Bunny and the Bull

What makes this film absolutely sublime is the lingering melancholy - faint yet stubbornly persistent - ubiquitous through all the quirky, surreal, and comical sequences. It's never self-indulgent or over-sentimental. All elements, be it emotions, performances, sets, character development, or animation, are well-controlled and contained as a proper English would have it; yet it's radical, outrageous, bold, and sometimes uncomfortably daring. Elegance rises through vulgarity, and (almost unbearable) sadness screams silently. This film is unique, delightful, touching, funny, and yes, wicked. It's not Boosh but fans or otherwise shall be pleasantly surprised.

This 'surreal' comedy plays much like an extended episode of The Mighty Boosh, however, it is far more endearing than this. The story focuses on friends Stephen (Edward Hogg) and Bunny (Simon Farnaby). Stephen is a shut-in who hoards everyday items and mementos in boxes stacked around the house. The two characters go on an imaginary road trip, which is fantasised through memories of past events. This faux-adventure takes them to Spain, where Bunny learns how to be a matador. This is after they meet Spanish seafood restaurant waitress Eloisa (Veronica Echegui), who has quit her job and decided to make the journey back to Spain. After acquiring a vehicle in a crab eating contest, Stephen and Bunny catch up with Eloisa and make that journey happen.

The connection between this and the BBC show The Mighty Boosh, is obvious, as the films writer/director Paul King is involved in directing the shows episodes. The inclusion of Noel Fielding and Julien Barract in small (but highly hilarious) parts heightens this further.

The visual style of the film is reminiscent of the work of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Michel Gondry. King uses the fantasy elements of the journey to create a backdrop of animations made from cardboard and layered paper. In an opening sequence we she Stephen and Bunny making bets in a bookies that looks like a set lifted from an episode of Paddington from the 1970s: that is, two dimensional pencil sketched surroundings.

There is much to like here, the performances of the two main characters are excellent, especially Simon Farnaby, who dresses like a 1970s binman. But for me the stand out character, and giver of the best laughs is Julien Barrats Polish Tramp. In a scene under a motorway flyover, Atilla offers Stephen some milk. "It's dog milk". This is offered in a bottle, but Atilla drinks directly from the dogs teet. Stephen gets a hard-on from the dog, Atilla replies "You want f**k my wife?"

In the closing sequences we get a beautiful Jeunetesque payoff, beauty becomes rhythm. Without words, the visuals play. The mechanical bull becomes the person. Metal to skin, skin to muscle, but death is ultimate when fantasy is mistaken for reality. Well, that's what I wrote in my notes. I'd had a few drinks whilst I watched it. In conclusion, a beautifully crafted film visually, with many laugh-out-loud moments, and some endearing characters.

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This is the debut effort from director Paul King (Mighty Boosh), advertised as 'Withnail and I for the mentally ill'. This is an attempt to get audiences in, but oversimplifies the film to an extent of misleading the viewers. Yes, it is based on two young men going travelling, however what makes both these films great is their style, and that could not be any more different.

'Withnail and I' is famously bleak, portraying the struggling characters in the context of a social-realism drabness. However, stylistically, Bunny and the Bull can compete with the classics in eccentricity; stealing nuggets of genius from directors such as Gondry, Gilliam and Burton. By imitating Gondry's use of set design, theme parks are created from clock workings, and train cartridges from toilet parts. This manages to create stunning visuals along with awe-inspiring animation; but still retains the charm and spark of a low-budget movie.

Essentially a road movie, it tells the story of an obsessive-compulsive Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg) as he travels around Europe with unlikely friend, Bunny (Simon Farnaby). Over the course of 100 minutes, the cause of Turnbull's crippling agoraphobia is explained with the help of his catalogued mementos of the trip. These are used as jumping-off points into flashback scenes, as shot from his mental illness-addled imagination.

While at moments touching, the main problem seemed to be the lack of shots helping us to engage with the two leads. With the plot holding the potential to get an audience gripped and engaged, the acting seemed rigid and confused in places. The titular character, Bunny, is not fully realised, flickering between off-the-wall quirkiness, reminiscent of Seinfeld's Kramer, and a one-dimensional, Northern booze-hound.

With cameos from Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding, playing an unhinged matador, and Julian Barratt as a dog-milk-craving tramp, the expectations are understandable for this to be a feature-length episode of the show. However, the film takes the much loved quirks from first series of Boosh and manages to restrain them; connecting its celebrated vivid imagery with the real world, which allows viewers to connect better with the narrative.

While in parts uncomfortable, the state of Turnbull's mental illness slowly dawning, the film action never slows and gives the audience chance to get bored. Not as quick-paced as Boosh, this only serves to help the plot lines form naturally and the film to flourish, highlighting the real star of the film; Paul King.

This film is definitely not for everyone, a real love it or hate it. It is a little surreal but at its heart, its a nice little story of friendship.In short, an agoraphobic man tries to work up the courage to leave his house. Much of the film is his memories of a road trip he took with his best friend. I guess bunny and the bull can be categorised as a comedy, but the humour is mild and a little dark. For me the unique element to this film is the quirky cinematography separating memories from reality. The final five minuets of this film are well worth waiting for. This movie is without doubt a one off and very British. There is no guarantee you will enjoy this film......but watch it anyway! (Its only 100 mins of your life)

Firstly this isn't a Mighty Boosh film and secondly this isn't a comedy, yes it has some funny moments, but it's more of a drama. Quirkily telling the story of a road trip across Europe by friends Bunny and Stephen the action is told through a series of lo-fi set pieces which is a heady blend of Gilliam, Gondry and even Oliver Postgate. There is a real sense of a hands on glue and scissors approach. This comes across in the film as the attention to detail in the sets often threatens to overshadow the actors but it's the central friendship which is at the core of the film that keeps the fantasy in check. Grounded in a reality that most people should be able to recognise the story is at times a heartbreaking flashback to misspent youth and the bonds, no matter how strange, we form as humans. It's an age old story of boy meets girl, girl meets boy's best friend etc but the way the story unfolds with the aid of the animation gives it a fresh lease of life, its surreal and weird but at the same time charming and real. A series of cameos from three fifths of the Boosh are a little light relief in what turns out to be quite a dark tale but it's really Simon Farnaby as the lovable rogue Bunny that shines above all else. Clearly 'Withnail & I' had a big influence on the director if not the film and you will spot similarities, which isn't a bad thing, Whitnail is a classic. Whether this resonates as much with today's youth as that film did we will have to see but all in all director Paul King's leap from small to big screen is a success. It's clever, funny and dark and the start of a big screen career that will be well worth following.