Peter Rabbit

Beatrix Potter's big-eared woodland hero bounds into the 21st century with a paw-thumping adventure owing as much to the knockabout cartoon mayhem of Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes as it does the original stories written more than 100 years ago. Peter (voiced by James Corden) and his furry cohorts run riot in the vegetable patch and home of their nemesis Farmer McGregor after he dies, but face an arguably tougher foe in the form of his city slicker nephew (Domhnall Gleeson), setting the scene for a succession of lively, comically violent skirmishes. Life lessons are learned along the way, but the focus is solidly on the escalating battles between man and beast, often at the expense of any weighty characterisation. There are enough elements of the source material to keep Potter purists happy while establishing more modern credentials for a long-running franchise, but overall it's a box-ticking exercise that doesn't quite engage the viewer as much as it could.