| “ | Stop, thief! | „ |
| ~ Mr. McGregor's catchphrase |
| “ | Oh beasties! They (the Flopsy bunnies) have gotten the better of me...! AGAIN! | „ |
| ~ Mr. McGregor (when he finds one of the rotten vegetable marrows in the sack --and after his wife accuses him about it) |
| “ | Hello! My name is Mr. McGregor! I killed your father! Prepare to die! | „ |
| ~ pretending to be Inigo Montoya |
Jonathan McGregor (better known as Mr. McGregor) is the main antagonist of many of Beatrix Potter's children's books and the Peter Rabbit franchise. He also appeared in the books' television adaptations and appears as the overarching antagonist of the 2018 feature film adaptation. He is the arch-nemesis of Peter Rabbit.
He was voiced by Richard Wilson in the 1992 hand-drawn anthology series called The World Of Peter Rabbit and Friends. He was portrayed by Sam Neill (who also voiced Tommy Brock in the same series) in the 2018 feature film adaptation, who also played Dr. William Weir, Damien Thorn and Charles Bromley, and the Monster/Mark in Possession.
Personality[]
Mr. McGregor is very overprotective of his garden and he hates animals trespassing into his garden to steal some veggies like carrots and radishes. He’s very mean and cruel, as he tries to kill Peter, Benjamin, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail for trespassing in his garden. One time, McGregor murdered Peter’s father by putting him into a pie by his wife, Mrs. McGregor.
In the 2018 film, it was revealed that McGregor lived an unhealthy lifestyle for many years, such as an unhealthy diet, smoking, drinking beer, and even drinking filthy water, and dies from a heart attack.
Biography[]
Original books and television series[]
Mr. McGregor is an elderly Scottish farmer who owns a vegetable garden and dislikes pests trying to steal his vegetables, particularly rabbits. According to Peter Rabbit's mother, Mr. McGregor captured Peter's father and Mrs. McGregor put him in a pie. In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter (who was the oldest of the four young rabbits --Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-Tail, and Peter) disobeys his mother and trespasses into Mr. McGregor's garden. (That is, while his three younger sisters --Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-Tail-- were good little bunnies. And they went out into the lane to gather blackberries.) Peter is nearly captured by Mr. McGregor but manages to escape leaving, behind his blue jacket and slippers which were used by Mr. McGregor to create a scarecrow. Even though Old Mrs. Rabbit did not know where Peter's clothes were, only Mr. McGregor did. And he used Peter's clothes (his jacket and shoes) and made a scarecrow to scare away the crows.
In the Tale of Benjamin Bunny, Mr. McGregor plays a very minor role. He is seen only a few times driving his horse and cart to town with his wife. Due to their absence, this allowed Peter and his cousin Benjamin to sneak back into the garden and reclaim Peter's clothes, though they end up being trapped in a basket by the McGregors' pet cat. Fortunately, Benjamin's father (named Old Mr. Bouncer) arrived to the rescue by locking the cat in the greenhouse and returns home with Peter and Benjamin, leaving a returning Mr. McGregor to wonder what happened to his scarecrow and how the cat got locked up in the greenhouse. (In the television series adaptation, after Old Mr. Bunny --Benjamin's father-- rescues Benjamin and Peter, before whipping them, he --furiously-- says to both Benjamin and Peter, "AND LET ME SHOW YOU THIS DOESN'T HURT ME MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU!". He whips them. And before returning Peter back home, he says to both Benjamin and Peter, "YOU'LL STOP AND THINK NEXT TIME PERHAPS!".)
Mr. McGregor plays a much bigger role in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, where he captures Benjamin and Flopsy's children while they're asleep in his rubbish heap. Mrs. Tittlemouse saves the day by chewing the strings on the sack. To fool Mr. McGregor, they put rubbish of rotten vegetables in the sack. As it turns out, Mr. McGregor wanted to sell the rabbits for tobacco, but his wife intended to skin them to make a cloak. When they discover the sack has old rubbish, Mrs. McGregor (who was furious) believes her husband tricked her on purpose. (That is, as the narration of the page --in the book-- reads, "When she felt the vegetables, she became very, very, angry. She said that Mr. McGregor had 'done it on purpose'".) Mr. McGregor tries to convince his wife that he wasn't fooling her, but this only resulted in a nasty argument between the two. Before that, Mr. McGregor (who was furious too) threw one of the rotten vegetables out the window. And one of the rotten vegetable marrows hit the youngest Flopsy bunny (who was eavesdropping on the McGregors). (The next narration line reads, "And Mr. McGregor was very angry too. One of the rotten vegetable marrows came flying out the window. And it hit the youngest Flopsy bunny. It was rather hurt".) Before throwing the rotten marrow at one of the youngest Flopsy bunnies, he says to his wife (Mrs. McGregor) that the Flopsy bunnies have "gotten the better of him again". Then the Flopsy bunnies decided that it was time to go home. After a nasty argument, the angry Mr. McGregor returns to the rubbish heap looking for the rabbits to no avail. (That is, after his wife --Mrs. McGregor-- demands him to go back outside and get the Flopsy bunny babies back. Because Mrs. McGregor states that if it is not his --Mr. McGregor's-- fault that the Flopsy bunnies pulled that trick, she wants them back this instant. She eventually believes Mr. McGregor that it was not his fault. But she demands the Flopsy bunnies back. So Mr. McGregor does as she asks.)
2018 feature film[]
| “ | Gotcha, Rabbit! I knew you'd come. (Chuckles) The lady's not here to protect you now... (Grabs Peter by the ears as he tries to punch him) I've got a hankering for a pie tonight, RABBIT pie! | „ |
| ~ Mr. McGregor's last words before his death in the 2018 film. |
Mr. McGregor appeared only in the beginning of the 2018 movie. He once again tries to catch Peter and his younger sisters (Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail) and also his cousin and best friend Benjamin by setting bear traps in his garden. His plan was foiled when one of the bear traps got caught in his beard. As the rabbits finally got out of the garden safely before meeting up with their human friend Bea, Mr. McGregor angrily warns Bea that the rabbits won't be lucky the next time they break into his garden again.
While Peter trespassed into the garden again to reclaim his jacket, Mr. McGregor managed to capture him and prepared to put him into a pie similar to how Mrs. McGregor did the same to Peter's father. However, before Mr. McGregor could do so, he suffered a heart attack, and collapsed to the ground, (which in a way avenges Peter's father) much to Peter's surprise. It turns out that Mr. McGregor had died and the true cause behind his death was due to many years of living an unhealthy lifestyle (including smoking, using asbestos even on his food, drinking dirty water from a birdbath, and a poor diet), even after Mrs. McGregor died from unknown causes.
With both Mr. McGregor and Mrs. McGregor dead, their great-nephew Thomas moved into their house and developed a rivalry against Peter and the animals for stealing from the garden until the end, leaving Mr. McGregor's legacy in complete vain.
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