Undoubtedly this film will prove to be one of the most popular in the UK next year following its public release on the 7th January, 2007. The film stars two Hollywood heavy-weights in Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and was directed by Academy Award-winning Chris Noonan. As you can imagine, the soundtrack will be important in underpinning the film’s ambience while reflecting the character of free-spirited children’s author Beatrix Potter.

On listening, there’s a high degree of fairytale schmaltz in the orchestral score composed by the award winning Nigel Westlake (Babe), with additional music by Rachel Portman (Oliver Twist, Benny & Joon, Chocolat). The music projects images of sweeping hills, bunny rabbits skipping through meadows, with love and peace reigning supreme. In fact it all points to a sanitised and family-friendly Hollywood commercialism that may well match the publishing empire that Potter built along with her publisher Norman Warne. There are vague hints at personal turmoil in as in the Beatrix & Norman and Return To London pieces but they are very few and far between. The melodic theme is mightily strong with the weakest point on the soundtrack coming at the end with Mike Batt’s very ordinary song for Katie Melua entitled ‘When You Taught Me How To Dance.’ The song had me wondering whether Melua ever thought she would end up singing songs at this level of mediocrity while in training at Croydon’s music school…

Taken as a whole it’s a pleasant enough film score which will probably sell in truckloads and undoubtedly make the film-makers and record company owner (Mike Batt) even wealthier little bunnies…

2.5/5