User:Slgrandson/Tales of Beatrix Potter

Tales of Beatrix Potter (promoted as Peter Rabbit and Tales of Beatrix Potter on the U.S. posters and soundtrack LP) is a 1971 ballet film with a plot based on the children's stories of English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film was directed by Reginald Mills, choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton, and starred artists of the Royal Ballet. The musical score was arranged by John Lanchbery from various sources such as the operas of Michael Balfe and Sir Arthur Sullivan, and performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Production
According to Henry Herx in his Family Guide to Movies on Video, "Director Reginald Mills frees the work from the stage by photographing it in a picturesque English countryside and patterns the costumes on the soft, cuddly textures and pale pastels of the famous Potter sketches."

Release
Tales of Beatrix Potter was released in the United Kingdom in early 1971. At that time, the film's advanced bookings were the highest since 1939's Gone with the Wind, at over £1,000 per day.

In December 1986, the film was released on videocassette in the United States by HBO/Cannon. It was re-issued on Region 1 DVD in February 2004 by Anchor Bay Entertainment, as The Tales of Beatrix Potter.

Reception
Among those who gave the film a positive review was Henry Herx. "[The] British ballet production conjures up Beatrix Potter's delicate animal fables and through Frederick Ashton's chereography enables them to dance and pantomine their way into the hearts of story lovers," he wrote, while also commending it "A beautiful way to introduce youngsters to the world of Peter Rabbit and the art of the ballet."

The staff of Halliwell's Film Guide awarded it two stars out of four with this comment: "A charming entertainment for those who can appreciate it, though hardly the most direct way to tell these stories." Wally Hammond of London's Time Out magazine found it a "[l]argely unimaginative retelling" of the tales; "the muted photography," he added, "evokes the original Potter drawings." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "It is with a small sense of fear and trembling that I say "Peter Rabbit and Tales of Beatrix Potter" succeeds neither as ballet nor film."

The film was nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards.