I would assume that most people are familiar with the name Beatrix Potter, the best selling writer of children's books, and the creator of such timeless characters as Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck, but I wonder just how people knew much about the life of the woman behind these stories ... Read review
Miss Potterwalks that fine line between charming and cloying with pleasing ... more
sure-footedness. Apple-cheeked Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones' Diary) once again slips into a British accent to play writer/illustrator Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabb...
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Miss Potterwalks that fine line between charming and cloying with pleasing ... more
sure-footedness. Apple-cheeked Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones' Diary) once again slips into a British accent to play writer/illustrator Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabb...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Whilst delighting generations of children with her books, Beatrix Potter kept her own ... more
story locked carefully away.Miss Potter is the enchanting love story inspired by Beatrix Potter's life and love affair with her publisher Norman Warne.
This biopic follows Beatrix Potter's rise to being the most successful children's author ... more
of all time. Despite delighting generations of children with her books she kept her own story locked carefully away. The film reveals how she developed her artist...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Miss Potter Park Bunny Book To Conjure With Story Of Peter Rabbit Mother Jemima Puddle ... more
Duck Rabbit's Christmas Party Mr Warne Beatrix And Norman Return To London Beatrix Locks Herself Away Recovery I'm Painting Again Lakes When You Taught Me How To Dance - Katie Melua
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
A novelisation of the movie "Miss Potter", written by the film's scriptwriter, this book ... more
was set during the time when bestselling author and illustrator Beatrix Potter wrote and published her most famous tale, about the enduring and beloved character, Peter Rabbit. It also contains an 8-page full-colour insert showing scenes from the film.
Drama - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Ian McShane, Dudley Sutton, Phyllis Logan, Chris Jury, Malcolm Tierney
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Miss Potter was never a film that I ever had any intentions of seeing. I do recall its run at the cinema but it was never anything that I heard any feedback about and it certainly never aroused any interest in me to want to go and see it. I have however now watched the film on DVD and I was actually very surprised to find that I enjoyed it.
The film begins in 1905 when ... ...
Beatrix Potter, or Miss Potter as she is usually referred to in the social circles that she mixes in, is played by Renee Zellweger. Much of this film is about the life that the author was born into and a century later this seems rather bemusing at times. Miss Potter has a chaperone called Miss Wiggin, who looks like a stern faced old aunt, dressed in black from head to toe. Miss Wiggin accompanies Beatrice everywhere and she never smiles ... more
I would assume that most people are familiar with the name Beatrix Potter, the best selling writer of children's books, and the creator of such timeless characters as Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck, but I wonder just how people knew much about the life of the woman behind these stories before the release of this film, Miss Potter in 2006.
Miss Potter was never a film that I ever had any intentions of seeing. I do recall its run at the cinema but it was never anything that I heard any feedback about and it certainly never aroused any interest in me to want to go and see it. I have however now watched the film on DVD and I was actually very surprised to find that I enjoyed it.
The film begins in 1905 when Beatrix is 32 years old. The setting is a grand mansion house owned by her parents and we see Beatrix busy in her room, painting her creations and inventing stories. I was somewhat surprised to discover that Beatrix had been born into such wealth and privileges but it quickly becomes apparent that she is somewhat eccentric, talking to her drawings and calling her characters her friends. She certainly is not the kind of woman that her parents, and her mother especially, long her to be. At 32 Beatrix is unmarried and with no desire to wed, she is happy and content with everything that she has in her make believe world of fantasy.
Beatrix Potter, or Miss Potter as she is usually referred to in the social circles that she mixes in, is played by Renee Zellweger. Much of this film is about the life that the author was born into and a century later this seems rather bemusing at times. Miss Potter has a chaperone called Miss Wiggin, who looks like a stern faced old aunt, dressed in black from head to toe. Miss Wiggin accompanies Beatrice everywhere and she never smiles nor utters a word, yet you know that should she step out of line that it would be reported straight back to her mother. Meantime we learn that Beatrice's mother has been lining up suitable suitors to wed her daughter since she reached the age of 20.
The story begins where Beatrix takes one of her stories to a publisher where she meets two brothers that own the company. They privately dismiss her work as rubbish, but then agree to publish it and give it to their younger brother as his first publishing assignment so that they can watch him fail. The younger brother is a rather shy young man called Norman Warne, played by Ewan McGregor. He falls in love with her characters and believes that her book will be successful.
A friendship develops between Norman and Beatrice and she also becomes very friendly with his sister, Millie played by Emily Watson. She is also unmarried and happy about it, much to her parents dismay.
The story of Beatrice Potter is an enchanting one, it slips along at a steady pace, mixing a wealth of different emotions. In places it is light hearted and almost fairytale like whilst at other times it is filled with heartache and there is also tragedy too, which all adds up to quite a remarkable story.
Throughout the film there are flashback moments where we see the young Beatrice, played by Lucy Boynton enjoying her holidays in the Lake District. Meantime, back in London and back in the present we see her parents blissfully unaware that their daughter is now a published author. Incredibly Beatrice herself is also not fully aware of just how quickly her stories are flying off the shelves and there is one scene that I enjoyed where she dreams about finding her independence and goes off on her own to see her accountant. She says to him "I'd like to enquire about my royalties. I was wondering if perhaps I might have enough to buy myself a small house". To which her accountant replies " Miss Potter, you are a very wealthy woman, you have enough to buy an estate, in fact several estates". To this Beatrice simply says "Have I really? How very nice".
Miss Potter is in many ways a film about social class and Victorian attidudes, we see her life in London with her parents, where the atmosphere in the household is very strict and formal and then we see her holidays with them in the Lake District, where away from social friends that might be watching, her parents are more relaxed and human.
Towards the end of the film we see Beatrix buying herself a farm in the Lake District called Hill Top Farm, and it is from this moment on that we see some of the most idyllic settings of the film. As Beatrix settles into country life she becomes a bit of a recluse but as always she has her drawings to keep her company and her vivid imagination.
Overall I really enjoyed this film and I am pleased that I took the time to sit down and watch what was quite an intimate portrayal of this woman's life. If I am to be critical however then I have several points.
Firstly I would like to know who was responsible for casting Renee Zellweger in the lead role. Who could possibly think that an American actress that has annoyed us in previous films like Bridget Jones could carry off such a quintessentially English woman as Beatrix Potter, but then again this film was also written by an American, Richard Maltby Jr. so maybe that's the reason why. At times Zellwegger is good, especially during her more eccentric moments when she is talking to her imaginary friends, but at other times her facial expressions are annoying and enough to make you cringe but her ruddy, slightly weathered cheeks always somehow give here an edge of Englishness.
Secondly I found the way that her characters sometimes came to life to be very bizarre and totally unbelievable. There are a few moments where the still pictures actually come to life and leap out from the paper, although it is only Beatrix that sees them this way. To me, these brief ridiculous moments were totally unnecessary.
Finally I found the end of the film rather abrupt. As the credits roll we have several facts thrust upon us including the fact that eight years after buying Hill Top Farm Beatrix married, surely another 10 or 20 minutes more of this film could have summed up these years that followed much better.
On a more positive note I thought that the overall acting was good, and the story gave an interesting insight into the life of a woman in that social class at the beginning of the twentieth century. I came away from watching this film curious to know a little more about this woman, who prior to watching this film, I knew very little about. I felt like I had been educated and that can only be a good thing.
The main cast are as follows:
Beatrix Potter - Renee Zellwegger Norman Warne - Ewan McGregor Millie Warne - Emily Watson Helen Potter (Beatrice's mother) - Barbara Flynn Rupert Potter (Beatrice's father) - Bill Paterson Miss Wiggin - Matyelock Gibbs
As with all DVD's there are some additional extras which I did take a look at for the purpose of this review. The main extra is about the making of the film and this shows some of the location shots used and also tells us some background information. For example, we are told that Beatrix Potter's real life diaries were used for authenticity and that family photo albums were studied to reproduce some of the costumes seen in the film. We are also told that Hill Top Farm was not used to film any of the Lake District scenes, but instead another of Beatrice's nearby farms, Yew Tree farm was used.
The only other notable extra is a full length video of Katie Melua singing "When you taught me how to dance". If I am honest I never even noticed this song in the film but maybe this is because the film version is just an instrumental piece.
Year of release - 2006 Running time - 92 minutes Certification - PG (for mild language)
Advantages: Charming and romantic family film. Beautiful cinematography. Disadvantages: Lingers on Potter's love life and not enough on her writing and illustrating.
...publication in 1902. Miss Potter, a biopic of the popular children’s auther and illustrator, is a pleasure to watch. The film combines events from Beatrix Potter’s life with some enchanting short animated sequences featuring some of her animal characters.
The film was released in the UK cinemas in December 2006 and on 23 April 2007 on DVD. I somehow missed it at the cinema so bought the DVD with eager anticipation.
Like many biopics, the film has ... ...Maltby remains family friendly in Miss Potter - no shocks or conflicts to the established opinion of Beatrix Potter. His script is sweet and sentimental without becoming too sugary. Director, Christopher Noonan frames his film with panoramic views of the picturesque landscape of the Lake District. No-one can fail to understand its appeal to Beatrix Potter and the inspiration it had on her writing. Noonan takes us from Potter’s aspirations to become ...
MAFARRIMOND 13.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Potter (DVD)
Advantages: Charming "feel good factor." Educative. Disadvantages: None
.................
MISS POTTER-the classic quintescentially english, middle class edwardian-victorian children's author.. lover of writing short simple tales children identify with; painting / drawing with ardent passion-intoxicating a mirth filled mischief into her life-like sketches of her beloved countryside and pets as a child, and the animals and countryside around her became, as many arguably refer to- as one of the world's most celebrated children's ... ...Miss Potter's mindset
Potter's whole life on the whole, though simple and in retrospect -was very modest and careful, given her advantageous upbringing . She believed all children from whatever background should be able to afford the books she lovingly presented to her publisher, and spent much time and effort in keeping the volumes,small enough to manufacture at a reasonable cost. Which is typical of her. Beatrix was adamant that they be neither ...
christina44 16.01.2007 (19.01.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Potter (DVD)
Advantages: Lovely film, interesting character, enjoyable watch Disadvantages: Ending a little disappointing
Miss Potter is a film not about a relation of that famous boy with the scar on his forehead and a magical wand but the famous best-selling author Beatrix Potter whose beautiful children’s books have lasted the test of time. I missed this film at the cinema so when it was released to DVD 2 weeks ago it was top of my list to rent.
This film tells the story of Beatrix’s life, the problems she faced in being a female author in Victorian England, how ... ...woman.
Then there is Miss Wiggin the chaperone who is not actually a factual character although Beatrix would have had chaperones. She is a character who says very little but conveys so much in her facial expressions in the film. She is always there present when Beatrix and Norman meet as it would have been improper for a single woman to meet with a man in their society. Miss Wiggin represents Beatrix’s lack of independence and as the film progresses ...
AJ26 07.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Potter (DVD)
Advantages: Charming and magical, wonderful story, lovely llustrations Disadvantages: None
...the week for the film Miss Potter, I immediately put it into my Sky planner so that I wouldn't forget to watch it. I'd already read some reviews which said the movie was fantastic so when my reminder came up on Sunday evening that the film was about to start, I happily switched the channel over ready to watch a lovely film.
Miss Potter tells us the story of the author Beatrix Potter, one of the best-selling childrens book authors of all time. The ... ...I don't know enough about Miss Potter to comment but I'm sure there will be some that slate the movie for such problems but for me, it was just an enjoyable dramatisation of someone's life, and I took it for what it was. It has charm, atmosphere, magic and is just such an adorably sweet movie, I cannot help but recommend it! Zellweger is perfect as Beatrix Potter, allowing her character to grow throughout the movie with a reserved manner, with her ...
mummy2harry 04.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Potter (DVD)
Advantages: Some good supporting turns. Disadvantages: Renee Zellweger doesn't convince as the titular character and the film is too bland.
Despite being one of the most popular children’s authors of all time, Beatrix Potter was an intensely private woman. She honed her artistic talents from an early age and rebelled against the social norms of the time by refusing to enter into a marriage without love. Her first published book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” led to a romantic love affair with her publisher Norman Warne. But her parents were vehemently opposed to a relationship with a man ... ...crack at heritage filmmaking with this fictionalised biography of British national treasure Beatrix Potter. You know exactly what you’re going to get from the opening credits that show an artist’s watercolour preparations. It’s a slightly twee, National Trust tea-towel evocation of a bygone era that is stuffed to the gunnels with period detail (from dainty china and sable paintbrushes to ruffles of handmade lace and hat pins). It looks lovely, but ...
afy9mab 16.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Potter (DVD)
Biopic of best-selling children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Not content with a life of social posturing, she sets her sights on a writing career. After landing a lucrative book deal, Beatrix starts work on her debut release THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT, and in the process, falls in love with her publisher.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MOMENTUM PICTURES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date
23/04/2007
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
MP 632D
Barcode
5060116721249
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Making of Miss Potter featurette, Katie Melua music video - 'When You Taught Me How To Dance' , Trailer
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Professional reviews
Review
It’s very sweet, very nice and just the thing for a girlie matinée with mum and nan (Empire, 23/03/2007)
DVD Description
In the biopic MISS POTTER, Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger (COLD MOUNTAIN) steps into the dainty shoes of best-selling children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Set in Victorian England, the film follows Potter’s life, from a little girl with a wild imagination and a fascination for woodland animals to an independent young woman in pursuit of a career in illustration and storytelling, despite the urging of her domineering mother to follow in her footsteps in high society. After struggling to find a publisher who would take her ideas and talent seriously, Miss Potter finally lands a deal with Frederick Warne & Company. While working diligently on her debut book, THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT, she falls in love with the youngest of the Warne brothers, Norman (Ewan McGregor, MOULIN ROUGE), and the two become secretly engaged. They continue to work together on the follow-up books, a franchise that would not only make her a household name, but one of the most beloved authors of all time. Zellweger lights up the screen with her portrayal of Potter, revealing that the woman who hid behind the children’s books led a fascinating and sometimes dramatic life. The film celebrates Potter’s creativity and innovation, illustrating how she was a woman ahead of her time who--despite her high social standing--still took pleasure in the simple things in life. Zellweger and McGregor reprise the tremendous on-screen chemistry they shared in DOWN WITH LOVE, and Emily Watson (BREAKING THE WAVES) delivers a fantastic supporting-role performance as Norman’s sister Millie.
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