First shot of animation: A book opens, and the cast walks across the endpaper map

Somewhere in this series back in the 70s I complained how the movies had no ambition beyond being pleasant. This is incredibly pleasant, but also clever, and warm. While it’s obviously a throwback to another era, it feels more like the latest in a long-running series, they just skipped a few decades.

There are a few reactions in pace of punchlines, in the way that was so popular in 2011, and a handful of uses of digital animation. But it’s done with such care to integrate into the colored etching look, the right tool for the moment instead of a shortcut or a technical flex. The rest is warm hearted gags excellently delivered.

The new cast is great and I’m still surprised they didn’t make another spin-off tv series. Travis Oates, Tom Kenney, and Craig Ferguson earned a chance to make the characters their own. And the character animation on Rabbit is vibrant and erratic, bringing out the appeal in a character that’s easy to leave as a stick in the mud.

The book conceit is kept, and expanded. More conversations with the narrator, more physical interaction with the text. Even hidden setups in the margins for gags about to come.

What this movie really needed was a character thinking their reflection is a different person, missed opportunity.