, listen to them. Some of the episodes include story lines from two separate books, either told one after the other or intermingled. The animation style of The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends is very close to Potter's artwork in the original books. The main title song for the show is "Perfect Day," sung by Miriam Stockley.

Episodes

  1. The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny (13 May 1992)
  2. The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs. Tittlemouse (24 June 1992)
  3. The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck (22 July 1992)
  4. The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding (19 May 1993)
  5. The Tailor of Gloucester (9 June 1993)
  6. The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher (7 July 1993)
  7. The Tale of Pigling Bland (18 May 1994)
  8. The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse (29 June 1994)
  9. The Tale of Mr. Tod (21 June 1995)

Cast

Reception

At the 1993 Emmy Awards The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends was nominated for best animated program.

Home video

From 1992 to 1995, Pickwick Video released the complete series of The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends on VHS.

In 2006, BBC Home Entertainment released the complete box set of the series on DVD.

In 2016, Abbey Home Media released the complete box set of the series on DVD to commemorate the 150th birthday of Beatrix Potter since she was born on 28 July 1866 and then died on 22 December 1943.

References

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