Miss Potter Review

Amidst all the explosive blockbusters, Miss Potter is the best movie I have seen since Finding Neverland. In my mind, it beat out huge films like 300, The Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Order of the Phoenix. And, if you know my love for violence and dark humor in movies, this is a very, very big deal. It is Huge!


Miss Potter is the biographical story of Beatrix Potter who is possibly the most famous children’s author of all time with the exception of maybe JK Rowling or Doctor Seuss. Her works include the classics of my childhood. Classic tales (tails) such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Two Bad Mice.


Renee Zellwegger and Ewan McGregor gave the best performances of their lives and as far as I am concerned, they have lived up to the high standards set by Johnny Depp in his portrayal of playwright, JM Barry in Finding Neverland. Miss Potter conjured some of the same magic and tears that I felt while watching Neverland.


Both movies were filled with magic of the best kind. It was innocent and childish magic. A child’s magic is concentrated and uncontrolled and is only limited by his or her imagination. It is a force that is not yet corrupted by foolish adults and their attempts to control the world around us. Sadly, we live in a world where anything that is controlled too quickly becomes corrupted.


Beatrix Potter’s books are to little girls what JM Barry’s play Peter Pan was to young boys. The greatest thing about both authors is that children of both sexes can enjoy their works. As a child, I spent a lot of time sneaking into Farmer Macgregor’s garden, but not nearly as much as I spent flying around Never-Neverland. Both authors have created timeless tales that captured the very nature of what is like to be young. And it was amazing how both films captured the imagination of the authors.


Miss Potter was a refreshing film that reminded me that films don’t need sword-wielding barbarians, high dollar special effects or epic battles against evil to be enjoyable. Miss Potter is a simple love story that reminded me of what it was like to be young.