Hoppy Easter time! In order to celebrate this holiday, here is a list of the 10 most badass big screen movie bunnies!
10 BADASS BIG SCREEN BUNNIES
I mean, we all love bunny rabbits, right?
Their natural cuteness makes them impossibly adorable, while their general aloofness creates an alluring screen presence few other animals can touch.
Despite these kindly appearances, however, it’s hard to think of any animal in cinema history that’s had as much of a wild ride as the humble rabbit. From wise-cracking carrot-chompers to adorable fluffballs to demonic nightmare fuel, bunnies have enjoyed an impressively varied time of it at the movies.
To honor this legacy, and with the rabbit-heavy Easter holidays upon us, now is as good a time as any to hop through the weird and wonderful world of big screen bunnies, and to pay tribute to the films that made them famous.
BILL & TED’S BOGUS JOURNEY (1991)
I mean, how could you not start an Easter-themed list without the actual Easter Bunny?
While his appearance in the film may be brief, the Easter Bunny offers one of the most memorable moments from this Bill & Ted sequel. Playing a key part in tormenting Ted in his own personal Hell, the movie transforms the otherwise benevolent Easter mascot into the stuff of nightmares.
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (2005)
No one knows how to craft cute animals like Aardman Animations, and one of the studio’s most iconic clay creatures is the titular Were-Rabbit from the first Wallace & Gromit movie.
As ever with Aardman, the film is both gorgeously crafted and sublimely silly, and features an absolute beast of a bunny. As cinema rabbits go, this is undoubtedly one of the most ridiculous, yet I’d expect nothing less from the studio that turned the moon into cheese and gave us a bank-robbing penguin disguised as a chicken.
ZOOTOPIA (2016)
Throughout Disney history, rabbits have always had a key part to play, yet they’ve rarely been more than side characters. That all changed, however, when Judy Hopps came – umm – hopping along.
Optimistic and endearingly eager, Judy is truly one of Disney’s most admirable heroes, as the starry-eyed bunny officer’s fight against a prejudiced system hits far harder than Zootopia’s colourful appearance suggests. Her heroic antics were a hit with audiences too, as the film raked in just over $1 billion, proving that bunnies really are box office gold.
WATERSHIP DOWN (1978)
If proof were ever needed that movie bunnies aren’t all bright eyes and bushy tails, look no further than Watership Down. Lulled into thinking we were getting a charming, animated tale of lovable woodland creatures, an entire generation were left to endure a violent, nightmare-inducing story of death and survival in the natural world, told through the (frequently bloody) eyes of rabbits.
As unsuspecting children everywhere had their psyches scarred for life, Watership Down proved to be ferociously effective in getting its brutal message across, while showing that cartoon rabbits aren’t always the cuteness and carrots decades of Bugs and Disney have made them out to be.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951)
Clearly partial to a good lagomorph, Lewis Carol dropped not one but two rabbits on us with ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
There have of course been many big screen adaptations of the Lewis Carol classic through the years, yet none have captured the wonderful weirdness quite like the ’51 Disney version, as the film made instant icons of both the clock-watching White Rabbit and the tea-guzzling March Hare.
FATAL ATTRACTION (1987)
Many movie rabbits become iconic for their looks, some for their actions, yet few attain legend status simply for being – well – dead. Even fewer do so while coining an entire phrase from their demise.
Spawning the term ‘bunny boiler’, Fatal Attraction saw Glenn Close go all-in as Alex, who, following a brief affair with Michael Douglas’ Dan, grows increasingly unhinged after he rejects her continued advances, before taking her anger out on a beloved pet rabbit in one of the most disturbingly memorable scenes in cinema history.
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)
“That’s no ordinary rabbit! That’s the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on! Look, that rabbit’s got a vicious streak a mile wide, it’s a killer.”
As one of the most murderous animals in all of cinema, Graham Chapman’s King Arthur and his knights of the round table get far more than they bargained for when they cross paths with the bloodthirsty Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. If you like your rabbits both cute and evil, this is the bunny for you.
HARVEY (1950)
As you’ll discover in a moment, guys bonding with giant rabbits isn’t quite as cute as it sounds, however, if you’re Jimmy Stewart and your best friend is a six-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey, it’s actually rather wholesome.
Deftly balancing whimsical comedy with heartfelt drama, Harvey sees Stewart’s amiable drunk, Elwood, attempt to convince the world that Harvey is real and not a figment of his wild imagination. The result is one of Stewart’s finest performances and a delightfully charming ode to the power of positive thinking.
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (1988)
Despite its age, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? remains one of the finest live-action/animation hybrids of all time, and while Roger himself may well be a grating goofball, there’s no doubting how iconic a rabbit he is.
Framed by the terrifying Christopher Lloyd and partnered by a delightfully grumpy Bob Hoskins, Roger is a lovable livewire hero and one of cinema’s finest bunny protagonists, in a feel-good fantasy that hits like a hand buzzer to the heart.
DONNIE DARKO (2001)
While I’m still figuring out what the hell Donnie Darko is actually about, one thing’s for sure – Frank is one bad ass bunny.
Is he an evil time-travelling demon intent on destroying the world? Is he here to save it? Or is he all in Jake Gyllenhaal’s head? It’s been 21 years now and I’m still not sure. What’s undeniable, however, is just how truly terrifying Frank is, and in this towering, monstrous figure, writer/director Richard Kelly managed to craft an instantly iconic big screen bunny.
NEXT: Best Easter Memes
