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Rejigged for modern taste, the film commences with Peter and his comrades trying to get hold of those juicy veggies and fruits from the garden of old Mr. McGregor. The old man is given a

quick exit, and his great-nephew Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson), a London lad with a fetish for order and hygiene, takes his place. Rose Byrne (a version of Potter herself) is Bea, the next-door

neighbour who not only talks to the rabbits, but also paints them. What was initially a tale of garden raid, becomes a story of kids despising their step-father and finally accepting him

into the fold. Director Will Gluck makes Bea and Thomas fall promptly in love, and the bunnies can’t stand it. The feud between Thomas and Peter escalates, descending into an aggressive

display of violence. Peter transforms into a revenge-seeking hero of modern lore, albeit with the Loony Tunes style. Thomas gets pounded from every corner, battered to the hilt, electrocuted

to his bare bones, even scathingly targeted with a fruit he is severely allergic to. Of course, the mass market meal would be incomplete without some pop tunes and twerking animals. This

over-reliance on slapstick may elicit easy laughs, but it’s no match for Potter’s subtle wit and simplicity that turned Peter Rabbit into a fable for generations to cling on to. Potter was

fiercely protective of her work, and famously turned down Walt Disney who was keen on adapting _The Tale of Peter Rabbit_. But her creations have entered the public domain now, and studio

operated minds have turned a charmer into a mediocre, utterly forgettable chipmunks’ variety star.