Beatrix Potter in Film

 Beatrix Potter doesn’t only live on in her fabulous books; she is well-represented in film as well. Her works first came to the screen with the famous children’s show directed by Dianne Jackson and produced by several companies, including BBC.

     There are quite a few reasons why this series Peter Rabbit and Friends is an excellent interpretation of Beatrix Potter’s stories. First of all, each episode begins with an actor portraying Beatrix Potter out in the country, painting what she sees. This is a great way for young children who know very little about England to get a good view of what the Lake District looks like, helping them connect even more with the stories that Beatrix wrote and proving that the places that Beatrix wrote about are real. As a matter of fact, the scenes with Beatrix Potter writing at her desk were filmed at her own cottage.

     Also, the animation accurately represents her drawing style. It would have been very easy for the filmmakers to slip into the trap of making Miss Potter’s work ‘new’ and ‘cool.’ Instead, they stayed with her simple, realistic style, making the TV show look like she actually animated it.

Thirdly, the TV show keeps most of Potter’s original dialogue. When reading the books, I now find myself hearing the voices of the actors in the show in my head. 

It is also interesting how quite a few of the stories in the Peter Rabbit TV shows are combined together. (Such as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and the Tale of Jeremy Fisher.)

     The music in the TV show is also simple and beautiful (You may find more of my thoughts on English music in my review of the Pride and Prejudice movies.) The music that goes along with the TV shows relates well to children while keeping a very pure, English feel.  Even the songs that the children sing at the end of each episode tie into the stories to create a simple, yet pure and beautiful feel. If you know me well, you know that music is very important to me.

     Another good film on Beatrix Potter is the movie Miss Potter. Directed by Chris Noonan and starring Reneé Zellweger, Ewan McGregor and Emily Watson, this movie details the life of Beatrix Potter from the time that she first began writing books to when she bought Hill Top farm. The movie also has flashbacks to her childhood with Lucy Boynton starring as the young Beatrix. The film is very historically accurate, from the severity of her mother (Just like Helen Potter) to the tragic ending of Beatrix and Fredrick Warne’s relationship when he died while she was in the Lake District. The movie accurately captures Beatrix’s love for the country and her yearning to be free from her parents’ household.

     The movie shares a lot about her personal life, something I honestly wasn’t interested in until I watched the movie. Now, I find myself viewing the Peter Rabbit books much differently than before I had watched the movie. She had so many hard struggles in her life and now, to me, it seems apparent that the books she wrote were partially an attempt to lose herself in the beauty of her childhood. Indeed, there are few better ways to lose yourself than in devoting hours to creating beauty.

     Another thing the movie did was share the beautiful countryside of England, including the Lake District. With the images of the landscape in my mind, I can better understand what Beatrix was trying to share in her books—and stand in even more awe at how well she accomplished that. Now, more than ever, I wonder about the stunning country that produced so many famous authors, the country that shaped much of the world and spread beauty and art across our planet. Does the landscape have something to do with the reason why English art is so distinctive and revered? I think so. 

      Miss Potter was well cast, well directed and well filmed. It also well-represented Beatrix’s life, and, to me, accuracy is very important.

     Combined together, the Peter Rabbit and Friends TV shows and the movie Miss Potter help make Beatrix Potter more real than ever. In a world where hundreds of new books are coming out a year, I think it’s important that we don’t forget the classics and so, I am grateful for these films.