Rabbit

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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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.

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.

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.

Based on a collection of dated educational stickers (pictures and words) that he found in a junk shop, director and writer Run Wrake fashions a morality tale that sees a rabbit becoming the object of desire for a young girl and a young boy who is keen to impress her. When they kill the rabbit they find it contains a small gold idol who turns irritating house flies into jewels. Eager to get as much as they can the pair try to use the idol for their own ends.

I am not old enough to remember the cards used as the visual basis for this film but I have seen them and I was totally captivated by the look of the film and by how cleverly the film used these images as an inspiration for the story but mainly for the animation. It looks great and it engaged me to the point where the wild sweep of the story wasn't a problem. It does work as a warning against greed but the excesses are a bit damaging to the message because it is more about the former than the latter. However it is still a good tale albeit it one that is more adult than the bright and educational animation would suggest.

Overall this is an OK short film in regards story but it is a supremely interesting one in terms of animation and imagination. Yet another good example of why you should make the animate! short films a regular viewing habit.