Sky Releases ‘Roald & Beatrix: The Tail Of The Curious Mouse’ Trailer, Premiering Christmas Eve
Sky One has released a new trailer for ‘Roald & Beatrix: The Tail Of The Curious Mouse’, a new festive one-off special which comes to Sky One and NOW TV at 8.15pm on Christmas Eve.
The trailer features Dawn French as Beatrix Potter, Harry Tayler as the young Roald Dahl, Jessica Hynes (‘W1A’) as Roald’s mother Sofie, Rob Brydon (‘The Trip’) as Beatrix’s husband William Heelis, Nina Sosanya (‘Brave New World’) as publisher Anne Landy, Bill Bailey (‘In The Long Run’) as a Bona Fide Gent, as well as Alison Steadman (‘Life’, ‘Gavin & Stacey’) and Nick Mohammed (‘Intelligence’).
The story begins as the famed author Beatrix Potter (French) is coming to the end of her career. With her publisher (Sosanya) hounding her for her next draft, she’s unable to concentrate and has had enough of writing children’s books. It’s not just her motivation that she has lost, her optometrist (Mohammed) has recognised she has failing eyesight. With Christmas approaching, Beatrix is pressured, feeling increasingly out of touch with her readers, not to mention the trespassing fans and jovial door-knocking carol singers. Her Cumbrian farm and ever-growing Herdwick sheep collection, her long-suffering husband William (Brydon) and disobedient animals including much-loved pig called Sally, act as her only real comfort as she looks for inspiration and resists taking the easy way out with her Publisher.
Two hundred or so miles away in Wales, life is changing for an anxious young boy called Roald. (Tayler). Having recently lost his older sister and now his father, the once happy six-year-old has found solace and comfort in books. The beloved tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck fill his mind, distracting him from the funeral, sadness and the revelation that he might be sent to boarding school. Wanting to run away, he is encouraged by his mother Sophie (Haynes) to follow his dreams and visit his hero Beatrix Potter. Roald pushes his anxiety aside and they set off on his first big adventure. Their extraordinary journey is filled with unpredictable and humorous characters (Steadman & Bailey) all of whom ignite Roald’s imagination and provide comfort to his grieving mother. The dream of meeting his favourite author is eventually realised and their very special encounter proves to be both a magical and life-changing moment for them both.
Written by Abi Wilson (‘Trollied’, ‘Stella’), the film is narrated by John Hannah (‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’, ‘Four Weddings & A Funeral’) with music scored by legendary ‘Doctor Who’ composer Murray Gold. Produced by Hartswood Films (‘Sherlock’, ‘Dracula’) for Sky Studios, the film will blend live-action camera work, stop-frame animation and puppetry together to bring to life the vivid imaginations and magical worlds of these two inspiring and renowned children’s authors.
‘Roald & Beatrix: The Tail Of The Curious Mouse’ premieres 8.15pm on Christmas Eve on Sky One and NOW TV.
