Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

. A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''

The Tale of Peter Rabbit ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he gets into, and is chased around, the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns ...

'' in 1902, and subsequently in five more books between 1904 and 1912. The six books by Potter featuring Peter Rabbit have sold over 150 million copies. Spin-off merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, painting books, board games and dolls. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented

stuffed toy A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be ...

, making him the oldest licensed character. Peter Rabbit appears as a character in several adaptations, including the television series ''

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends ''The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends'' is a British animated anthology television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. 14 of Potter's stories were ...

'' (1992–1998) and ''Peter Rabbit'' (2012–2016), and the live-action/animated films '' Peter Rabbit'' (2018) and '' Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway'' (2021).

Background

The rabbits in Potter's stories are

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

and wear human clothes: Peter wears a blue jacket with brass buttons and shoes. Peter, his widowed mother, Mrs. Rabbit, as well as his younger sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail (with Peter the eldest of the four little rabbits) live in a rabbit hole that has a human kitchen, human furniture, as well as a shop where Mrs. Rabbit sells various items. Peter's relatives are his cousin

Benjamin Bunny Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's th ...

and Benjamin's father, Mr. Benjamin Bouncer. Peter Rabbit was named after a pet rabbit whom Beatrix Potter had as a child, and whom she called Peter Piper. The first Peter Rabbit story, ''

'', was created in 1893 initially as a letter to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess, Annie Moore. The boy was ill, and Potter wrote him a picture and story letter to help him pass the time and to cheer him up. The letter included sketches illustrating the narrative. In June 1903, a trade edition of the tale was published by

Frederick Warne & Co Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher founded in 1865. It is known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books. Warne is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

, and by the end of the year, 28,000 copies were in print. Over the years, ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, and as of 2008, the Peter Rabbit series of six books has sold more than 150 million copies in 35 languages. File:The Tale of Peter Rabbit - letter to Noel Moore part 1.jpg File:The Tale of Peter Rabbit - letter to Noel Moore part 2.jpg File:The Tale of Peter Rabbit - letter to Noel Moore part 3.jpg File:The Tale of Peter Rabbit - letter to Noel Moore part 4.jpg

Books

Peter Rabbit made his first appearance in 1902 in ''

''. Where Peter disobeys his mother's orders and sneaks into Mr. McGregor's garden, eating as many vegetables as he can before Mr. McGregor spots and chases him. Peter manages to escape, but not before losing his jacket and shoes, which Mr. McGregor uses to dress a

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

. Peter returns home weary, ill, and naked and is put to bed with a dose of

chamomile Chamomile (American English) or camomile (British English; see spelling differences) ( or ) is the common name for several plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, ''Matricaria recutita'' and ''Anthemis nobilis'', are commonly us ...

tea. In '' The Tale of Benjamin Bunny'', first published in 1904, Peter's cousin Benjamin Bunny brings him back to Mr. McGregor's garden and they retrieve the clothes Peter lost in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit''. However, after they gather onions to give to Peter's mother, they are captured by Mr. McGregor's cat. Bouncer arrives and rescues them, but also punishes Peter and Benjamin for going into the garden by whipping them with a

switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

. In this tale, Peter displays some trepidation about returning to the garden. In '' The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies'', first published in 1909, Peter has a small role and appears only briefly. He is grown up and his sister Flopsy is now married to their cousin Benjamin. The two are the parents of six little Flopsy Bunnies. Peter and his mother keep a nursery garden, and the bunnies come by asking him for spare

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&n ...

. In ''

The Tale of Mr. Tod ''The Tale of Mr. Tod'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1912. The tale is about a badger called Tommy Brock and his arch enemy Mr. Tod, a fox. Brock kidnaps the children ...

'', first published in 1912, Benjamin and Flopsy's children are kidnapped by notorious

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

Tommy Brock. Peter helps Benjamin chase after Brock, who hides out in the house of the fox, Mr. Tod. Mr. Tod finds Brock sleeping in his bed, and as the two get into a scuffle, Peter and Benjamin rescue the children. Peter makes

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s in two other tales. In ''

The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle ''The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle is a hedgehog washerwoman (laundress) who lives in a tiny cottage in t ...

'', first published in 1905, Peter and Benjamin are customers of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, a

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

washerwoman. The two rabbits are depicted in one illustration peeping from the forest foliage. In '' The Tale of Ginger and Pickles'', first published in 1909, Peter and other characters from Potter's previous stories make cameo appearances in the artwork, patronising the shop of Ginger and Pickles. To mark the 110th anniversary of the publication of ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', Frederick Warne & Co. commissioned British actress

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

to write ''The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit'', in which Peter ends up in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

after accidentally hitching a ride on Mr. and Mrs. McGregor's wagon. The book was released on September 18, 2012. In autumn 2012, it was reported that Thompson would write more Peter Rabbit books. Her next tale, ''The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit'', was released in 2013, followed by ''The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 2014. On 27 May 2021, a reboot of Peter Rabbit was released, entitled ''Peter Rabbit Head Over Tail'', written by

Rachel Bright Rachel Bright is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Poppy Meadow in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career Bright was introduced as Poppy Meadow on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in two episodes on 11 and 13 January 201 ...

and illustrated by Nicola Kinnear, followed by ''Peter Rabbit Hide and Seek'' in 2022.

Merchandising

Beatrix potter certificate of registration for a peter rabbit doll

Potter created a soft doll depicting Peter Rabbit and a Peter Rabbit board game shortly after the tale's first publication. The character has been depicted in a multitude of spinoff merchandise such as porcelain figurines, painting books and dishes. Peter Rabbit had also appeared on the packaging of the

infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

Enfamil. Peter Rabbit was the first soft toy to be

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

, in 1903, making Peter the oldest licensed character. The toy has been mass produced since 1904. The British publisher

owns the trademark rights of the Beatrix Potter characters. However, most of the stories are in the US

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

, as they were published before 1923. The Peter Rabbit (rather than other Beatrix Potter characters) stories and merchandise are very popular in Japan: many Japanese tourists visit the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or '' fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

after becoming familiar with Potter's work at an early age at school. There is an accurate replica of Potter's house and a theme park in Japan, and a series of Mr McGregor's gardens in one of the largest banks. Merchandisers in Japan estimate that 80% of the population have heard of Peter Rabbit.

Adaptations

In 1936,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

expressed interest in making a ''Peter Rabbit'' film. He proposed his idea of a feature-length film to

, but she refused and did not give him the rights. Peter Rabbit appears in the 1971 ballet film, ''

The Tales of Beatrix Potter ''The Tales of Beatrix Potter'' (US title: ''Peter Rabbit and Tales of Beatrix Potter'') is a 1971 ballet film based on the children's stories of English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film was directed by Reginald Mills, choreograp ...

''. He also was featured in HBO's 1991 '' Storybook Musical'' adaptation of ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', narrated by

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

. Several of the stories featuring Peter Rabbit were also animated for the 1992 BBC

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

, ''

'' and two edutainment titles published by Mindscape ''The Adventures of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny'' in 1995 and ''Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit's Math Garden'' in 1996. A CGI-animated children's TV series '' Peter Rabbit'' premiered on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

and

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

in December 2012, with Colin DePaula voicing Peter in its first season (American version) and L. Parker Lucas taking over the role for the second season, respectively. In 2016, Peter Rabbit and other Potter characters featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the

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to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter's birth. The same year, Peter Rabbit and other Potter characters appeared on a small number of collectors' 50p British coins. An animated/live-action adaptation, '' Peter Rabbit'' produced by

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...

, was released on 8 February 2018.

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey''. In the ...

voices Peter Rabbit with

Domhnall Gleeson Domhnall Gleeson (; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Ins ...

and Rose Byrne starring in the live-action role of the lead female named Bea (based on Potter herself). Other cast members include

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...

Daisy Ridley Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy: '' The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last Jedi'' (2017), and '' The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019 ...

and Elizabeth Debicki. Will Gluck directed and produced the film, and Zareh Nalbandian also produced, while Lauren Abrahams oversaw the project for Sony Pictures Animation. A sequel '' Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway'' (2021) reunited most of the cast of the previous film.

Explanatory notes

References