8 Upcoming Movies That Have Sparked Massive Controversy

Release Date: 16 March 2018

The Controversy: Well... everybody hates it.

Okay, maybe not everybody - but a heck of a lot of people. Peter Rabbit's debut trailer has amassed over 5,000 dislikes (to 3,000 likes) since its release, with the footage painting the title character as a party-loving delinquent, and not the sweet, gentle child he is in the Beatrix Potter books.

And that's where the controversy stems from - the fact that this doesn't really look like a true Peter Rabbit movie. This is more your stock, flashy, pop-song-infused kids film than the thoughtful, mellow tale a true adaptation would be.

This has raised a key question about the project: should the filmmakers be allowed to interpret the source material in this way, or should they have remained more faithful to Potter's work?

Unfortunately for Peter Rabbit, it appears most people agree with the latter sentiment. The comments below that trailer range from "this ain't Peter. This is Adam Sandler as a rabbit" to stating that Potter must be rolling in her grave, and overall, the film seems to have made a critical error in following that formulaic kids movie framework of dancing animals and recycled gags.

It's easy to imagine that a smarter adaptation would have gone over much better with fans, and though Peter Rabbit will probably make a lot of money (let's face it, most young kids don't care about the source material) the hate this adaptation has received may have ended a potential franchise before it's begun.