The Royal Ballet Company brings Squirrel Nutkin, Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Pigling Bland, and Pigwig to the screen doing pirouettes and pas de deux in this filmed ballet production directed by Reginald Mills. The film more properly belongs, however, to choreographer Frederick Ashmore, composer John Lanchbery, and costume designer Rostislav Douboujinsky. This literal adaptation concerns the shy Beatrix Potter and how, when all of the toy animals in her room come to life, she emerges from her shell and begins to enjoy life. Sequences include a rowdy dance with Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca destroying a collection of plaster food, a midnight pas de deux between Pigling Bland and Pigwig, and a corps de ballet of dancing mice.
Directing | Reginald Mills | Director |
Writing | Beatrix Potter | Novel |
Writing | Christine Edzard | Writer |
Writing | Richard Goodwin | Writer |
Production | John Brabourne | Executive Producer |
Production | Richard Goodwin | Producer |
Sound | John Lanchbery | Original Music Composer |
Crew | Frederick Ashton | Choreographer |
Camera | Austin Dempster | Director of Photography |
Editing | John Rushton | Editor |
Art | Christine Edzard | Production Design |
Costume & Make-Up | Christine Edzard | Costume Design |
Directing | Jack Causey | Assistant Director |
Camera | Freddie Cooper | Camera Operator |
Production | Jim Brennan | Unit Manager |
Directing | Maggie Unsworth | Continuity |
Costume & Make-Up | Dulcie Midwinter | Wardrobe Supervisor |
Sound | Leslie Hodgson | Sound Editor |
Sound | Len Abbott | Sound Mixer |
Visual Effects | Tom Howard | Visual Effects |
Art | John Howell | Art Direction |
Sound | John Lanchbery | Conductor |
Art | Christine Edzard | Set Designer |