Mark Reviews Movies: PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY

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Review by Mark Dujsik | June 10, 2021

At the start of Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, the eponymous protagonist doesn't quite know what kind of rabbit he is anymore. He was a thief, a troublemaker, and a little rapscallion, but after lots of shenanigans involving a garden, his enemy, the younger relative of the farmer who baked the bunny's father in a pie (and attempted to give the younger rabbit the same fate—only to suffer fatally for it), and he arrived at something of a truce. Oh, little Peter Rabbit (voice of James Corden) still doesn't really like Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson), but the rabbit's former foe is marrying Bea (Rose Byrne), a kind-hearted woman who treats Peter and his family and all of their animal friends with respect.

Something had to give, and that something here comes in the form of a daydream as the wedding ceremony proceeds. Peter imagines Thomas referring to himself as the bunny's father, and Peter then imagines himself pouncing on the guy, pummeling his face, and sending him floating into the air attached to some party balloons. That's what Peter really wants to do, as a self-proclaimed master of "cartoon violence," but at the end of Peter Rabbit, he learned his lesson. The wedding concludes without any mischief—well, except that the rabbit momentarily forgets where he left Thomas' wedding ring.

All of this, of course, leaves the sequel, once again co-written and directed by Will Gluck, with a big, open question about itself. If there's no conflict between the rabbit and the grumpy farmer or that farmer's slightly-less-grumpy great-nephew, what could the conflict of a follow-up movie be? If Peter has learned that it's better for everyone—himself included—that he doesn't get up to mischief, what kind of rabbit is he, and what kind of further lesson can he learn? What more can be done with the character created by Beatrix Potter, without betraying the author's simple story or transforming it into something beyond any and all recognition?

These are questions that Gluck and co-screenwriter Patrick Burleigh directly address in the follow-up, as Bea, a semi-stand-in for the real Potter, has written and illustrated a self-published children's book about Peter's previous adventures. The book becomes a local hit and catches the eye of a big publishing house. Its owner, a charming and seemingly sincere Nigel Basil-Jones (David Oyelowo), wants to give the book the real publishing treatment. He also offers Bea a chance to write as many books about her beloved rabbits as she could desire.

There's a catch, of course. Nigel cares about marketability and audience demands, and Bea's simple story might not be enough to create an entire empire of sequels, spin-offs, movie adaptations, and merchandise. One should be able to tell where this is going, as Gluck and Burleigh almost seem to be transcribing their own meetings with producers and studio executives here.

Yes, Peter's first big-screen adventure was fun and a hit, but with a sequel, the filmmakers had better do all of the things that a sequel is expected to do: focus on the characters the audience wants to see, "expand the world," and be sure to go out with a big, action-packed spectacle. As for what Gluck thinks of this, there's a shot of Peter's sister Cottontail (voice of Aimee Horne) offering a wearily suspicious glare directly at the camera.

These scenes are amusing, telling, and, ultimately, a bit disingenuous. We get to laugh at Nigel's complete incomprehension of the point of Bea's story, believing that her sequel should end with multiple abductions, a boat chase, and Flopsy (voice of Margot Robbie) and Mopsy (voice of Elizabeth Debicki) jumping out of an airplane.

By the way, Peter's story in this new installment, which doesn't have him learning much and doesn't seem to know what to do with the character, has him teaming up with a scheming city rabbit named Barnabas (voice of Lennie James). Barnabas says he knew Peter's father and sees a lot of potential in the young rabbit's own scheming ways. Peter, whom Nigel dubs as a "bad seed" and who decides that label is at least a character trait, has finally found someone who understands him, unlike the still-distrustful Thomas.

The two rabbits, with the aid of a rat and two cats, plan to rob a farmers' market. Peter recruits his rabbit family and a bunch of their animal friends from the country to help, and that's when the filmmakers have a clear decision to make. By the end, we can almost hear them guffawing, as all of Nigel's recommendations play out during the movie's own climax.

In the end, then, the joke of Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway isn't on Hollywood, its sequel-and-franchise-happy mindset, or anyone who would dare to even think of so thoroughly undermining a long-beloved story for kids. The joke's on us.

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