Peter Rabbit (TV series) explained

Peter Rabbit is an animated comedy children's television series for preschool children that debuted on the Nick Jr. Channel on 14 December 2012, in the United States and on CBeebies and BBC One on 25 December 2012, in the United Kingdom.^{[3] [4]} It is based on the character of the same name from Beatrix Potter's children’s books. The series debuted on American TV and iTunes on 14 December 2012, with the pilot episode debuting as a Christmas holiday special, titled Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale. The show became a regular series on 19 February 2013, in the USA.^[5] The first official DVD of Peter Rabbit was released on 28 May 2013, as a Walmart exclusive. It contains the programme's first eight episodes on a single disc.^[6] On 11 October 2013, Nickelodeon ordered a second series of 26 episodes.^[7] In Wales, the series is known as Guto Gwningen and is dubbed into Welsh on S4C.

A springtime holiday special episode, titled Peter Rabbit's Springtime Tale (with the actual episode titled "The Tale of the Start of Spring"), aired on 29 March 2013, on iTunes in the USA.

Season 1 concluded on 7 October 2014. The programme ran for a total of two series before concluding on 6 May 2016. It was produced for Nickelodeon in the US by Brown Bag Films, Penguin Books and Silvergate Media.^[8] The programme still airs reruns on CBeebies in the UK.

The series features and revolves around the titular character Peter Rabbit (voices of Colin DePaula and L. Parker Lucas in the US version and Connor Fitzgerald, and Harry Henty in the UK version) and his younger cousin Benjamin Bunny (voice of Peter Steve Harris in the US version, and Danny Price in the UK version), along with the new character of Lily Bobtail (voice of Michaela Dean in the US version, and Harriet Perring and Poppy Labrosse in the UK version).

The programme features educational goals that encourage preschoolers to learn problem-solving, interpersonal skills, being aware, self-efficacy, resilience, positive re-framing and fostering an interest in and respect for nature.

Synopsis

The programme follows Peter Rabbit and his friends as he overcomes obstacles, outwits predators and avoids danger. Peter wants to grow up to be just like his late father and carries his journal (a guide on how to be a good rabbit) on his adventures with his friends, cousin Benjamin Bunny and new character Lily Bobtail, in the Lake District of northern England.^[9]

Characters

Main

• Peter Rabbit – The main protagonist of the series. A mischievous, curious, quick-witted, street smart, imaginative and adventurous young rabbit. He is also the eldest of his siblings. Unlike the character from the books, this version of Peter Rabbit lacks shoes. He also can be very hot-headed. Peter's catchphrases are "a good rabbit never gives up!", and "let's hop to it!"
• Benjamin Bunny – Peter's cousin who joins him on his adventures. Unlike the character from the books, Benjamin is shorter and younger than Peter in this adaptation. He is portrayed as being cowardly, wimpy, clumsy, hungry and clueless but also good-natured, loyal, and kind. Benjamin's catchphrase is "rabbits are brave, rabbits are brave...", which he says when he is scared.
• Lily Bobtail – Peter and Benjamin's quick-witted female best friend, who carries many useful objects in her pocket. Unlike Peter and Benjamin, who were based on the books by Beatrix Potter, Lily is a new character who was created by the production team for the series.^[10] She carries many objects in a pocket on her dress. Lily's catchphrases are "I know that for a fact!", and "just in case pocket, just in case!"

Recurring

• Mr. Tod – The main antagonist of the series. A red fox who consistently fails to hunt down, capture, and devour the protagonists and other supporting characters.
• Squirrel Nutkin – A short-tailed squirrel and the leader of the squirrels' tribe. He is Peter's friend, who saves Peter whenever he gets captured by Mr. Tod. His tail was cut off by Old Brown.
• Felix – Squirrel Nutkin's right-hand man.
• Josephine Rabbit – The widow of Mr. Rabbit, mother of Peter, Cotton-tail, Flopsy and Mopsy, aunt of Benjamin, and sister of Mr. Bouncer.
• Flopsy and Mopsy – Peter's older, ignorant, arrogant, bossy and smug twin sisters. Mopsy is the older twin and Flopsy is the younger twin. They are Benjamin's twin cousins.
• Cotton-Tail – Peter, Flopsy and Mopsy's baby sister, and Benjamin's youngest cousin.
• Mr. Bouncer – Benjamin's single father. He is the uncle of Peter, Cotton-tail, Flopsy and Mopsy, the brother of Josephine, and brother-in-law of Mr. Rabbit. He likes to invent many things, which often go wrong.
• Jeremy Fisher – A frog that Peter, Benjamin and Lily accidentally cause trouble for on occasion. He enjoys fishing and was friends with Peter's father. He has a passion for music, but cannot really sing.
• Jemima Puddle-Duck – A kind yet very simple-minded duck that knows Peter and his friends well. She has three ducklings.
• Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle – A hedgehog, washerwoman and one of the many townspeople Peter interacts with. She speaks with an Irish accent.
• Ginger and Pickles – A cat and dog who run the village shop. Pickles is quite gruff while Ginger is more respectful of their customers.
• Mr. McGregor – A human farmer whose vegetables are the target of Peter. His face is kept hidden. He is portrayed as an old man who gets winded often. He speaks with a Scottish accent.
• Tommy Brock – An irritable badger that finds Peter and his friends obnoxious when they wake him up or disturb his possessions, but sometimes he gets along with them and even saves them from Mr. Tod. He enjoys eating worms.
• Old Brown – A short-tempered owl that wants nothing but silence, thus he attacks anyone who makes a sound within his vicinity. He constantly chases after Nutkin for disrupting the peace.
• Samuel Whiskers – A rat whose full name is Samuel Jeremiah Bartholomew Edmond Cornelius Whiskers.^[11] He is always after an easy meal, preferably cakes and baked sweets, and often attempts to steal food from the other characters.
• Dr. Warren Bobtail – Lily's father and the Rabbits' family doctor. He has a strong sense of smell.
• Mrs. Bobtail – Warren's wife and Lily's mother.
• Pig Robinson – A friendly pig that lives on a farm with his best friend Mittens. He loves to paint on his easel and tries to befriend everyone he meets.
• Mittens – A young cat that lives on a farm with her best friend Pig Robinson. While somewhat hostile to Peter, Benjamin and Lily at first, she eventually warms up to them. She is aggressive towards any rodents, and loathes the idea of Tommy Brock moving in her farm.
• Mr. Tolly – A tortoise, that, over his many years, has acquainted with many of Peter Rabbit's friends, enemies, as well as Peter's father with whom he went on many adventures with alongside Jeremy Fisher and Mr Bouncer.
• Jack Sharp – A three-spined stickleback that once knew Mr. Rabbit. Often fights with Jeremy Fisher.
• The Shrew – A shrew whose territory possesses a bountiful field of dandelions, which he guards against Peter Rabbit, or any other animal. He is the object of Cotton-tail's affection, much to his dismay.
• The Tittlemouse siblings – Albert, Louisa and Stanley are mice siblings that are always trying to survive.

Fifty six episodes of the series have been aired as of 2016. Except "Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale", all episode titles begin with "The Tale of". The American dub did not follow this titling method in season 2.

Voice cast

UK version

• Connor Fitzgerald (Season 1) and Harry Henty (Season 2) as Peter Rabbit
• Harriet Perring (Season 1) and Poppy Labrosse (Season 2) as Lily Bobtail
• Danny Price as Benjamin Bunny
• Nigel Pilkington as Squirrel Nutkin
• Mark A. Huckerby as Mr. Tod
• JB Blanc as Tommy Brock
• Dave B. Mitchell as Mr. McGregor and Old Brown
• Joshua Colley as Pig Robinson
• Gwenfair Vaughan as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
• Justin P.G. Trefgarne as The Shrew and Dr. Warren Bobtail
• Roger May as Jack-Black
• Gemma Harvey as The Shrew
• Sophie Aldred
• Emma Tate
• Dan Chambers as Jeremy Fisher, Ginger and Pickles and Jack Sharp
• Laurence Kennedy
• Sophia Waterton as Mittens

US version

• Colin DePaula as Peter Rabbit (Season 1, 28 episodes, 2012–2014)
• L. Parker Lucas as Peter Rabbit (Season 2, 28 episodes, 2014–2016)
• Peter Steve Harris as Benjamin Bunny (56 episodes, 2012–2016)
• Michaela Dean as Lily Bobtail (56 episodes, 2012–2016)
• Kyle Dean Massey as Squirrel Nutkin (53 episodes, 2012–2016)
• Stephanie Sheh as Josephine Rabbit (Season 1)
• Megan Taylor Harvey as Flopsy, Mopsy (Season 1)
• Brittany Harms as Flopsy (Season 2)
• Sawyer Niehaus as Mittens and Mopsy (Season 2)
• Jenna Iacono (Season 1) and Aviella Kibel (Season 2) as Cottontail Rabbit
• JB Blanc (54 episodes, 2012–2016) as Tommy Brock, Mr. Bouncer, Ginger and Jack Sharp
• Mark A. Huckerby as Mr. Tod
• Dave B. Mitchell as Mr. McGregor and Old Brown
• Gwenfair Vaughan as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
• Sarah Bolt as Jemima Puddle-Duck (Seasons 1–2) and Mrs. Bobtail (Season 1)
• Katie Koslowski as Josephine Rabbit (Season 2) and Mrs. Bobtail (Season 2)
• Kirk Thornton as Jeremy Fisher and Pickles
• Shawn Curran as Sammy Whiskers and Dr. Warren Bobtail
• Spike Spencer as The Shrew and Felix
• Joshua Colley as Pig Robinson
• David McCamley (23 episodes, 2014–2015)
• Dino Athanassiou (23 episodes, 2014–2015)
• Cole Meyer Carandang (23 episodes, 2014–2015)
• Jennifer Fox (1 episode, 2015)

Episodes

Season 2 (2014–16)

Broadcast

Peter Rabbit airs in Canada on Treehouse TV.^[12] In the United Kingdom, it airs on CBeebies and streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Distribution rights were held globally by Silvergate Media, except in North America and India, where Nickelodeon/Viacom Media Networks secured them under license.^[13] The series was available for streaming on Paramount+ until being removed in June 2023.^[14]

Home media

North America

Home media releases in North America were handled by Paramount Home Entertainment.

• Peter Rabbit (May 28, 2013)
• Christmas Tale (November 12, 2013)
• Spring Into Adventure (February 18, 2014)
• Peter Rabbit: Season One was released on October 8, 2015, exclusively at Amazon.com. This release contains 4 discs. It is published on demand onto DVD-Rs.^[15]

Reception

The series was met with mostly positive reviews."Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale" (Dec 14, at 7 p.m. ET/PT), drew 3 million total viewers and ranked as the number-one program with K2-5 and K2-11 across all TV in its time period. It was also the top-rated and most-watched preschool telecast for the week, posting double and triple-digit gains over last year with K2-5 (6.7/891,000, +196%) and K2-11 (4.7/1.6 million, +22%); and A18-49 (.9/940,000, +73%), making it the week's top preschool telecast.

According to 'By The Numbers', Nickelodeon's brand-new animated series Peter Rabbit rose to the top of the charts, with its Tuesday, Feb 19 premiere, which delivered 1.7 million total viewers. The new CG-animated series was also basic cable's top telecast in its time period (12-12:30 p.m. ET/PT) with K2-5, A18-49, W18-49 and total viewers, posting double-digit gains for the net with K2-5 (5.7/760,000, +21%), A18-49 (+47%), W18-49 (+43%) and total viewers (+31%).

CBeebies broadcasts of the programme have been equally successful with the broadcast on Christmas morning 2012 on BBC1 earning it the highest ratings on any channel in that timeslot.

At the 2014 Emmy Awards, the programme earned three daytime Emmys and scored another five nominations, earning the most nominations for an animated programme that year.^[16]

External links

• • • Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Home News Blogs AnimationWorld VFXWorld Events Forums Jobs More 'Octonauts' and 'Peter Rabbit' Nominated for Five Emmy Awards . Animation World Network . 11 May 2021 . 4 April 2017.
2. Web site: Peter Rabbit . BBC Media Centre . 11 May 2021.
3. Adventure Abounds in Peter Rabbit, Nickelodeon's New Animated Preschool Series Premiering Tuesday, Feb. 19, At 12 pm (ET/PT) . Nickelodeon . February 7, 2013 . July 31, 2016 . PR Newswire.
4. Web site: Peter Rabbit. BBC. May 7, 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141215074203/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/peter-rabbit. December 15, 2014.
5. Web site: Nickelodeon Premieres Peter Rabbit with Holiday Special . People . December 12, 2012 . February 8, 2013.
6. Web site: Adventure Abounds in "Peter Rabbit," Nickelodeon's New Animated Preschool Series Premiering Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 12 pm (ET/PT). Futon Critic . December 12, 2012 . February 8, 2013.
7. Web site: Nickelodeon Greenlights Second Season of Hit Animated Preschool Series Peter Rabbit - Yahoo Finance . 17 January 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140520221059/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nickelodeon-greenlights-second-season-hit-164500503.html . May 20, 2014 .
8. Web site: Peter Rabbit | Work - Brown Bag Films . brownbagfilms.com.
9. Web site: 'Peter Rabbit' Hops to Nickelodeon. Daily Dead . Mercedes . Milligan . February 7, 2013 . February 8, 2013.
10. Web site: Bet Your Camomile Tea, Peter, You're a TV Star Now . The New York Times . Amy . Chozick . December 5, 2012 . February 8, 2013.
11. Peter Rabbit episode 9 The Tale of the Start of Spring
12. Web site: Treehouse . 16 November 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160915215420/http://www.treehousetv.com/games/show/peter-rabbit . September 15, 2016 .
13. Web site: Silvergate Launches Distribution Arm .
14. Web site: Paramount+ Purge Continues With Inside Amy Schumer, Fantasy Football & Nickelodeon Content Scrapped. Peter White. Deadline Hollywood. June 27, 2023. June 26, 2023.
15. Web site: Peter Rabbit: The Complete First Season. Amazon. October 8, 2015 .
16. News: Peter Rabbit Bags Three. Dave. Koch. Big Cartoon News. May 1, 2014. May 1, 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20140502174514/http://blog.bcdb.com/peter-rabbit-bags-7093/. May 2, 2014.