Rabbit

This dark little British short by the late lamented Run Wrake is a fascinating little bit of twisted morality surrealness entirely composed of 1950s educational stickers. It bagged Wrake a bafta but is still relatively obscure as a project. The use of a chillout score and the nature of computer animation do date it somewhat and it has a distinct "you'd stumble on this at two am on channel 4" vibe. That being said, Rabbit is extremely smart with the core design quirk and months after watching it I still recall it's nasty little twists and turns. Worth hunting down and capturing for yourself, regardless of the consequences.

This is a short animated film with a horrible plot--one that is just too bizarre for words and confusing beyond belief!! Two children catch a rabbit and tear in in half--revealing a bizarre little god who, though powerful, has really stupid powers. It can turn bugs into jewels, so the kids begin killing animals with reckless abandon to attract more bugs in order to become wealthy. Disgusting, yes, but you have to admire the kids for their ingenuity and capitalistic zeal!

Now I am sure my description sounds sick beyond belief, but the animations make this film work and work well. Heck, the animations are the best reason to watch this thing--it sure ain't the "make your brain rot" story which is funny but too weird for words! The animations appear to be a children's basic primer from the 1940s or 50s come to life. They all look like moving examples of this art style AND every item in the scenes have the name of the object written next to them (so as to teach the little ones to read).

Considering how gross and inappropriate this all is, that makes for one sick and funny joke--though certainly NOT for every taste. I liked it and truly admired its animation and twisted and nonsensical storyline. I sure wish my reading books had been like this one when I was a kid--I sure would have loved reading even more than I do now!

PS--After reviewing this movie, I showed it to my family who sat in horror--at least until they got the joke and began to enjoy the film. As for me, I liked it even better the second time (and so I updated my initial score of 8 to 9).

This strange short story tells an old tale in a new way. Two ambitious, young children chase down a rabbit and find a small idol hidden inside. This idol has the odd power of turning insects into jewels. Soon, the two kids hatch up a plan to make an operation of it—killing animals to attract flies that are then transformed into more jewels. Connections to our consumer culture can be readily drawn.

Animated from a set of 1950s stickers meant to teach kid's how to read, Rabbit reads like a children's book brought to life in 3D. In combination, the horrific storyline and the innocent imagery creates a sense of twisted unease that has no equal.

Run Wrake is a seasoned animator/illustrator with a bizarre taste in the grotesqueness of pop culture. His website is chock full of more film pieces and probably the best illustrated biography page I've seen.

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Insane and highly imaginative remake of 1960's children's illustrations. This is a great example of the current standard in graphic animation where bold techniques translate into fantastic visual artworks.

Two children discover a godlike idol in a rabbit after slaughtering it for its fur. This opens a world carnage and computer game style obsession where the children's desire to control the golden idol takes them over.

Previous Run Wrake animations have been even more off the wall revealing the unusual talents of this madcap genius.

Rabbit is a far more rounded work where the narrative is almost too defined leaving the ending a bit too moralistic.

Wow, what an original and interesting parable on greed. Even more interesting was the animation. This is the first time I've seen objects on the screen written out, identified, as it were, naming what it was even if obvious. It was different and the drawings of the kids and animals were almost like something you'd see in an educational book if you were in kindergarten or first grade.

Story-wise, two greedy and sadistic cruel-to-animals kids, a British boy and girl, slice open a rabbit and find a small golden "idol." The latter likes to eat but when he does, the food attracts flies or wasps. The little golden idol immediate transforms those annoying insects into jewels, features and ink. The kids are no dummies; they see this and go to work to produce more insect-attracting food. Things escalate beyond belief and......well, suffice to say justice is served, but in a grisly manner.

These animated shorts of late, especially those on these "Animation Show" collections of them on DVD, seem to all feature dark, dark humor. Some people see them as "sick," but I find, as in this effort, that the black humor works.

Written and directed by a man named Run Wrake. Now there's an odd name. The animated short was nominated for two BAFTA awards. This is the only "cartoon" Wrake has done, which is a pity because this was fascinating and shows great imagination.