After directing 1995's wonderful Babe, Chris Noonan disappeared until this year's Miss Potter, which shares much of his previous movie's sweet sensibilities. This biopic about the creator of the "Peter Rabbit" children's books, Beatrix Potter (played by Renée Zellweger, who isn't an ideal casting choice in my opinion, but eventually settles into the character), is delightfully modest, choosing to show the path Potter takes to finding success without introducing too much in the way of melodramatics.

Potter finds an obstacle in her class-conscious mother (Barbara Flynn) and support from her newbie publisher Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor, bringing instant life and charisma to the screen in all of his scenes). Meanwhile, flashbacks inform us of her childhood, when she proved adept at drawing and telling stories, and occasionally her illustrated characters, whom she converses with, will cutely animate to life before her.

You watch and wonder if anything really dramatic will happen, and when something does, it manages not to detract from the humbleness of the whole piece -- the movie still retains an easy, warm spirit. As a result, this isn't a very compelling film; instead, it stands as a loving tribute to Potter and demands to be seen as nothing more nor less. The story is about an artist who finds success and independence through her talents, and eventually uses her wealth to do good deeds.

The innocence and idealism inherent here is so apparent that it feels Scrooge-like to think any less of Miss Potter for not daring to climb to higher cinematically artistic aspirations.

(Released by The Weinstein Company and rated "PG" for brief mild language.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.