so normally I’m like very chill and open-minded about this kind of thing; like okay people give the *probably* hard-working movie-studio a chance, you haven’t even seen the movie yet, let’s not go bashing something before it’s arrived okay.
and I never want to make a big deal out of “not approving of” something, that’s just not my style, nor do I enjoy planting seeds of negativity in a world that’s got enough of that already holy crap XD
but
I’m sorry
you done hit a nerve, Sony. And that’s just me taking it personally, which I don’t have a right to do… but damn it, Sony, you’ve made it kind of difficult with this one.
As you can probably imagine, I’m a fan of Beatrix Potter’s work; which, fyi, appeared in the early 1900′s as illustrated children’s stories featuring Peter Rabbit and many of the animals seen in this trailer. Needless to say, these stories mean a lot to me… I would go so far as to say they’ve shaped me as a human being, and as an artist; Ms. Potter remains one of my personal patron saints.
This trailer (at the risk of sounding like a prude) offends me, not because it strays from the classic material (God knows, the written word is no more sacred these days than a hand-me-down sweater), but because it shits on it. It takes the world Ms. Potter created, gives you a glimpse of what it looked like, then slaps you in the face for smiling fondly at the sight of a familiar, jacket-wearing bunny, and proceeds to (very loudly and crudely) inform you of how outdated, useless, babyish, and uncool the old stories are. “But don’t worry, Sony’s here to make them cool again, with CGI party animals, pop culture references, a creepy sexual undertone, and tried-and-true sight gags like ‘naked’ animals and two guys screaming at each other for five minutes!”
In honesty, I wouldn’t have been thrilled, but I could have stomached a “modern times” version of Peter Rabbit. If it had treated the original stories with a semblance of respect, I could have dealt with it. I can deal with the stupid Nick Jr. cartoon that’s been airing (though make no mistake, I’m still bitter about the American accents and significantly, badly altered character designs). At least you can tell it has some respect for Ms. Potter’s Lake District world.
Unless this trailer is lying to me, it doesn’t appear that this movie has anything resembling respect for its source material, and that is what offends me. Not the dumb gags, the adult angle, or the cultural appropriation (though, c’mon, that’s all bad). It’s the lack of respect for a classic that has been a part of so many people’s growing up, that has changed the face of children’s publishing over the more than 100 years since its genesis. In the trailer, mischievous adventurer Peter is a stereotypical charismatic party animal… he sorta strikes me as a much less well-meaning Ferris Beuller. And Mr. Tod, one of (in my humble opinion) literature’s darkest, most calculatingly evil, and frightening villains is reduced to a bad-tempered tagalong. I could go on, but I’m exhausted already.
I just
Ugh.
While we’re crapping on modernizing children’s classics, why don’t we just remake Ted and replace the main characters with Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin?
What this? Sony Pictures creating utter trash out of a beloved cultural icon and utterly shitting on everything that made it so loved?
I’M SHOCKED
THIS IS MY SHOCKED FACE
Hopefully Sony Pictures implodes and dies before they can corrupt anything else.
Hey remember how Hasbro initially approached Sony about working with them on the MLP movie but Sony were literally so fucking stupid they were confused by the basic concept of My Little Pony and wanted to turn it into “ponies visit real life New York and help an average joe and jane find love” and Hasbro just kinda stopped responding to their messages?
DODGED A FUCKIN BULLET DINT WE LADDIES
EDIT: OK I finished watching the trailer and I kinda want to die. My dad would read me this stuff when I was 3-4 and the old drawings evoke some really intense feeling and memories. And this is honestly just really terrible and insulting.
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