For over a century, the character of Peter Rabbit has remained relevant in today’s pop culture. Peter Rabbit was patented as a soft toy in 1903 and is the oldest licensed character. The fictional animal character was created by the English author Beatrice Potter in a series of published children’s stories.
Peter Rabbit is a young, enterprising, anthropomorphic rabbit whose mischievousness and disobedience often lead to trouble. Peter Rabbit is distinguished from Beatrix Potter’s other rabbits by his blue jacket with brass buttons. Here’s a look at the centuries-old character Peter Rabbit and his impact on pop culture.
Peter Rabbit in the original books by Beatrix Potter
The Peter Rabbit books are the best-selling books in Beatrix Potter’s collection. Potter’s books featuring Peter Rabbit have reportedly sold over 150 million copies worldwide. Although they are among the top 20 best-selling books, Book series It is important to note that this is one of the book series with the smallest number of books in the world. Only six of Beatrix Potter’s books feature the character Peter Rabbit.
The first published book with Peter Rabbit was the children’s book from 1902 The story of Peter RabbitHowever, the character was first created in 1893, when Beatrix Potter wrote stories with the character for five-year-olds Daniel MooreThe boy, the son of Annie Carter MoorePotter’s former governess, was ill at the time. With over 45 million copies sold The story of Peter Rabbit is one of the best-selling books in history.
A sequel, The story of Benjamin Bunnywas published in 1904. As in the first book, Peter Rabbit was the main character. However, Peter Rabbit only made one guest appearance in 1905. The Story of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. In 1909 The story of the Flopsy BunniesAn adult Peter Rabbit also appears briefly. Peter Rabbit made another Cameo appearance in 1909 The story of ginger and cucumberHis next and last appearance in the original Beatrix Potter books was the The story of Mr. Death.
Peter Rabbit in order books of the 21st century
British publisher Frederick Warne & Co. published all six original Peter Rabbit books by Beatrix Potter. Frederick Warne & Co. celebrated the 110th anniversary of the first book by commissioning an author to write a new series about Peter Rabbit. The British actress Emma Thompson wrote a new series of books about Peter Rabbit. The first of Thompson’s books, The further story of Peter Rabbitwas published on September 18, 2012. Two more books were published as sequels. These include The Christmas Carol of Peter Rabbit And The spectacular story of Peter Rabbitpublished in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
In addition to Emma ThompsonThe new Peter Rabbit book series, a reboot series, was also published in the 2020s. The English author and illustrator Rachel B. was commissioned to work on the books, with Nicola Kinnear as an illustrator. Since then, three Peter Rabbit books by Rachel Bright have been published. These include Peter Rabbit upside down (published 2021), Peter Rabbit Hide and Seek (2022) and Peter Rabbit up and away (2024).
Peter Rabbit in today’s memory and merchandising
With the growing success of his first book The story of Peter Rabbitthe character Peter Rabbit, produced as a soft doll, was patented/trademarked/licensed in 1903. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an unprecedented increase in demand for the Peter Rabbit doll. Since 1910, the London luxury department store Harrods has been selling the doll. Peter Rabbit is famous all over the world in Japan for its story and its products. The story of Peter Rabbit is so popular in Japan that it is estimated that around 80% of the country’s population knows the character and/or story of Peter Rabbit.
But Peter Rabbit is not only honored on the other side of the world. In honor of Beatrix Potter, the Royal Mail (British postal and courier service) celebrated Potter’s 150th birthday. Beatrix Potter was born on July 28, 1866 and died on December 22, 1943 at the age of 77.To commemorate this event, several Beatrix Potter characters, including Peter Rabbit, appeared on a series of British postage stamps in 2016. The character also appeared on some British 50 pence collector coins.
Peter Rabbit in films and television shows
Disney was less than a year old when the first Peter Rabbit book came out in 1902. However, it was probably one of Disney’s cartoon characters from his childhood. After his success and dissatisfaction with cartoons in 1934, Walt Disney wanted to produce a full-length film. Before producing his highly successful first full-length film, Snow White and the Seven DwarfsWalt Disney approached Beatrix Potter and expressed his interest in producing a full-length Peter Rabbit film.
Although this was a smart and safe approach, especially given the popularity of Peter Rabbit at the time, Beatrix Potter reportedly denied Disney the rights to the character. However, in 1971, almost 28 years after Beatrix Potter’s death, Peter Rabbit appeared in his first screen production in the Ballet film The stories of Beatrix Potter. As a screenwriter and producer Richard Goodwin turned to the British publisher Frederick WarneFounder of Frederick Warne & Co., like Walt Disney, asked for the rights to Peter Rabbit but was turned down. However, on the promise that Beatrix Potter’s original work and idea would be preserved, Warne later agreed and reportedly paid £5,000 for the rights.
Since then, Peter Rabbit has appeared in several other film and television productions. Peter Rabbit was featured in the 1991 HBO series Fairytale musicaladapted from Beatrix Potter’s first Peter Rabbit book, the BBC anthology series from 1992, The world of Peter Rabbit and his friendsand two more television shows in 1995 and 1996. In the 21st century, in 2012, Animated series with the character’s name premiered on CBeebies and Nickelodeon. The most famous adaptation of the character for today’s generation of cinema audiences was the 2018 animated/live action film Peter Rabbit and its sequel of 2021, Peter Rabbit 2 – The RunawayIf the Peter Rabbit Character felt nostalgic, these Cartoon Network shows could also have been a favorite.
Watch the 2018 Peter Rabbit movie on Apple TV+
