Big Kid News

Peppa Pig picks Dallas-Fort Worth for first permanent playdate in U.S.

Peppa's ready to play.

UPDATE: The Peppa Pig World of Play at Grapevine Mills will open at 10 am February 12, the mall has said. Regular hours will be 10 am-6 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am-7 pm Sunday. The last admission for entry is 90 minutes before closing. Admission is $20 for children and $5 for adults. Tickets are now on sale at www.peppapigworldofplay.com.

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The preschool set's favorite loveable little piggy is coming out to play in Dallas-Fort Worth. The first U.S. location of Peppa Pig World of Play, a family-friendly indoor play center, will open at Grapevine Mills mall on February 12, 2019.

According to a release, the new permanent attraction will allow children to step into the world of Peppa Pig and her family in a special setting full of "oinktastic" activities. It "will take families on an unforgettable journey where they can join Peppa and her friends to explore and interact with instantly recognizable locations from the show in a number of colorful playscapes that have each been lovingly recreated from the hugely popular animated series," the release promises.

The attraction will include 14 Peppa-themed play areas for little ones. According to the release, highlights include:

Peppa’s Family House: where visitors can play inside the iconic living room and kitchen, have a conversation with a talking Polly Parrot and a photo opportunity with Daddy Pig.
Supermarket: children can have fun grocery shopping and helping Miss Rabbit on the cash register at the local supermarket where they can find items from Peppa’s family shopping list;.
Zoe Zebra and Daddy Dog at the Garage: an activity area where children can help Mr. Zebra deliver the mail and repair a truck at Grandpa Dog’s Garage.
Madame Gazelle’s School Bus: children can climb aboard Madam Gazelle’s school bus and sing along with Peppa and her friends on an exciting trip to the theatre.
Rebecca Rabbit’s Underground Adventure: little ones will love crawling through tunnels, exploring bedrooms and sliding into a big muddy puddle in the Rabbit family’s underground burrow.
Peppa’s Treehouse, George’s Fort, Muddy Puddles and George’s Dinosaur Discovery: imaginatively themed play areas that recreate key themes from the show for children to enjoy.
Sensory Garden: this interactive sensory garden features a duck pond, hen house, Grandpa Pig’s train and more.

There will also be a theater, gift shop, facilities for families to relax and play, and lots of photo opps. It is operated by global leisure giant Merlin under a licensing agreement with eOne, the owner of the Peppa Pig brand.

For those not familiar with what's captivating kids on screen these days, Peppa Pig is a British-based preschool animated TV series focused on the adventures of an anthropomorphic female pig named Peppa and her family and friends. Peppa loves to play as real kids play — swimming, jump-roping, riding bikes, and playing on the playground.

So a permanent Peppa playground makes perfect sense. (And is also a good tounge-twister for all ages.) Grapevine Mills Mall is also home to Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium.

“The universally loved Peppa Pig brand offers us the chance to create a truly magical experience for our youngest visitors and families,” says Mike Vallis, Merlin Entertainments divisional director for new brands, in the release. “By giving fans a unique opportunity to step into the incredible world of this hugely popular little piggy and encouraging them to discover, explore and play, we are confident that Peppa Pig World of Play will become a popular destination for families in Texas."

families openings

Movie Review

Lust eclipses romance in new adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights'

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.

Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights is one of those classic books assigned in high school English classes, and it has received a number of film adaptations over the years, each of which differ in numerous ways from the source material. Purists won’t receive any reprieve from Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation, with a title that is stylized as "Wuthering Heights” for good reason.

Cathy (played as an adult by Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) have known each other their entire lives, with Cathy’s alcoholic and inveterate gambler father (Martin Clunes) taking in Heathcliff on a whim when he was a boy. The two bond as they grow up together, although Cathy always seems to have an eye on moving up in society from their relatively impoverished lifestyle.

Cathy finally gets her wish when the rich Linton familyled by Edgar (Shazad Latif), moves in down the road, Despite discovering she has feelings for the now grown-up Heathcliff, Cathy sees Edgar as her way out and agrees to marry him. A scorned Heathcliff flees, returning years later as mysteriously wealthy. His reappearance ignites something in Cathy’s soul, and the two engage in a perhaps unwise affair.

Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) infuses the dusty material with an energy that’s not typically present in stories set in this particular time and place. Aside from the occasional Charli XCX song (the singer created a whole concept album for the film), the film looks and feels like a period piece, albeit one that doesn’t get bogged down in the drudgery that can sometimes come from films set in the distant past.

Much of that has to do with the lust the filmmaker puts into the story. Even if you’re not familiar with Brontë’s book, you can rest assured that Fennell has strayed far from the text, giving Cathy and Heathcliff thoughts and actions unthinkable in the 19th century. Fennell plays with expectations by opening the film with audio featuring creaking noises and a man grunting, conjuring up a situation far different than what is actually happening, and she also makes liberal use of rain, sweat, and tears to make the actors enticing.

What she can’t do, however, is make the two lead characters compelling. Cathy is a striver who never seems to know what she wants out of life, and Heathcliff goes from a bore to a brute over the course of the film, with no clear indication that he likes anybody, much less Cathy. Anyone expecting some kind of grand romance will be disappointed as Fennell is much more interested in making the film weird, like having the walls of Cathy’s room look like her skin, complete with freckles.

Robbie and Elordi do well enough with the material, and it’s clear that both of them are committed to bringing Fennell’s vision to life. Their styles tend to balance each other out, and if the story had been committed to their characters’ relationship, they might be lauded for their chemistry. In the end, though, the supporting actors feel more interesting, including ones played by Hong Chau, Alison Miller, and Clunes.

This version of Wuthering Heights should never be construed as an alternative to reading the book for any high schoolers out there. While Fennell makes the film interesting with her technical filmmaking choices, the story never finds its footing as it fails to sell the one thing that it seems to promise.

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Wuthering Heights opens in theaters on February 13.

movies film

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Movie Review

Lust eclipses romance in new adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights'