Review: Peter Rabbit is a really messed up movie for kids

Did you think Peter Rabbit was a cutesy-wutesy tale about a carrot-stealing bunny-wunny? Think again, people.

The version of Peter Rabbit that's coming to the big screen these school holidays is about a bunch of murdering rabbits hellbent on killing an elderly gardener called Mr McGregor.

And succeeding.

At one point, the beautifully animated friends of Peter Rabbit check to see if the gardener's dead, then celebrate by eating all his fruit and vegetables, and trashing his house.

I don't remember that happening in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, the book on which this film is based.

Despite the darker undertones, this madcap movie is a refreshingly real take on Potter's 1902 tale, one that adds romantic elements between the leads, a hilariously airy Rose Byrne as Bea, and the two-faced antics of Domhnall Gleeson as Thomas McGregor.

As Thomas, Gleeson plays the gardener's son who returns home to find his dad's house full of farmyard animals and launches an all-out war on Peter Rabbit and co, one that escalates to include dynamite being thrown into rabbit warrens, and humans being electrocuted.

Yes, Peter Rabbit has "PG - Violence" rating for a reason.

I was expecting cute and cuddly animals, vegetable puns, an over-the-top love story and to probably have a bit of a sleep halfway through this.

I was not expecting bunny murder, dynamite and electrocutions, but I'm glad director Will Gluck and James Corden, who voices the furry fireball, had some fun with it.

Peter Rabbit is weird, kooky and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, one of the best kids films I've seen. The constant cackles coming from my children seemed to suggest that they'd agree.

Peter Rabbit

Rating: PG - VIolence
Time: 94 minutes
Director: Will Gluck
Stars: James Corden, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie, Sam Neill
Verdict: Hilariously different take on cute kids classic