Miss Potter (DVD, 2007)

This is a really good movie!

Basically because actress Renee Zellweger stars as the best-selling children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter.

I like period pieces and this is set in Victorian England.

The film follows Miss Potter’s life, from a little girl to an independent young woman in pursuit of a career in illustration and storytelling.

Her mother does not approve of this career and wants her to follow in the mother's footsteps in high society.

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT is the first book she is able to get published. She falls in love with her publisher and became secretly engaged to him. The rest of the story is somewhat sad, but she ends up in the history books as the prolific writer of Peter Rabbit tales.

Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger are great in this movie!

The DVD bonus features help you in understanding Miss Potter's background and what she ended up doing with her life.

Tops for watching with your loved one!

I'm willing to bet you will enjoy "Miss Potter" as much as I did... The film is about Beatrix Potter, (She wrote and illustrated "The Tale Of Peter Rabbit" and other children's books), and stars Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor .

In the movie, it shows Beatrix' tendency for whimsey in her studio, and an affection for her creations that I found very familiar. In one scene that I find most endearing, she just finishes painting the infamous blue jacket on Peter Rabbit when he suddenly comes to life and squirms out it. My interpretation of this scene is that Beatrix simply made a mistake; over-drew a line - and rather than getting irritated with herself, she imagines Peter's the culprit - the over-drawn line now his jacket on the ground, and she scolds him for wiggling around while she's trying to do her work. [Perhaps if I gently scolded my westies, cairns, and all for MY mistakes, my days will run a bit smoother around here.]

I began to feel a kinship with this incredible woman from long ago. She was a single, strong minded woman before it was "okay" with society to be so, but that's not why I found myself liking her so much...

It was the fact that she was a proactive, professional, and self-representing Artist in a time of such rigid domestic expectations for women; approaching publishers with her drawings and stories despite pressures to just get married and run a house as other women did.

And it was watching her oversee the first printings of her illustrations in the printhouse (something others of the time deemed highly inappropriate for a lady), and that she had no qualms in telling the men to test-print them again & again until the colors were perfect.

It was also because she was protective of her creations yet very determined that her book be affordable to any child. Had she been born in my generation, I think she would have joyfully embraced selling her art on eBay!

As a child, I loved my little green Peter Rabbit book, yet I've never really considered myself a Beatrix Potter fan. As a female artist of whimsey, however, I knew just minutes into the movie I was prepared to like her immensely! I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the life & mind of Miss Potter. I love this movie and will be adding it to my small collection of favorites.

The movie was scheduled for a Rental & Retail DVD release in the UK on April 23, 2007, but it just hit US theaters in the same month. With a US DVD release date of June 19, 2007, it can be pre-ordered on eBay now.

Kim Niles
Artist & Published Children's Book Illustrator (WESTIE THE DOG)
KiniArt Studios

The movie "Miss Potter" is a splendid picture of Beatrix Potter's life. It allows a person in modern times to feel empathy for a single young woman born in the 1800s. Beatrix is depicted by Renee Zellwenger in the film. She is a strong woman that will not marry just for the sake of society's rules. Her mother is very class conscious. Her father is ruled by her mother. Beatrix finds and loses love, then she finds love again. Her love of nature is quite breathtaking. The legacy that she leaves the English people is awesome. She was a conservationist as well as a philanthropist. I purchased the movie, so I could watch it over and over. It is a clean movie. There is nothing offensive in it. As a teacher, I applaud this because so often I cannot show movies in the classroom becaus of sexual content or bad language. I highly recommend this movie. On netflix, this movie is listed under "Visually Striking." It is definitely picturesque. I have a friend that is currently visiting the "Lake District" where Beatrix and her family vacationed. I have to admit that I am quite jealous!!!

Old fashioned love story about a great children's author, set in a time when women were expected to marry to better themselves. Delightful story suitable for younger viewers , a young women with an amazing artistic talent that bring's to life her love of animals , a journey of how she became independent and respected. Beautiful english countryside ,a feel good movie.

One of my favorites in my own category I like to call Magical Romanticsm. Good, eh?! Well, besides of being based in the true story of Beatrix Potter you can actually see and live her own "magical" world that produced such wonderful books. Wardrobe and locations were I think superb, it really transported me to that time. In all, if you are a true romantic, believe that bunnies can wear beautiful blue jackets whose name just happens to be Peter and still enjoy a lazy afternoon under some old oak with a good book then this movie is for you. Enjoy!!!