Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

***Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway*** (also known simply as ***Peter Rabbit 2***) is a 2021 3D live-action/computer-animated adventure comedy film directed and produced by Will Gluck, who co-wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh. The film is a sequel to Peter Rabbit produced by Sony Pictures Animation, and is based on the stories of Peter Rabbit created by Beatrix Potter. James Corden reprises his role as the title character, alongside Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, and David Oyelowo in live-action roles, and the voices of Elizabeth Debicki, Lennie James, and Margot Robbie. It was released during COVID-19 while people were getting the COVID vaccine. I went to see this movie in the movie theatre when it came out. I had already had the vaccine when I went to see this movie.

## Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

### Starring

Rose ByrneDomhnall GleesonLennie JamesMargot RobbieJames Corden

### Budget

$45 million

After facing numerous delays from its original February 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released theatrically by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label, first in Australia on March 25, 2021, then in the United Kingdom on May 17 and in the United States on June 11. The film has grossed over $153 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics.

## Plot

The film opens with the wedding of Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson) and Bea (Rose Byrne), with all their friends, human and animal, in attendance. Peter Rabbit (James Corden) tells Benjamin Bunny (Colin Moody) that he is totally fine with Thomas marrying Bea, until the priest mentions Thomas becoming like a father to the animals. Peter appears to go berserk and attacks Thomas, leading the other animals to attack the humans until Peter makes Thomas float away on balloons. This is, of course, in Peter’s head, and he still accepts this new part of his life.

After their honeymoon, Thomas helps Bea as she works on her children’s storybooks based on Peter and his friends. Peter is a bit dismayed to know that the books have portrayed him as “naughty”. Outside, he talks to a mouse friend who talks about his life as a married mouse with kids, and Peter doesn’t want to think about Thomas and Bea starting their own family without him. Bea then gets a letter in the mail from a publisher who wants to distribute her books.

Thomas and Bea take Peter, Benjamin, Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki), and Cottontail (Aimee Horne) to meet the publisher, Nigel Basil-Jones (David Oyelowo). The other rabbits, barring a suspicious Cottontail, seem to like Nigel, until he presents his marketing plan toward the rabbits, which paints Peter as a troublemaker. They even see a billboard for a potential Peter Rabbit movie, which makes him look outright villainous. Flopsy and Mopsy, meanwhile, don’t like that people can’t seem to tell them apart or always associate one with the other.

A dismayed Peter walks away from the group and goes into town, where he meets an older rabbit named Barnabas (Lennie James). After getting into some more mischief, Barnabas recognizes Peter as the son of his old friend when they would swipe food from the McGregor farm. He is impressed with Peter’s movements and skills, but they are unfortunately caught by animal catchers and taken to a pet pound.

Bea starts to sign over the rights to her books to Nigel, although despite her request that the books not be turned into a gaudy hip cash grab property (with Benjamin looking right at the camera for this), it becomes apparent that this is Nigel’s plan anyway, as he is known for turning simple concepts into something “cool” for a more commercial audience.

Peter and Barnabas are taken in by a little girl named Amelia. After an afternoon spent being washed and roughly played with, the family steps out of the house, leaving Peter and Barnabas in a cage. Barnabas manages to free himself and Peter, so they go to raid the family’s fridge with the helps of Barnabas’s crew – the mouse Samuel Whiskers (Rupert Degas), creepy cat Tom Kitten (Damon Herriman), and his sister Mittens (Hayley Atwell). As they try to sneak the food out, Amelia’s mother comes home with the intention of getting rid of the rabbits before her kids come home. The animals manage to run from her as she chases them into town, and they get away with their food into their hideout.

Barnabas later takes Peter through the town as he talks about how his father used to steal for Peter and his sisters to keep their bellies full. Thomas and Bea then find Peter and bring him home while Barnabas returns to his hideout.

The next morning, Thomas and Bea take the rabbits outside to play by a field. Thomas tries rolling down the hill like the other rabbits, only to roll too fast and hurt himself. Peter tells Benjamin about Barnabas and convinces him and his sisters to join him in meeting the crew. Barnabas recognizes Peter’s sisters and divulges to all of them his big plan – he and his crew want to rob from the farmers market, with their big score being packs of dried fruit.

Thomas and Bea meet with Nigel again to go over designs for the rabbits. After already having them dressed up in contemporary clothes (one that says “hype beast”), Nigel makes another suggestion that they be on a beach, despite Thomas disagreeing with the idea. He starts to realize that Nigel’s idea are not in the best interests of Bea’s work. He even later goes to confront Nigel himself in a boxing gym to express how he feels, with Nigel interpreting it as him speaking for Bea. She finds out and is unhappy with Thomas.

The rabbits gather help from their animal friends – Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (Sia), Jeremy Fisher (also Domhnall Gleeson), Pigling Bland (Ewen Leslie), Felix D’eer (Christian Gazal), and Tommy Brock (Sam Neill) – to pull off their heist. The animals create distractions, even getting the a girl named Sara (Chika Yasumara) – whose family creates the dried fruit – distracted when the boy she has a crush on (whose family sells cheese wheels) is knocked over. The rabbit prepare the bins of dried fruit, but in the chaos, a cheese wheel rolls by and knocks over Thomas and his fruits that he was going to sell. After getting the dried fruits into their getaway truck, all the animals, including Benjamin and the sisters, are captured by the pet pound people. To Peter’s dismay, Barnabas reveals he was all along using him and his friends to keep the dried fruit for themselves. He even explains that he intentionally “bumped into” Peter in town after reading about him in his book, having spent a lot of time feeling angry that nobody wanted him because he was too old. Everyone is left to blame Peter for getting them into this mess, while he himself feels utterly terrible.

Peter leaves Barnabas and goes to find Thomas, enlisting his help in recovering his friends. After hitting a snag with their truck, they go to Bea for help while she is in a meeting with Nigel and others from the publishing company. They want to put Peter and his friends in a ludicrous space adventure, which pushes Bea to realize that this is nothing like what she had in mind, and she pulls her stories from Nigel’s company. After talking it out with Thomas, she agrees to help him and Peter recover all their friends. They go on over-the-top missions to find them, like swiping Benjamin off a boat, Jeremy Fisher from a school classroom, and skydiving to get the sisters.

Peter, Benjamin, and the sisters then make one last stop at Barnabas’s hideout. They take the dried fruit away from them, only for the crew to appear and capture Peter’s family. They then turn the tables on them by having prepared for this, with the rabbits tying Barnabas and his crew to ropes so that they get pulled away when the nearby tailor shop owner leaves in his truck. They are all then captured by the pet pound people, putting Barnabas back where he once got away from. The rabbits then return all the dried fruit to Sara and her family.

The rabbits rejoin Thomas and Bea as they drive home, with Peter deciding to be more willing to listen to the ones that love him.

## Cast

### Live-action actors

* Rose Byrne as Bea McGregor
* Domhnall Gleeson as Thomas McGregor
* David Oyelowo as Nigel Basil-Jones

### Voice actors

* James Corden as Peter Rabbit
* Margot Robbie as Flopsy Rabbit / The Narrator
* Elizabeth Debicki as Mopsy Rabbit
* Aimee Horne as Cottontail Rabbit (previously voiced by Daisy Ridley in the first film)
* Colin Moody as Benjamin Bunny
* Lennie James as Barnabas
* Damon Herriman as Tom Kitten
* Hayley Atwell as Mittens
* Rupert Degas as Samuel Whiskers
* Sia as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
* Rose Byrne as Jemima Puddle-Duck
* Domhnall Gleeson as Mr. Jeremy Fisher
* Sam Neill as Tommy Brock
* Ewen Leslie as Pigling Bland
* David Wenham as Johnny Town-Mouse
* Will Reichelt as JW Rooster II
* Matt Villa as Felix D'eer
* Tim Minchin as Busker K. Bushy, Esq.
* Stewart Alves as Mr. Tod

## Release

*Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway* was theatrically released in Australia on March 25, 2021, in the United Kingdom on May 17, and in the United States on June 11.

It was initially set to be released in the United States on February 7, 2020, before being moved back to April 3, 2020, earlier in Australia on March 19, and in the United Kingdom on March 27. The film was delayed again to August 7, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then further delayed to January 15, 2021, in the United States, then to April 2, and again to June 11. The date was then moved up to May 14 before moving back again to July 2, then moving up once more to June 18, and then once again back to June 11, following the film's box office success outside of the United States.

### Home media

*Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway* was released as a purchase on VOD on July 27, 2021, and was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on August 24, 2021 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. On December 9, 2021, it was released for streaming on Netflix.