Lennie James Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ starring the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone, Mads Mikkelsen, John Kani, Preston Nyman, Thandiwe Newton and Lennie James

December 21, 2024

by Carla Hay

Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) and Taka (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Image courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.)

Directed by Barry Jenkins

Culture Representation: Taking place in Africa, the animated film “Mufasa: The Lion King” (a prequel to “The Lion King” movies) features a cast of characters portraying talking animals.

Culture Clash: The origin story of future lion king patriarch Mufasa is told, including how he battled a pride of lion invaders and was betrayed by his adoptive brother.

Culture Audience: “Mufasa: The Lion King” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “The Lion King” franchise and animated films that are formulaic and don’t do anything innovative.

Kiros (voiced by Mads Mikkelsen) in “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Image courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.)

The animated musical “Mufasa: The Lion King” delivers the expected eye-catching visuals, but the story, dialogue and songs are underwhelming and tedious. This disappointing prequel lazily copies the formula of other “Lion King” films. Considering the large production budget and award-winning talent involved for “Mufasa: The Lion King,” this hollow film is an example of too many wasted and missed opportunities.

Directed by Barry Jenkins and written by Jeff Nathanson, “Mufasa: The Lion King” tells the origin story of royal lion Mufasa, who is a stereotypical heroic character. Mufasa died near the beginning of “The Lion King” movies, as seen in the 1994 original “The Lion King” movie and 2019 remake. Mufasa’s unexpected death (by falling down a gorge) made his son/only child Simba a runaway because Simba blamed himself for Mufasa’s death. Mufasa was actually murdered, and the killer went on the hunt to murder Simba. It’s assumed that most people watching “Mufasa: The Lion King” saw a “Lion King” movie that told Simba’s origin story. Anyone unfamiliar with Simba’s story will feel a bit lost and confused by the beginning of “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

“Mufasa: The Lion King” begins with a caption announcing that the movie is dedicated to actor James Earl Jones, the original voice of Mufasa in the previous “Lion King” movies. (Jones died in September 2024, at the age of 93.) “Mufasa: The Lion King” then has an opening scene showing that adult Simba (voiced by Donald Glover), his love partner Nala (voiced by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) and their cub daughter Kiara (voiced by Blue Ivy Carter) are living as a happy family somewhere in Africa. An elderly, wise mandrill named Rafiki (voiced by John Kani), who was a trusted ally of Mufasa, notices that Kiara is afraid of an expected rainstorm.

Rafiki tries to comfort Kiara by telling her that Kiara’s legendary grandfather king Mufasa used to be afraid of storms too, when Mufasa was about Kiara’s age. Rafiki then tells Kiara the story of Mufasa when Mufasa was a child and a young adult. This story and flashback scenes are the basis of much of “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Returning characters from “The Lion King” movies are two of Simba’s wisecracking friends: goofy warthog Pumbaa (voiced by Seth Rogen) and sarcastic meerkat Timon (voiced by Billy Eichner), who hang around to listen to Rafiki’s storytelling about Mufasa.

Mufasa’s origin story is almost an exact replica of Simba’s origin story. Mufasa as a cub (voiced by Braelyn Rankins) had a happy childhood and was his parents’ only child, until he was separated from his biological family for years and had to find his own identity as a young adult. “Mufasa: The Lion King” has one of the same villains as the original “Lion King” story, but “Mufasa: The Lion King” adds another villain to elongate the already predictable plot. The main difference between the two origin stories is that Mufasa was separated from his family because of a natural disaster, while Simba was separated from his family because Simba ran away after Simba’s father Mufasa died.

In “Mufasa: The Lion King,” cub Mufasa was living in bliss with his parents Masego (voiced by Keith David) and Afia (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), whose goal was to find the promised land of Milele, so the family could live in Milele. Mufasa’s parents describe Milele as a paradise-like place where resources are plentiful and animals live in harmony in “the circle of life.” Milele is a place that some animals believe is real, while others think Milele is a mythical place that doesn’t exist.

The family’s plans to find Milele are interrupted during a flash flood that causes Mufasa to nearly drown in a cascading river. As a result of this flood, Mufasa is separated from his parents and can’t find them. A crocodile almost attacks Mufasa, but he is rescued by another cub named Taka (voiced by Theo Somolu), who is a prince of his pride of lions. Mufasa doesn’t know how to find his parents, so Taka (who is about the same age as Mufasa) takes Mufasa back to Taka’s home, which is a place called Pride Lands.

Taka’s parents—stern father Obasi (voiced by Lennie James) and compassionate mother Eshe (voiced by Thandiwe Newton)—have very different reactions to Mufasa. Obasi, who is very distrustful of outsiders, is reluctant to accept Mufasa into the pride. Eshe is more open to accepting Mufasa, especially when Taka openly expresses that he has always wanted a brother. (The utterly bland song “I Always Wanted a Brother” is performed in this part of the movie.)

Obasi tells Mufasa that Mufasa can only live with this pride of lions if Mufasa wins in a speed race against Taka. Mufasa wins the race because Taka deliberately lets Mufasa win—and Taka doesn’t let Mufasa forget it. Obasi also tells Taka never to trust Mufasa because Taka is Obasi’s rightful heir. It’s the first indication that although Taka wants Mufasa as a brother, Taka expects to inherit the kingdom from Obasi. Even with this “victory,” Mufasa s still treated with suspicion by Obasi, who orders that Mufasa has to spend time with the females of the pride.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” then has a series scenes showing that despite Obasi’s wariness of Mufasa, Taka went against his father’s wishes and became very close to Mufasa, who became just like a brother to Taka. The movie then abruptly segues to the young-adult phase of Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) and Taka (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who are still the best of friends at this point in the story. They hunt together and protect each other.

However, there is some tension in the relationship because Mufasa has been outshining Taka because Mufasa has an extraordinary sense of smell, and Mufasa is overall more courageous than Taka. Mufasa is also considered more physically attractive than Taka: Mufasa has a full mane and is muscular, while Taka has a scraggly mane and is somewhat scrawny.

Mufasa’s keen senses are why he can detect the impending invasion of a group of villainous white lions called the Outsiders, led by the ruthless Kiros (voiced by Mads Mikkelsen), who want to take over the land occupied by Obasi’s pride of lions. Kiros has two sisters who are his warrior sidekicks: Akua (voiced by Joanna Jones) and Amara (voiced by Folake Olowofoyeku), who both have personalities that are indistinguishable from the other. You know what happens next: Mufasa and Taka join forces with the rest of their pride to fight against the Outsiders.

Meanwhile, a bit of a love triangle develops when Mufasa and Taka meet a young adult lioness named Sarabi (voiced by Tiffany Boone), who has two sidekick friends: young Rafiki (voiced by Kagiso Lediga) and a talkative hornbill named Zazu (voiced by Preston Nyman), who is Sarabi’s scout. Sarabi becomes a warrior ally to Mufasa and Taka. And even if you’ve never seen the original “Lion King” movie, it’s very easy to predict which lion brother will eventually win Sarabi’s love. Rafiki also has a special friend: a baboon named Junia (voiced by Thuso Mbedu), who will be forgotten by most viewers by the time the movie is over.

If the introduction of all these new characters sounds a bit overcrowded, that’s because it is. Sarabi’s brave-but-gentle personality is almost identical to Nala’s personality. Zazu is an utterly generic chatterbox. Kiros is every single cliché of a cartoon animal villain. Mikkelsen tries to give the Kiros character some sort of charisma, but his performance is hampered by drab dialogue.

One of the biggest problems with “Mufasa: The Lion King” is that even if you never saw any “Lion King” movie, it’s common knowledge in pop culture that Mufasa had a brother named Scar, who betrayed Mufasa and became a villain because Scar was jealous of Mufasa. In “Mufasa: The Lion King,” Taka is obviously the original name of Scar, although the movie tries to pay coy about it, as if it’s some big secret. Most viewers already know that Taka is a duplicitous villain, so there is no real surprise when the moment comes in “Mufasa: The Lion King” when Taka is revealed to be a villain.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” eventually shows how and why Taka’s name was changed to Scar, but this tidbit of information does not change the monotony of the story. The action scenes aren’t as thrilling as they could be. And the movie just can’t overcome the clunky and boring conversations. Pumbaa and Timon, the only “Lion King” characters with a lively rapport, are sidelined in “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which makes Pumbaa and Timon more annoying than amusing.

And unlike many other Disney animated musicals, “Mufasa: The Lion King” has absolutely no songs that are destined to be classics or winners of major awards. Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “Moana,” “Encanto”) wrote the six original songs in “Mufasa: The Lion King” that have lyrics: “Milele”; “I Always Wanted a Brother” (co-written by Nicholas Britell, the composer of “Mufasa: The Lion King”); “Bye Bye”; “We Go Together”; “Tell Me It’s You”; and “Brother Betrayed.” None of these songs comes close to being as memorable as the Oscar-winning 1994 “Lion King” song: “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Britell’s musical score for “Mufasa: The Lion King” is serviceable but not outstanding, compared to Hans Zimmer’s score for the original “Lion King” movie.

Here’s an example of why “Mufasa: The Lion King” has a poorly written screenplay: When elder Rafiki is telling the origin story of Mufasa, the movie cuts to interludes showing Rafiki being interrupted by Pumbaa and Timon, who complain and don’t understand why they aren’t part of the story too—even though Pumbaa and Timon didn’t even know Mufasa. Pumbaa also weirdly keeps guessing out loud if Taka is really going to be revealed as a young Pumbaa. It makes absolutely no sense. “Mufasa: The Lion King” director Jenkins won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for 2016’s “Moonlight.” We’ll never know how “Mufasa: The Lion King” would have been like if Jenkins also wrote the screenplay for “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

“Mufasa: The Lion King” is a prequel that expects viewers to know a lot about Simba’s “Lion King” story, which is why the beginning of “Mufasa: The Lion King” is so jumbled when re-introducing familiar characters. But at the same time, “Mufasa: The Lion King” also drags out the obvious “reveal” that Taka is really Scar, the villain lion who became an enemy of Mufasa and Simba. Everything else in “Mufasa: The Lion King” is really just a distraction that leads up to this reveal. The voice cast members are talented and do the best they can, but “Mufasa: The Lion King” is ultimately a shallow retread of 1994’s vastly superior “The Lion King.”

Walt Disney Pictures released “Mufasa: The Lion King” in U.S. cinemas on December 20, 2024.

Review ‘The End’ (2024), starring Tilda Swinton, George Mackay, Moses Ingram, Bronagh Gallagher, Tim McInnerny, Lennie James and Michael Shannon

December 6, 2024

by Carla Hay

Tim McInnerny, Michael Shannon, George Mackay, Tilda Swinton, Bronagh Gallagher and Lennie James in “The End” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

“The End” (2024)

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed part of the United States, the musical film “The End” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with two black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: After an apocalypse, a wealthy family of three are sequestered in a lavish bunker with three of their close associates, when they have their lives altered by an apocalypse survivor, who unexpectedly lives with them.

Culture Audience: “The End” will appeal primarily to fans of the movie’s headliners and musicals that don’t have much to say.

Moses Ingram in “The End” (Photo courtesy of Neon)

Viewers of the long-winded and boring musical “The End” will keep wondering when it’s going to reach the end. The acting is fine, and some of the singing is good, but the movie commits the worst sin for a musical: The songs and story are very forgettable. And that’s a sin that’s very hard to forgive for a movie whose total running time is 148 minutes.

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer (who co-wrote “The End” screenplay with Rasmus Heisterberg), “The End” had its world premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The story takes place in an unnamed part of the U.S., after an apocalypse has happened several years prior. (“The End” was actually filmed in Iceland, Italy, and Germany, but the main characters in the movie have American accents.) The entire story is set at a bunker that looks like a ice-covered mine shaft on the outside but looks like mansion on the inside. All of the characters in the movie live in this bunker.

In “The End,” the real names of the characters are not revealed. The characters are listed in the movie’s end credits according to whatever identity they have in the movie. Mother (played by Tilda Swinton) is icy and domineering. Father (played by Michael Shannon), who is Mother’s husband, is more laid-back and easygoing. Son (played by George Mackay) is a young adult who is emotionally immature and very sheltered. (For example, he has a childlike fascination with playing with toy train sets.) These three family members are wealthy and own the bunker where they live.

Also living in the bunker are three people who are there because the family allowed them to be there when the parents decided which people could live in the bunker with the family. All of these non-family members have an extra purpose to be in service to the family in some way, which causes an imbalance of power. As more details about Mother and Father are revealed, it’s easy to see why these parents aren’t as charitable as they first seem to be.

Friend (played by Bronagh Gallagher), a middle-aged family friend of the parents, is the main cook for this household. Friend is having a semi-secret affair with Son at the beginning of the movie. She has known Son since he was a kid. But now that he’s an adult, she obviously sees him in a different way. It’s mentioned that Friend had an adult son named Tom, who died (the reason why he died is later revealed), and Friend seems to feel very guilty about this death.

Doctor (played by Lennie James) was having some kind of love affair with Friend until she took up with Son. This previous romance is never seen in the movie, but Doctor makes it known to Friend and Son that he’s upset and jealous over their sexual relationship. However, because Doctor feels indebted to Son’s parents for saving his life, he doesn’t let this jealousy interfere with his dedication to the family.

Butler (played by Tim McInnerny) is the most subservient of the non-family members. He can be relied on to do whatever is asked of him, with no questions asked. There is no obvious information about Butler’s personal life, although it’s hinted that he is gay. He’s the only character in the movie who doesn’t have a love interest.

Under the strict direction of Mother, the people in this bunker do fire drills on a regular basis. Why? Don’t expect an answer. Son is a talented painter whose artwork seems inspired by Claude Monet, the French painter credited with being a pioneer of impressionism. Mother is very critical and nitpcky about his paintings, which affects Son’s self-esteem.

The apocalypse has supposedly caused massive flooding above ground and left Earth with freezing temperatures, which is why it’s icy all year round. The movie is vague about how the bunker occupants still have electricity and other resources. It’s implied that they grow their own food and raise the small animals (such as seafood) that they eat inside the bunker.

The people inside the bunker, especially the parents, seem unconcerned about finding out if there are any other survivors. But one day, a stranger is discovered unconscious outside the bunker. In the end credits, her name is Girl (played by Moses Ingram), but she’s actually a young woman. When she is able to regain consciousnesses, Girl says that she and her family became trapped underneath ice in a marine channel, but she was able to survive by digging her way out from underneath the ice.

The bunker parents made a pact not to let other survivors live with them, but they make an exception for Girl. It takes some time for Girl to adjust to her new surroundings. Her presence in the household changes the dynamics of certain relationships. And the most predictable and cliché thing happens between Girl and Son.

The singing in “The End” sounds like people singing dialogue, not well-crafted songs that give a new vibrancy to the story. Mackay and Ingram are the best singers, while the other cast members have adequate singing skills. There are no elaborate dance numbers. The movie’s technical aspects (cinematography, production design and costume design) are adequate, but can’t do much to elevate the lackluster story.

“The End” had great potential to be an innovative and original musical. However, the story concept goes limp within the first 30 minutes of the movie and never recovers. Many crucial questions are left unanswered by the end of the movie because there are hints that a lot of footage was edited out of this film that is already too long. One of the best ways to know if a musical is good is if the songs (and the way the songs are presented) are crucial in telling the story. Unfortunately for “The End,” this is a bland and disappointing movie, even it if hadn’t been a musical.

Neon released “The End” in select U.S. cinemas on December 6, 2024.

Review: ‘There There,’ starring Jason Schwartzman, Lili Taylor, Lennie James, Molly Gordon, Annie La Ganga and Avi Nash

March 4, 2023

by Carla Hay

“There There”

Directed by Andrew Bujalski

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the comedy/drama “There There” has a predominantly white cast of characters (with one black person) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Various people express insecurities and have conflicts with each other.

Culture Audience: “There There” will appeal primarily to people who like pretentious and rambling independent films that are boring and have nothing meaningful to say.

Lili Taylor in “There There” (Photo by Matthias Grunsky/Magnolia Pictures)

“There There” should have been titled “Nothing There,” in case people are looking for a movie with a coherent plot or interesting characters. It’s one of those tedious independent films that tries to fool people into thinking that its shallow idiocy is cool. This annoying movie is so pretentious, “There There” writer/director Andrew Bujalski didn’t even bother giving the movie’s characters any names, except for two characters who are never shown on screen. But that’s not the only reason why viewers won’t care about these characters.

“There There” just looks like a series of improvisational sketches with no purpose. It’s just a bunch of actors talking to each other in scenes that go nowhere. Some of the characters are strangers to each other but are connected because someone they know is a mutual friend or mutual acquaintance. “There There” is supposed to be a comedy/drama, but there’s nothing funny about the comedy, and there’s nothing compelling about the drama.

The movie has four different scenarios that show the tenuous connection between some of the characters. Each scenario transitions to the next by showing musician Jon Natchez playing a different instrument. He’s shown playing a bass clarinet, a piano and a guitar in these musical interludes.

The first scenario shows two unmarried people in their 50s (played by Lili Taylor and Lennie James) waking up after he has spent the night at her place for the first time. The two new lovers have a very awkward morning-after conversation. She tells him that she doesn’t want him to see her get dressed in the daylight because she’s very self-conscious about her body.

She also mentions that she’s probably older than his average sexual conquest. He assures her that he thinks she’s attractive, and they make plans to see each other again. During the conversation, it’s mentioned that he works as a bartender at a restaurant/bar that he owns, which is why he meets a lot of younger women. This restuarant/bar owner has no shortage of self-confidence. “Instead of a hangover, I feel like Superman,” he says.

He also mentions a gruesome incident he saw the previous year, where a young woman got into a car accident in front of his restaurant. The car was so damaged, the fire department had to extract the woman from the car. What does this car accident have to do with anything? It’s explained later in the movie, but the reveal is very predictable as soon as this bar owner’s recent sex partner mentions that she’s grieving over the death of her friend Allison.

The next scenario shows the woman talking about her new “romance” with a close friend (played by Annie La Ganga) who’s about the same age. This friend listens patiently and then goes to the high school attended by her 16-year-old son Gino, who is never seen in the movie. This mother is at the school to meet with a teacher (played by Molly Gordon), who says that Gino is “definitely on track for his grade level.” The teacher mentions that Gino has only had minor problems, such as pizza stains on his homework.

The conversation turns ugly though when Gino’s mother and the teacher get into a heated argument over a video that Gino secretly recorded in the teacher’s classroom. It’s enough to say that Gino’s mother wants to use this video against the teacher, but the teacher thinks Gino is the one who should get in trouble for how he recorded the video, because part of it was filmed up the teacher’s skirt.

The third scenario shows a tense phone conversation between a website owner (played by Avi Nash) and his attorney (played by Jason Schwartzman), because the website (which allows people to upload videos) is getting into legal trouble because of the website’s uploaded content. The attorney is separated from his wife Christine and is having nightmares about his dead father (played by Roy Nathanson), who shows up in another nightmarish vision in the attorney’s bedroom. As the room starts to shake, the attorney asks, “Is this an earthquake? Am I being raptured?”

The last scenario shows the website owner walking into a restaurant/bar. And what a coincidence: It’s the same bar owned by the guy who was shown in the “morning after” scene, and he’s working as a bartender on this particular night. Gino’s schoolteacher happens to be at the same bar too. The website owner shows he’s attracted to her while they sit at the bar counter, but she’s not interested. She’s more interested in the bartender.

“There There” squanders the talent of the cast members in these pointless scenes. The screenwriting is so bad, there’s nothing that can be salvaged from this rambling movie. Gordon gives the best effort to make her character watchable, but the rest of the cast members look bored and are just going through the motions.

“There There” is one of those time-wasting movies where viewers (if they have the patience to watch this dreadfully dull garbage) will say to themselves when it’s all over: “That’s it?” Unfortunately, the answer is: “Yes, you just watched 94 minutes of the cinematic equivalent of stale air that has the stink of foul pretentiousness.”

Magnolia Pictures released “There There” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on November 18, 2022.

Review: ‘Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,’ starring Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo and the voices of James Corden, Colin Moody, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, Aimee Horne and Lennie James

June 9, 2021

by Carla Hay

David Oyelowo, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson with Cotton-Tail (voiced by Aimee Horne), Flopsy (voiced by Margot Robbie), Mopsy (voiced by Elizabeth Debecki), Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden) and Benjamin Bunny (voiced by Colin Moody) in “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” (Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”

Directed by Will Gluck

Culture Representation: Taking place in various parts of England, “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” features a cast of characters representing humans (mostly white, with a few black and Asian people) and animals in working-class and middle-class environments.

Culture Clash: While on a family trip to London, Peter Rabbit separates himself from the rest of the group and falls in with a gang of thieving animals.

Culture Audience: “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” will appeal primarily to people looking for lightweight, family-friendly animated entertainment.

Barnabas (voiced by Lennie James), Samuel Whiskers (voiced by Rupert Degas), Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden), Mittens (voiced by Hayley Atwell) and Tom Kitten (voiced by Damon Herriman) in “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” (Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

Just like the hyper rabbit who’s the title character, “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” hops all over the place, as Peter Rabbit becomes more restless about seeing the world outside of his home. This wandering spirit mostly works well in this affable sequel. And fortunately, people don’t have to see 2018’s “Peter Rabbit” movie to understand or enjoy this follow-up movie. The movies are based on the beloved Beatrix Potter children’s book series.

“Peter Rabbit” director/co-writer/producer Will Gluck returned to direct, co-write and produce “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,” but he changed screenwriting collaborators. The “Peter Rabbit” screenplay was co-written by Rob Lieber, while Patrick Burleigh co-wrote the screenplay for “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.” The results are a much more frenetically paced, travel-oriented film that stuffs in a “race against time” plot development the last 10 minutes of the movie.

This “race against time” plot development could have worked as the plot of an entire film instead of being rushed in at the end. It seems like the filmmakers tried to incorporate several different plot ideas into the same movie instead of sticking to just one. For the most part, it works, especially if viewers have short attention spans. But other times, “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” seems as if there are three different movies in one film.

One part of the movie is about the mischievous Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden) running away from his family and befriending a gang of thieving animals. Another part of the movie is about Peter going home, missing his new friends, and recruiting his rabbit relatives and some animal pals to go back and help the gang of thieves with a big heist. And another part of the film involves a big rescue mission that won’t be revealed in this review. And there’s an over-arching theme about not changing your identity to please other people.

Because of all these different story ideas going on in the same movie, “Peter Rabbit 2” increases the energy level from the first “Peter Rabbit” movie, but sometimes to the detriment of staying focused. It’s not a perfect film. However, it’s good enough to bring some lighthearted chuckles while watching the antics of these precocious talking animals and how they interact with each other and with humans.

There are also some sly meta-references that poke fun at certain members of the cast and the “adventure story” aspect of this sequel. Some adult viewers might get the jokes. For example, Corden is somewhat of a divisive personality in real life. Some people adore him, while others think he’s extremely annoying. In “Peter Rabbit 2,” Peter asks certain animals more than once if they think his voice is annoying. It’s a question that Corden could be asking about his likability in real life.

And in other parts of the movie, there are several mentions of trying to make the “Peter Rabbit” books series more appealing to a wider audience by having the rabbits dress differently and having them embark on different adventures in various locations—even outer space. It seem like a wink and a nod to the pressures the “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” filmmakers must have felt to make this sequel more exciting than its predecessor. As such, Peter and his animal group experience more adventures outside the comfort of their country home in Windermere, England.

In the first “Peter Rabbit” movie, the plot centered mainly on Peter’s battles with members of the McGregor family who hate rabbits and other animals that might disrupt their garden where Peter and other animals like to play. First, there was crabby Old Mr. McGregor (played by Sam Neill), who died of a heart attack near the beginning of the movie. His nephew Thomas McGregor (played by Domhnall Gleeson), another cranky loner, inherited his deceased uncle’s house that’s next door to the house of an illustrative artist named Bea (played by Rose Byrne), a pleasant and gentle nurturer who loves the animals on the property.

Bea is especially fond of a family of five orphaned rabbits that she treats as if they’re her own children. The rabbits are Peter; his three sisters—insecure Flopsy Rabbit (voiced by Margot Robbie); practical Mopsy Rabbit (voiced by Elizabeth Debicki); and cynical Cotton-Tail Rabbit (voiced by Aimee Horne, who replaced Daisy Ridley)—and their older cousin Benjamin Bunny (voiced by Colin Moody), who likes to give wise advice. The rabbits think and talk like humans. But ironically, Thomas, not Bea, can hear the rabbits talk. (Flopsy is the voiceover narrator for these movies.)

The first “Peter Rabbit” movie ends the way that you expect it would. By the end of the movie, Thomas and Bea have fallen in love, Thomas has quit his sales job at Harrod’s, and he has fulfilled his dream of opening up a children’s shop that sells toys and books. Thomas has reached a tentative truce with Peter, with the agreement that Peter won’t touch Thomas’ cherished crop of tomatoes. This is information that’s mentioned at the beginning of “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.” Therefore, people who didn’t see the first “Peter Rabbit” movie and want to get the full backstory probably should see “Peter Rabbit” before watching “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.”

“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” begins with Bea and Thomas getting married. They work together in the shop, and Thomas has been an independent publisher for Bea’s first “Peter Rabbit” book about Peter Rabbit and his family. The book, which is a hit, has caught the attention of a smooth-talking wheeler dealer named Nigel Basil-Jones (played by David Oyelowo), an executive at a major book publisher. Nigel comes into the shop one day and tells a delighted Bea that he wants to sign her to a multi-book deal that will significantly increase distribution and profits for her “Peter Rabbit” book series.

There’s just one problem: Nigel and his team of sycophantic executives think that the “Peter Rabbit” book series should be more appealing to modern audiences. Suggestions are made to change the rabbits’ wardrobe to T-shirts and jeans. And the executives want the rabbits to have adventures in other places besides the yard of their home.

Bea is excited about this possible contract and seems willing to make these changes, while Thomas and Cotton-Tail are more skeptical. Bea doesn’t want the changes to be too drastic, but she’s willing to compromise. Nigel can also be very persuasive. There’s a running joke in the movie that people can’t look into Nigel’s eyes for too long because his eyes have almost a hypnotic effect on people.

The first time that Bea and Thomas meet with Nigel in London, the spouses take their rabbit family with them by train. During Thomas and Bea’s meeting with Nigel (with the rabbits also in attendance), Nigel suggests that each of the rabbits should have nicknames that would make the rabbits’ personalities more marketable. For Benjamin, the suggested nickname is The Wise One. Cotton-Tail’s suggested nickname is The Firecracker. Identical twins Flopsy and Mopsy’s suggested nickname is The Dynamic Duo.

And for Peter, Nigel can’t decide between the nickname The Mischief Maker or The Bad Seed. Peter is insulted by both names, especially The Bad Seed, because he doesn’t think he’s bad. And he doesn’t want to be portrayed as a villain in Bea’s “Peter Rabbit” books.

Peter sneaks off from the meeting to sulk and spend time by himself. He wanders into the seedier areas of the city to the sound of Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” playing on the movie’s soundtrack. It’s in this part of the city that Peter meets a rabbit who’s about the same age as Peter’s father would be if Peter’s father were still alive.

This older rabbit’s name is Barnabas (voiced by Lennie James), who is a mischief maker and a longtime thief. After causing a ruckus at an outdoor grocery stand, Barnabas and Peter run away and hide in various places, including a mailbox and a recycling bin.

During their conversations where they get to know each other, Peter tells Barnabas about his family’s up-and-down history with the McGregors. Based on this information, Barnabas then tells Peter that he knew Peter’s father. An instant connection is then formed between Peter and Barnabas. Barnabas is an old roughneck who seems to have a soft spot for Peter and seems to want to be Peter’s father figure/mentor.

Barnabas also introduces Peter to the animals who are the other members of Barnabas’ gang of thieves: a cat named Tom Kitten (voiced by Damon Herriman); Tom’s sister Mittens (voiced by Hayley Atwell); and a rat named Samuel Whiskers (voiced by Rupert Degas). There’s a misadventure involving a pet store called Piperson’s Pets, which has animal catchers roaming the streets, looking for stray animals to capture and sell.

The rest of the movie could have been spent on Peter being a runaway and his family trying to find him. However, it would be too divisive to audiences to have Peter separated from his family for most of the movie. Instead, Bea and Thomas find Peter, and he goes home with the rest of the family.

At home, Peter is still thinking about Barnabas, who was like an instant surrogate father to Peter and seemed to accept Peter for who he is. Peter longs to see Barnabas again and to continue to get Barnabas’ approval. And so, Peter hatches a plan to convince his family and some animal neighbors to help Barnabas and his gang on a major famer’s market heist, with dried fuit being the biggest prized possession for the thieves.

The rest of “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” shows what happens to those plans. Peter’s rabbit family members go along for the ride. Also recruited for this big heist are characters from the first “Peter Rabbit” movie: a hedgehog named Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (voiced by Sia); a pig named Pigling Bland (voiced by Ewen Leslie); a deer named Felix D’eer (voiced by Christian Gazal) who freezes at the sight of lights; a duck named Jemima Puddle-Duck (voiced by Byrne); and a badger named Tommy Brock (voiced by Sam Neill).

The neurotic JW Rooster III (voiced by Jack Andrew), with his now-older children, make recurring appearances, with the running joke that rooster thinks that the day can’t start unless he crows correctly. With all these animal characters, the humans in the story could be overshadowed. However, there’s enough of a balance and a reminder that these domesticated animals, for all of their rebellion, still rely on humans to get their food.

The comedy in “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” isn’t a laugh a minute. There’s a lot of predictable slapstick, of course, with Peter usually finding himself in trouble in one way or another. Thomas is still gangly and awkward, so he’s the human character who’s the most likely to be the butt of the slapstick jokes. Cotton-Tail brings some laughs with her ongoing pessimistic sarcasm.

“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” also has a recurring gag where Cotton-Tail over-indulges in eating candy, gets very hyperactive from a sugar high, and then her energy level crashes and burns. A joke that doesn’t work as well is Flopsy’s decision to call herself Lavoratory because she’s tired of her identity being so intwined with her identical twin Mopsy. This decision doesn’t last, but it’s a little disappointing that the filmmakers would make one the narrator of the movie call herself a toilet and that she wasn’t smart enough to know what a lavoratory was in the first place.

The movie’s soundtrack has the same rock/pop tone as the first “Peter Rabbit” movie, with prominent placement of tunes from the 1990s and 2010s. Supergrass’ 1995 hit “Alright” seems to be the unofficial theme song for the movie, since it’s played more than once in key scenes. Gluck’s direction moves the film along at a brisk but occasionally uneven pace, since the last 10 minutes of the movie really look like the narrative of the story went on fast-forward.

The movie’s visual effects that combine live action with animation continue to look seamless, thanks to the good work of visual effects company Animal Logic, which also did the visual effects for the first “Peter Rabbit” film. Will this movie win any major awards? No. Just like the visual effects, acting and everything else in the movie “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” fulfills its purpose of providing satisfactory entertainment for people of many age groups, but the work isn’t so outstanding that people will think that it’s the best of the best.

Columbia Pictures will release “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” in U.S. cinemas on June 11, 2021. The movie was released in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2021.