Every now and then you run into a movie that just seems perfect. Friday night, Kelly and I watched just such a movie. So good that I’m actually dreading the next NetFlix delivery – whatever it is it couldn’t possibly measure up. Our movie was Miss Potter, a biographic film starring Renee Zegweller and Ewan McGregor about Beatrix Potter, the extraordinarily talented author and illustrator of the most popular children’s books of all time, including the famous Tale of Peter Rabbit.
I have long been a fan on Potter’s work. The Beatrix Potter collection – about a dozen books in all – some of the few children’s books that I don’t get sick of reading. I think they should be required reading for all kids. Potter’s writing is engaging, and particularly notable since she never talks down to her readers, unlike most children’s books. What really makes the Potter books excel, though, is Potter’s illustrations. Potter had an eye for biology, having done detailed watercolors of fungi and nature in the past. Her illustrations are lovingly drawn with just the right touch of mirth. I was surprised to learn from the film that Potter was initially reluctant to print them in color. I can’t imagine them any other way.
Potter was a leader in land conservation, using her substantial royalty wealth to secure thousands of acres of England’s Lake District from development. Upon her death, she bequeathed nearly all of it to the UK’s National Trust. According to the DVD it remains the largest gift the trust has ever received.
Potter was a bit of a blogger, long before there was an Internet. From the age of 15 to beyond age 30 she kept a detailed journal of her life, and she wrote it in code! It is said that the code wasn’t deciphered until decades after her death in 1943.
Miss Potter is superbly cast, well-acted, and lovingly crafted. It has a nice pace to it with just the right amount of background information. Renee Zegweller and Ewan McGregor slip easily into the roles as Potter and her love interest, Norman Warne. Zegweller absolutely sparkles as Potter. While Wikipedia has a few minor quibbles with historical accuracy, I found Miss Potter to be a charming look at a talented author familiar to kids everywhere.
On a related note, the original Beatrix Potter Collection is now in the public domain and downloadable for free. It is one of the many gems of Project Gutenberg. The books are still published by Warne Publishers, too, so if you’d like a nice set of bound books with improved illustrations you can find them at any bookstore. Having sold 40 million copies, they aren’t likely to disappear from the bookshelves any time soon!
There was a rather well down BBC series that was shown on Masterpiece theater back in the 70s. I’ll make sure it is on our list… 🙂
I used to love reading Beatrix Potter stories to my nieces. I expect many early, wonderful memories of theirs involve Peter Rabbit stories on windy nights.