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
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny (13 May 1992)
- The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs. Tittlemouse (24 June 1992)
- The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck (22 July 1992)
- The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding (19 May 1993)
- The Tailor of Gloucester (9 June 1993)
- The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher (7 July 1993)
- The Tale of Pigling Bland (18 May 1994)
- The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse (29 June 1994)
- The Tale of Mr. Tod (21 June 1995)
Cast
- Niamh Cusack – Beatrix Potter (live action)
- Mark Lockyer - Peter Rabbit (adult), Alexander
- Rory Carty – Peter Rabbit (young)
- Adrian Scarborough - Benjamin Bunny (adult)
- Andrew Clitheroe – Benjamin Bunny (young)
- Enn Reitel – Mr. Bouncer, Cock Robin, Grocer, Drake Puddle-Duck & Kep
- June Whitfield – Josephine Rabbit
- Richard Wilson/Andrew Robertson – Mr. McGregor
- Richard Griffiths – Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise, Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. Jackson
- Ian Holm – The Tailor of Gloucester (This was Holm's second time playing the Tailor, the first time being in the book's 1989 TV special adaption)
- Dan Russell - Mouse Tailor
- Derek Griffiths - Simpkin
- Hugh Laurie – Johnny Town-Mouse
- Alan Bennett - Timmy Willie
- Prunella Scales – Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
- Rebecca Hall - Lucie
- Rik Mayall - Tom Thumb
- Felicity Kendal - Hunca Munca
- Alan Bowe - Tom Kitten
- Rosemary Leach - Tabitha Twitchit
- Patricia Routledge - Ribby
- Struan Rodger - Samuel Whiskers
- Sheila Hancock - Anna Maria
- John Gordon Sinclair - John Joiner
- Su Pollard/Sandra Dickinson (US) - Jemima Puddle-Duck
- Pam Ferris - Aunt Pettitoes
- Dinsdale Landen - Mr. Tod
- Don Henderson - Tommy Brock
- Derek Jacobi - Jeremy Fisher
- Chris Lang - Pigling Bland
- Josie Lawrence - Pig-Wig
- Selena Cadell - Rebeccah Puddle-Duck
- Jemima Feyne - Daisy the Maid (live action)
- Sheila Steafel - Flopsy Rabbit (adult), Cook & Nurse
- Jenny Moore - Flopsy Rabbit (young), Moppet, Flopsy Bunnies
- Mary Jane Bowe - Mopsy Rabbit, Mittens, Flopsy Bunnies
- Sarah Woolcock - Cotton-Tail Rabbit, Flopsy Bunnies
- Anna Massey – Mrs. Tittlemouse
- June Watson – Mrs. McGregor
- Suzanne Bonetti - Sarah the parlour maid & the Child
- Anthony Jackson - Policeman
- David Neal - Mr. Piperson the Farmer
- Kim Parker & Nichola Dawson - Flopsy Bunnies
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
- Animation of Peter Rabbit New Sunday Times - Mar 30, 1993