Paula Rosenthal[1][2] Cathal Gaffney Darragh O'Connell Mary Durkan (for Silvergate Media) Ronnie Fairweather (for Frederick Warne) Francesca Dow (for Frederick Warne)
14 December 2012 (2012-12-14) – 6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)
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 Charlie George, and Harry Henty in the UK version) and his younger cousin Benjamin Bunny (voice of Peter Steve Harris in the US version, and Jay Ruckley in the UK version), along with the new character of Lily Bobtail (voice of Michaela Dean in the US version, and Grace Lissenden and Imogen Bailey 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 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!" He also speaks a British accent.
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.
Flopsyand 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.
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
Charlie George (Season 1) and Harry Henty (Season 2) as Peter Rabbit
Grace Lissenden (Season 1), Imogen Bailey (Season 2-5) and Poppy Labrosse (Season 6) as Lily Bobtail
Peter and Benjamin need to deliver the holiday supplies when Mr. Bouncer falls ill. As they brave a blizzard, the pair manage to make a new friend along the way.
2
2
"The Tale of the Radish Robber""The Tale of Two Enemies"
Peter accidentally brings Mr McGregor's cat back to his own home; Lily becomes stuck in Mr. Tod's trap after being lured by radishes. NOTE: The episode set during winter.
6
6
"The Tale of Nutkin on the Run""The Tale of the Wriggly Worms"
When Jemima's new egg goes missing, only Peter Rabbit is able to put together the clues and find the culprit; Peter forgets to get his mother a gift for Mother's Day.
10
10
"The Tale of the Mystery Plum Thief""The Tale of the Grumpy Owl"
Peter takes Benjamin and Lily on a ride down a steep slope; Peter enlists the help of Mr. McGregor's cat when Jemima and the ducklings are driven from their coop.
13
13
"The Tale of the Dash in the Dark""The Tale of the Hazelnut Raid"
Peter and his friends go into the woods at night to catch a jar full of glowworms for Cotton-Tail; Peter accidentally destroys the Squirrels' store of nuts.
14
14
"The Tale of the Broken Bed""The Tale of the One That Got Away"
After Benjamin gets lost in the woods, Peter and Lily give him a map; Flopsy and Mopsy insist on accompanying Peter on his adventure to find gooseberries.
18
18
"The Tale of the Wrecked Treehouse""The Tale of the Stolen Firewood"
Peter finds a mysterious key hidden in his father's journal; When Benjamin is impressed by Lily's cleverness, Peter mistakenly thinks they no longer need him in the gang, but when Lily and Benjamin get trapped in Mr McGregor's Garden, Peter soon realizes that his friends need him more than ever!
21
21
"The Tale of the Giant Pumpkin""The Tale of the Peek-A-Boo Rabbits"
Peter sets his sights on the biggest pumpkin in Mr. McGregor's patch; Benjamin and Cotton-tail get lost in the Shadowy Woods during a game of peek-a-boo.
22
22
"The Tale of the Great Rabbit and Squirrel Adventure""The Tale of Old Brown's Feather"
Peter hopes to find a flying machine that his father crashed into Mr. McGregor's garden; When Jemima is short on fruity flapjack ingredients for her hungry ducklings, she misunderstands Peter's advice and heads to Mr. McGregor's garden.
26
26
"The Tale of Jeremy Fisher's Recital""The Tale of the Squirrel Hotpot"
Sammy Whiskers and Mr. Tod crash Jeremy Fisher's annual gathering; When Mr. Tod catches Nutkin and takes him to Owl Island to get a squirrel recipe from Old Brown.
27
27
"The Tale of the Fierce Bad Rabbit""The Tale of the Runaway Rabbits"
Peter and his friends set out to taste the sweetest dandelions in the world ; Peter brings his sleeping sister to an event at the squirrel camp.
28
28
"The Tale of the Uninvited Badger""The Tale of the Brewing Storm"
7 October 2014 (2014-10-07)
Tommy Brock takes up residence in Bouncer's burrow to escape the cold; Peter, Lily and Benjamin must rescue Cotton-tail's blanket, escape Mr. Tod and return home before a storm breaks.
"The Tale of The Tunnel Rumbler""The Tale of The Frightened Fox"
8 October 2014 (2014-10-08)
Peter and friends mistakes Jeremy Fisher as a monster; Peter gets trapped in Mr Tod's lair, so he scares him.
30
2
"The Tale of The Great Owl Adventure"
9 October 2014 (2014-10-09)
After being scared of the Scare Owl and Squirrels waking him up, Old Brown ends up moving.
31
3
"The Tale of The Scare Owl""The Tale of The Old Brown's New Roost"
10 October 2014 (2014-10-10)
Peter and friends use the Scare Owl to scare Old Brown, but ends up scaring the squirrels; Old Brown decides to move away from Nutkin and the squirrels.
32
4
"The Tale of The Best Bowler""The Tale of The Great Potato Plunder"
8 December 2014 (2014-12-08)
Peter and Nutkin compete for best bowler, but gets into trouble with Mr Tod; Peter wants to get most of Mr McGregor's Potatoes
33
5
"The Tale of Cotton-tail's Treetop Tumble""The Tale of the Perilous Party"
10 December 2014 (2014-12-10)
Cottontail gets in trouble with Old Brown and Mr Tod; Mr Tod tricks everyone
34
6
"The Tale of the High-Flying Badger""The Tale of Benjamin's Blunder"
12 December 2014 (2014-12-12)
Tommy Brock sleeps on the squirrel cabin; Benjamin goes missing
35
7
"The Tale of The Tiny Terror""The Tale of the Treehouse Rescue"
15 December 2014 (2014-12-15)
the Shrew breaks into Mr McGregor's Garden; Peter is forced to show his sisters the secret hideout
36
8
"The Tale of The Lost Journal""The Tale of The Seed Snatch""The Tale of The Need for Seed"
21 March 2015 (2015-03-21)
Mr Tod steals Peter's journal; Nutkin gets obessed with seeds
37
9
"The Tale of the Heroic Hedgehog""The Tale of The Bird Trap"
28 March 2015 (2015-03-28)
Mrs Tiggy Winkle becomes a hero; Mr Tod traps birds
38
10
"The Tale of Dr. Bobtail's Adventure""The Tale of the Locked Cage"[20]
28 March 2015 (2015-03-28)
Dr Bobtail helps Nutkin; Mr McGregor traps Peter and Sammy
39
11
"The Tale of the Missing Ducklings""The Tale of the Hungry Thieves"
2 May 2015 (2015-05-02)
40
12
"The Tale of Nutkin's Rabbity Day""The Tale of the Unexpected Hero"
2 May 2015 (2015-05-02)
41
13
"The Tale of the Amazing Mom""The Tale of Mom's Precious Things"
9 May 2015 (2015-05-09)
42
14
"The Tale of The Racing Rabbit""The Tale of Fred Snail"
9 May 2015 (2015-05-09)
43
15
"The Tale of The Saving of the Shrew""The Tale of Fish Out of Water"
16 May 2015 (2015-05-16)
44
16
"The Tale of The Kitten and Pig Adventure"
16 May 2015 (2015-05-16)
45
17
"The Tale of Cotton-tail's Party""The Tale of The Thing-A-Ma-Jig"
23 May 2015 (2015-05-23)
46
18
"The Tale of The Big Bad Badger""The Tale of The Big Badger Blunder""The Tale of the Squabbling Squirrels"
23 May 2015 (2015-05-23)
47
19
"The Tale of Peter's Great Escape""The Tale of The Great Cake Chase"
30 May 2015 (2015-05-30)
48
20
"The Tale of the Go-Kart Getaway""The Tale of The New Hideout"
30 May 2015 (2015-05-30)
49
21
"The Tale of The Christmas Star""The Tale of the Sleepy Hedgehog"[21]
17 December 2015 (2015-12-17)
50
22
"The Tale of the Spectacular Sled""The Tale of Cotton-tail's Tooth"
16 February 2016 (2016-02-16)
51
23
"The Tale of Tricky Tortoise""The Tale of Mice on the Move"
18 February 2016 (2016-02-18)
52
24
"The Tale of The Unexpected Discovery"
21 March 2016 (2016-03-21)
53
25
"The Tale of Mittens' New Friend""The Tale of the Flooded Burrow"
23 March 2016 (2016-03-23)
54
26
"The Tale of Spilled Milk""The Tale of The First Bluebell"
2 May 2016 (2016-05-02)
55
27
"The Tale of The Great Tortoise Rescue""The Tale of the King of the Woods"
4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)
56
28
"The Tale of Musical Mayhem""The Tale of the Missing Journal"
6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)
Broadcast
Peter Rabbit airs in Canada on Treehouse TV.[22] 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.[23] The series was available for streaming on Paramount+ until being removed in June 2023.[24]
Peter Rabbit: Season One was released on 8 October 2015, exclusively at Amazon.com. This release contains 4 discs. It is published on demand onto DVD-Rs.[25]
Reception
The series was met with mostly positive reviews.
"Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale" (14 December, 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, 19 February 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.[citation needed]
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.[26]
