The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992–1998) User Reviews

Wonderful adventures

[joseph-51 · 13 October 2002]

In 1993, a TV series brought the classic tales of Beatrix Potter to life. This is great, unscary cartoons for kids without being too twee for grownups. Characters such as Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Mr McGregor, Jemima Puddle Duck and Mr Jeremy Fisher wetre brought to life. Every Easter, they re-run them on the BBC. Advice: WATCH THEM.

Just beautiful!

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 4 November 2009]

Beatrix Potter was one of my favourite authors when I was a kid, and at 17 I still love her stories to this day. They are just so simple and charming that they are so easy to like. So is this truly wonderful series. The series consists of 9 episodes based on her books- The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers and the Roly Poly Pudding, The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle Duck, The Tailor of Gloucester, The Tale of Pigling Bland, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy Winkle and Jeremy Fisher, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs Tittlemouse. The Tale of Mr Tod and The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town Mouse. I really cannot decide on a personal favourite of mine, for they are all so brilliant, but if I must probably Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, though Tailor of Gloucester is a perfect Christmas treat.

Back to the series, the live action sequences were exceedingly charming and exquisitely filmed. The period detail was splendid and the scenery was breathtaking. Niamh Cusack as Beatrix Potter was perfect, exactly as I imagined her, shy, quiet and reflective who found solace in her drawings and stories. The animation was just like Miss Potter's illustrations, and they were colourful and carefully drawn. And the music was just outstanding, and is careful not to overpower what is going on screen. The song Perfect Day, both in melody and lyrics, is one of the best songs I have ever heard, and Miriam Stockley's vocals were perfection. The episodes themselves are remarkably true to their source, and lose none of their charm. The world of Beatrix Potter is a wondrous place I find, full of bunnies, kittens, hedgehogs and ducks, that are every bit as sweet as they are likable. Also there was clearly a great deal of care into finding a perfect voice cast for each episode. Some of our finest actors and actresses June Witfield(Mrs Rabbit), Shiela Hancock(John Thaw's wife, Anna Maria), Ian Holm(The Tailor), Pam Ferris(Auntie Pettitoes), Derek Jacobi(Jeremy Fisher), Anna Massey(Mrs Tittlemouse) and Hugh Laurie(Johnny Town Mouse)all but to name a few expertly bring their characters to life, and make the most of faithful and well written material.

Overall, The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends is a must see if you love Beatrix Potter like I do. It doesn't spoil the books at all, and Miss Potter herself would be proud if she saw this series. It is charming, handsome, faithful and so relaxing to watch. I also recommend the 1971 ballet film The Tales of Beatrix Potter, because that is every bit as delightful. Plus the late great Frederick Ashton himself makes an appearance as Miss Tiggy Winkle. A definite 10/10 Bethany Cox

Beatrix Potter would of been proud.

[robynh-4 · 10/10 · 7 December 2007]

"The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends" was (and is) an absolutely beautiful television show about Beatrix Potter's stories. The animation was perfect, it looked exactly like the illustrations in the stories! And the music was just stunning, among the most beautiful music that I've ever heard. I have a few episodes on tape that I watched all the time as a kid and I still do. The show captured the comedy and the drama of the stories, though, frankly, the drama nearly had me in tears as a kid because it was that sad and it still does. But don't ever think that it's too sad for children to watch, because it's not. Adults will be hooked into it as well and also may get teary eyed! In conclusion, I very highly recommend this show. It's beautiful, it's funny, it's sad and, most of all it's stunning.

My diagnosis: WATCH IT!

Absolutely top notch!

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 31 January 2010]

I loved the books from Beatrix Potter as a little kid, and I still love them now as an adult; I am 24 years old. I watched the series a long time ago, and from that moment on, I absolutely loved it! I would like to say that the voice acting for this show is absolutely top-notch, and it really goes well with the characters from every story in the show and the beautiful animation put into it. The series also had an excellent music score.

My favorite stories or episodes are: The Story of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny; The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck; The Tailor of Gloucester; The Tale of Samuel Whiskers; The Tale of Mr. Tod and the Further Adventures of Peter Rabbit; and The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse.

Simple And Utterly Charming

[zsofikam · 10/10 · 29 August 2017]

I should preface this review by stating that I am a major fan of the Beatrix Potter series and therefore am also a major fan of the show The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends. This series does such a great job of reflecting the pure innocence that the books are known for. I personally don't understand why some of the books were a single episode while other times two books were combined into two segments per episode, although I can kind of understand this in the case of Peter Rabbit/Benjamin Bunny since the books are somewhat connected. I also wish that there was a Squirrel Nutkin episode. Those two small nitpicks aside, I absolutely adore the series. For one thing, I really love the animation, which is very felt-like. I know I use that comparison a lot but it's very noticeable here. Another thing that I very much enjoy is the dialogue, which is very nice and somewhat funny at times. Best of all, the stories always keep the whimsy and enchantment of the originals. Consisting Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, Two Bad Mice And Johnny Town-Mouse, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddleduck, The Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs Tittlemouse, Samuel Whiskers, Pigling Bland, Mr Tod, and The Tailor of Gloucester. Check out this magical land of disobient bunnies, rambunctious kittens, and practical hedgehogs.

Cute, Idyllic and Nostalgic; Archetypal Class of The Early 90's

[diveinthedark-89834 · 10/10 · 3 October 2019]

The other day I stumbled across a VHS in the charity shop of 'Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny' from this series; 1st time seeing this production since the early-mid 90's I guess ! If 'Peter and Benjamin' was the 1st in this series, they made (8?) other programmes of Beatrix Potter tales.

I forgot just how classy and refined this series was. It was beautifully animated; true and accurate to the style of Beatrix Potter's illustrations, with no caricatured/digital plasticity.

I particularly liked the live-action segments at the start and end of the cartoons, portraying Beatrix Potter- played by the highly cute Niamh Cusack - at her farmhouse home, inspired by her beloved pets to write the stories of the animals.

The music featured during the end credits of the early programmes from 1992 is also worth mentioning; a tender, refined folky number, sung by Miriam Stockley of Adiemus fame.

All in all, I will have to give this production a full 10/10 for its beauty, perfection and nostalgic element, the latter evoking the good ole' early 90's we all remembered and loved !

Classic Hand-Drawn Animated Series from the BBC in the Year 1992

[rebeccaajclarke · 10/10 · 20 February 2022]

I find The World Of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992) is rather splendid, because of the Characters, the story, the animation, the art style, the music, the narration and the voice acting, It has got rabbit characters are Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Josephine Rabbit, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-Tail, Benjamin Bunny and Mr. Bouncer, the cat characters are Tom Kitten, Moppet, Mittens, Mrs. Tabitha Twitchet, Cousin Ribby and Simpkin, the duck characters are Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck, Rebeccah Puddle-Duck and Jemima Puddle-Duck, the dog characters are Kep and John Joiner, the rat characters are Mr. Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria, the pig characters are Aunt Pettytoes, Pigling Bland, Alexander and Pig-Wig, the mice characters called Mrs. Thomasina Tittlemouse, Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Johnny Town-Mouse and Timmie Willie, the hedgehog character called Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the frog character called Mr. Jeremy Fisher, the newt character called Sir Isaac Newton, the toad character called Mr. Jackson, the badger called Tommy Brock and the fox character called Mr. Tod. I'm giving this a 10/10.

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends

[jboothmillard · 6/10 · 13 June 2005]

When I was a kid, my Mum had the Beatrix Potter book collection, and I remember seeing a few of the episodes of this cartoon series based on them, it was only when I grew up that I managed to watch the rest. Basically, it always opens with a live action sequence with children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (Niamh Cusack) in the English countryside, in Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey near Hawkshead, Cumbria (which Potter left to the National Trust), or in the city. On the farm, she has her dog Kep, many animals around her, including geese, pigs, hedgehogs, foxes, and frogs, and there's her pet rabbit Peter. She is always writing stories of animals for children which she posts. All these stories are narrated by Potter, sometimes two separate stories are merged together, and we are transported into the story with the animation. The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny sees naughty young rabbit Peter (Rory Carty), who wears a blue coat and shoes, not staying with his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontsil, and going into the garden of Mr McGregor (Richard Wilson/Andrew Robertson), despite warnings from his mother Mrs. Josephine Rabbit (June Whitfield); Peter's cousin Benjamin (Andrew Clitheroe) later helps him retrieve his clothes, with both being rescued from Mr. McGregor's cat by Benjamin's father Mr. Bouncer (Enn Reitel). The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck sees Tom Kitten (Alan Bowe) and his sisters losing their clothes after playing, while goose Jemima Puddle Duck (Su Pollard) is trying to lay her eggs and is almost tricked by a gentlemanly fox Mr. Tod (Dinsdale Landen) who plans to kill and eat her and her eggs. The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding sees Mrs Tabitha Twitchit (Rosemary Leach) losing her kittens, including Tom who climbs up into the chimney, he is almost turned into a roly-poly pudding by old rat Samuel (Struan Rodger) and his wife Anna Maria (Sheila Hancock), before being rescued by his mother and Cousin Ribby (Keeping Up Appearances' Patricia Routledge). The Tailor of Gloucester sees a Tailor (Sir Ian Holm) is making a coat for the Mayor of Gloucester to be ready for Christmas morning, his cat Simkin (Derek Griffiths) venturing out after hiding the tailor's essential cherry coloured silk, while mice finish the coat in the night. The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher sees young Lucie (Rebecca Hall) looking for her lost pocket handkerchief, she finds hedgehog Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (Prunella Scales) who does laundry, and they later visit gentleman frog Mr. Jeremy Fisher (Sir Derek Jacobi) who tells them about his near-death experience whilst fishing. The Tale of Pigling Bland sees pig Aunt Pettitoes (Pam Ferris) sending brothers Pigling Bland (Chris Lang) and Alexander (Mark Lockyer) to market in Lancashire, but they are separated, Pigling gets lost, winding up at the house of a Farmer (David Neal), where he meets a black Berkshire pig named Pig Wig (Josie Lawrence), and they run away together. The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse sees two little mice named Tom Thumb (Rik Mayall) and Hunca Munca (Felicity Kendal) breaking into a little girl's doll's house and wrecking everything, while mouse Timmie Willie (Alan Bennett), who lives in the country, horrified by things at the house of Johnny Town Mouse (Hugh Laurie). The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs. Tittlemouse sees a grown-up Benjamin Bunny (Adrian Scarborough) has married Peter's sister Flopsy (Sheila Steafel), they have six children collectively known as the Flopsy Bunnies who are fall asleep after being greedy and almost taken by Mr. McGregor before being rescued by wood mouse Mrs. Tittlemouse (Anna Massey), who keeps her house very tidy, before being bothered by a swarm of honeybees and her toad neighbour Mr. Jackson (Richard Griffiths). Finally, The Tale of Mr. Tod sees Mr. Bouncer looking after Benjamin and Flopsy's children, but he falls asleep, the bunnies are kidnapped by badger Tommy Brock (Star Wars' Don Henderson), Benjamin and Peter (Mark Lockyer) go to rescue them, while fox Mr. Tod is horrified to find Tommy Brock, his arch enemy, sleeping in his bed. Also starring Richard Griffiths as Mr. Alderman Ptolomy Tortoise and Sir Isaac Newton the newt, Enn Reitel as Mr. Red-Breast the Robin, June Watson as Mrs. McGregor, Jemima Ffyne as Daisy the maid, and John Gordon Sinclair as John Joiner. The animation is impeccable, the well-known voices are chosen perfectly for their characters, and most of the stories are enjoyable, it will appeal perfectly for young children, and the most memorable thing for me was the song in the end credits, "Perfect Day" by Miriam Stockley, a most worthwhile animated anthology TV series. It was nominated the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less). Good!

A classic

[navneet-nair · 10/10 · 22 August 2020]

You can keep watching the series just for the opening sequence. Wish they continued making animations like this...

Bucolic Whimsey & Charm

[Ron Oliver · 1 October 2002]

THE WORLD OF PETER RABBIT AND FRIENDS - a magical place inhabited by disobedient bunnies, rambunctious kittens & practical hedgehogs - comes beautifully to life in this lovely British animated series based on the classic tales by Beatrix Potter.

The animation, which has been crafted to look like Miss Potter's original drawings, is first rate. Care has been given to find the perfect voice cast and several of Britain's finest actors (Sir Ian Holm, Sir Derek Jacobi, Hugh Laurie, Patricia Routledge, Prunella Scales, etc.) lend their considerable talents to the enterprise.

The animation is charmingly framed with live action sequences featuring Niamh Cusack as Miss Potter, filmed in the English Lake District at the author's beloved Hill Top Farm and the village of Near Sawrey.

The Roly Poly Pudding

[kmac44mv · 3 April 2005]

This is this only video I own, of the series, and I am so enchanted by the live opening and ending sequences that I could watch them over and over, like a favorite song. They are more than worth the price of the video. In these short, exquisite moments I feel I am transported to Beatrix Potter's cottage and beautiful surrounding countryside. She comes in from a beginning rainstorm, to sit at her desk and begin writing her letter to her niece, with a bunny right there on her desk. The music that accompanies these scenes fits the moments beautifully. I leave the animated portions for the kids, they are, as earlier posters have stated, very true to the authors books.