Jessica Rabbit
Easter wouldn’t be complete without all the novelties that make it a big commercial success. Part of this tradition is the good old bunny rabbit – sign of new life and all things cute! This got us thinking about films that have featured rabbits, so let’s cast our minds back and take a look at the top ten bunny movies…
10. Donnie Darko. (2001) Not the cutest of films to kick off with but there’s no denying that a rabbit is at the forefront – and quite an evil one at that! It tells the story of Darko, (Jake Gyllenhaal) a schizophrenic, anti-social teenager who sees visions of a man in a large menacing bunny costume, called Frank. The bunny tells him that the world will end in 28 days and, after a jet-engine crashes into Darko’s bedroom, Darko is commanded by Frank to perform a series of violent and destructive acts. What follows is quite a confusing turn of events to say the least.
9. Fatal Attraction (1987) – Ok, so this may not be the first production that springs to mind when thinking about rabbits in films but this eighties thriller coined the term ‘bunny boiler’, and that has stayed with us ever since. Starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, a brief fling turns into something of a terrifying ordeal when Close’s character Alex refuses to accept that lover Dan (Douglas) doesn’t want anything more from her. Cue the stove and a poor innocent rabbit…
8. Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) – The Monty Python team consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin bring us an hilarious scene featuring a white killer rabbit. King Arthur and his knights encounter the beastly animal – who appears completely innocuous at first glance – at the entrance of a cave. Despite several warnings from Tim the Enchanter, King Arthur sends in Bors to chop its head off but, it is poor Bors who ends up decapitated!
7. Bambi (1942). We don’t know about you but apart from the sad ending – we won’t go into it, it still upsets us to this day – the one thing that stood out about this Disney film was the loveable character, Thumper. Renowned for thumping his left-hind leg – hence the name – Thumper becomes Bambi’s guide, teaching him all kinds of valuable lessons in life. The character is famous for saying “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all,” – a moral now known as the Thumperian Principle, believe it or not.
6. Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of The Were-Rabbit (2005) Next up, we have our favourite plasticine figures Wallace & Gromit in their first feature length film. Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his beloved mutt, come to the rescue of the residents of a village being tormented by a mutated rabbit. The film, featuring voices from Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes, was a success, picking up a number of awards including The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
5. Space Jam (1996) – This live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan features the one and only Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West) and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters. Aliens land on earth to take the characters back to an outer space theme park, but the characters don’t go down without a fight. They challenge the aliens to a basketball game but this is not such an easy task as the aliens have stolen the talents of major basketball players. Listing the help of retired player Michael Jordan, the characters score their way to victory – with Bugs Bunny gaining a love interest in the process…
6. Harvey (1950) Now we go back to the fifties with perhaps a film that inspired the events of Donnie Darko. Based on Mary Chase’s award-winning play of the same name, Harvey is about a man called Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart), whose best friend is an invisible six-foot, three and a half inch rabbit called Harvey. Harvey is a pooka – a mischievous character from Celtic mythology. Dowd’s obsession with the rabbit creates much concern amongst his family who try to have him admitted to a mental institution. Unlike Darko, the film is much more light-hearted, resulting in a comedy of errors rather than a supernatural thriller.
4. Alice in Wonderland (1951) – Now we return to another Disney classic dominated by a loveable, if slightly grumpy, bunny. Who can forget the white rabbit sporting his waistcoast and clutching his stop-clock singing “I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Before you know it, Alice is following him down his Rabbit hole, opening up a Pandora’s box of adventures. A remake of the classic story will be released next year starring Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and Michael Sheen as the beloved white rabbit.
2. Watership Down (1978) – Known as the film which featured the Art Garfunkel hit, Bright Eyes, Watership Down isn’t the heart-warming and cute cartoon it might appear to be at first glance. In fact, the story, based on the novel by Richard Adam’s, centres on a warren of rabbits that flee the tyranny and cruelty of their violent world, and end up in battle with a big bunch of evil rabbits from Efrafa, including General Woundwort. Still, this film instantly springs to mind which is why it claims second place.
1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit – (1988) Any list based on rabbits in film has got to include this eighties fantasy comedy which is why it takes poll position. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, starring Bob Hoskins and Kathleen Turner, is set in 1947 Hollywood where cartoon characters or ‘toons’ as they are called, are part of the real world. A-list toon Roger Rabbit is being framed for murder but it is up to private investigator Eddie Valiant (Hoskins) to find out who is behind it all. The film is responsible for the creation of the sexy wife of Roger, Jessica Rabbit. (voiced by Kathleen Turner).
FemaleFirst: Fiona Haran
Easter wouldn’t be complete without all the novelties that make it a big commercial success. Part of this tradition is the good old bunny rabbit – sign of new life and all things cute! This got us thinking about films that have featured rabbits, so let’s cast our minds back and take a look at the top ten bunny movies…
10. Donnie Darko. (2001) Not the cutest of films to kick off with but there’s no denying that a rabbit is at the forefront – and quite an evil one at that! It tells the story of Darko, (Jake Gyllenhaal) a schizophrenic, anti-social teenager who sees visions of a man in a large menacing bunny costume, called Frank. The bunny tells him that the world will end in 28 days and, after a jet-engine crashes into Darko’s bedroom, Darko is commanded by Frank to perform a series of violent and destructive acts. What follows is quite a confusing turn of events to say the least.
9. Fatal Attraction (1987) – Ok, so this may not be the first production that springs to mind when thinking about rabbits in films but this eighties thriller coined the term ‘bunny boiler’, and that has stayed with us ever since. Starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, a brief fling turns into something of a terrifying ordeal when Close’s character Alex refuses to accept that lover Dan (Douglas) doesn’t want anything more from her. Cue the stove and a poor innocent rabbit…
8. Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) – The Monty Python team consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin bring us an hilarious scene featuring a white killer rabbit. King Arthur and his knights encounter the beastly animal – who appears completely innocuous at first glance – at the entrance of a cave. Despite several warnings from Tim the Enchanter, King Arthur sends in Bors to chop its head off but, it is poor Bors who ends up decapitated!
7. Bambi (1942). We don’t know about you but apart from the sad ending – we won’t go into it, it still upsets us to this day – the one thing that stood out about this Disney film was the loveable character, Thumper. Renowned for thumping his left-hind leg – hence the name – Thumper becomes Bambi’s guide, teaching him all kinds of valuable lessons in life. The character is famous for saying “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all,” – a moral now known as the Thumperian Principle, believe it or not.
6. Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of The Were-Rabbit (2005) Next up, we have our favourite plasticine figures Wallace & Gromit in their first feature length film. Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his beloved mutt, come to the rescue of the residents of a village being tormented by a mutated rabbit. The film, featuring voices from Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes, was a success, picking up a number of awards including The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
5. Space Jam (1996) – This live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan features the one and only Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West) and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters. Aliens land on earth to take the characters back to an outer space theme park, but the characters don’t go down without a fight. They challenge the aliens to a basketball game but this is not such an easy task as the aliens have stolen the talents of major basketball players. Listing the help of retired player Michael Jordan, the characters score their way to victory – with Bugs Bunny gaining a love interest in the process…
6. Harvey (1950) Now we go back to the fifties with perhaps a film that inspired the events of Donnie Darko. Based on Mary Chase’s award-winning play of the same name, Harvey is about a man called Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart), whose best friend is an invisible six-foot, three and a half inch rabbit called Harvey. Harvey is a pooka – a mischievous character from Celtic mythology. Dowd’s obsession with the rabbit creates much concern amongst his family who try to have him admitted to a mental institution. Unlike Darko, the film is much more light-hearted, resulting in a comedy of errors rather than a supernatural thriller.