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''The Adventures of the American Rabbit'' (released in the UK as simply ''The American Rabbit'') is a 1986
animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
directed by Fred Wolf and Nobutaka Nishizawa. It was released by Clubhouse Pictures.


Plot

The story begins just after the birth of Robert Rabbit (
Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Dona ...
). As his parents and friends welcome him into the world, a mysterious old
rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
who walks with a
cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...
greets young Rob and disappears. The old rabbit shows up a few more times throughout Rob's childhood, always disappearing after making comments or inquiries about his talents and attitude. One day, when Rob's parents become endangered by a falling boulder, he sprints toward them and changes into a striped and star-spangled
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
on golden rollerskates. The old rabbit reappears and tells Rob that he is the American Rabbit, capable of changing into superhero form when he sprints and changing back to normal when he says his own name. Rob decides to try to keep his superpowers a secret and moves to the city. He finds a job as a piano player at the Panda Monium, a
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
run by a
panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...
named Teddy and a female rabbit named Bunny O'Hare. The club is harassed by a gang of
jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...
s who run a
Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
-style protection racket. When Teddy refuses to buy insurance from them, they return on their motorcycles during a White Brothers show and wreck the club. Bunny and Teddy organize a march and rally the next day, and Walt ( Kenneth Mars), the Jackals' well-dressed boss, orders them to ride their motorcycles in the march. They cause a distraction while Walt's buzzard destroys the cables that support the
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...
as the marchers are crossing it, but the American Rabbit stops the bridge from collapsing. Teddy then announces his plans to do a cross-country tour with the White Brothers, which will allow him to raise enough money to rebuild the Panda Monium. An irritated Walt orders the Jackals to kidnap a
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
( Lorenzo Music) named Ping Pong and turn him against the American Rabbit. They take him to a secret lair in the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
and threaten to drown him unless he fights the American Rabbit for them, but Rob discovers that Ping Pong is missing. He sends Teddy, Bunny, and the White Brothers rafting down the river and is captured by the Jackals, but manages to turn into the American Rabbit and rescue Ping Pong. Rob and his friends then travel to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, where they plan to play at a couple of clubs. Walt and the Jackals trap them on a boat and set it on fire, but Rob becomes the American Rabbit and gets everybody off the boat before it explodes. Bunny is worried when she does not see Rob, but the American Rabbit promises to search for him and learn more about the fire. He follows Walt and the Jackals and overhears them talking about heading to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, where their master plan is afoot. The American Rabbit dives back into the water, where he transforms back into Rob and swims to shore. He suggests that the tour group go to New York, where Teddy has some connections who can provide them with new instruments. Meanwhile, Walt and the Jackals capture a chocolate-making
moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
and his son and rent the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
for a day. They rig it with dynamite, and Walt threatens to blow up the visiting public if they refuse to serve him. The American Rabbit discovers the dynamite, follows Walt's voice to his hiding place, and clobbers him. Walt's clothes are the only thing that remain; it is revealed that "Walt" is actually the buzzard, Vultor. Perching on the detonator for the dynamite, he forces the American Rabbit to fly around the Statue of Liberty and deliver an announcement to the public: Vultor and the Jackals are in total control of the city, those who oppose them will be killed, and those who obey them will be rewarded with chocolate. Greatly ashamed by his failure to defeat Vultor and protect the city, Rob fades from the public eye. With the American Rabbit out of the picture, Vultor and the Jackals begin to enact their laws on New York. However, the people turn on the Jackals when they fail to keep their promises and maintain order, and Teddy, Bunny, Ping Pong, and the White Brothers free the moose and his son. Vultor curses the Jackals, dismissing them as traitors when they tell him how frustrated the people are, and swears to destroy the American Rabbit (and the city) with his doomsday switch. Rob, still humiliated by his earlier defeat, catches a taxi and tells the driver that he is a failure. The taxi driver turns out to be the elderly rabbit from the beginning of the film, who offers Rob some advice: "You can't win 'em all, but you can make a power play of your own." Rob notices a poster for
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
, which spurs him back into action. He uses his powers to generate a force field which stops the flow of the water that runs New York's hydroelectric turbines, cutting the power to the city and deactivating the doomsday switch. A furious Vultor faces the American Rabbit for a final showdown, but the Rabbit chases him into a blizzard and refuses his offer to join forces. Vultor makes one last attempt to kill the American Rabbit by diving at him, but misses and plunges to his death. The American Rabbit returns as Rob to see his friends, and gets a kiss from Bunny O'Hare.


Voice cast


Additional English (Original) Voices

*English (Original):
Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Dona ...
(Punk Jackal), Lew Horn (Dip/Others), Ken Mars (Walt/Vultor the Buzzard),
Pat Fraley Pat Fraley is an American voice actor and voice-over teacher, known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman and numerous other characters in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated television series and voiced Falcon in ...
(Tini Meeny), Russi Taylor (Lamb), Bob Holt (Rotten Rodney, Jackal Biker Leader/Penguin 3; final film role), Norm Lenzer (Brutal Bruno, Assistant Head Jackal), Lorenzo Music (Ping Pong), Hal Smith (Mentor/Mad Marvin, Sergeant-At-Arms Jackal/Too Loose), John Mayer (Horrible Hugo, Road Captain Jackal/Penguin 1), Maitzi Morgan (Lady Pig), Fred Wolf (Fred Red), Bob Arbogast (Penguin 2) *Japanese: Kenichi Ogata (Rob's Father), Akiko Takeguchi (Old Woman Rabbit)


Production

An American/Japanese co-production between Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (now Fred Wolf Films Dublin) and
Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
, ''The Adventures of the American Rabbit'' was based upon the poster character of the same name created by pop artist Stewart Moskowitz. The artist's characters were adopted as the mascots for many major Japanese companies, hence the film's backing by Japanese investors and the participation of the aforementioned
Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
. Legendary animator
Shingo Araki was a Japanese animation artist and character designer. Career He developed an interest for drawing at age five. He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age sixteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi ...
was among the animation staff working on the film. The screenplay was written by Norman Lenzer, from the ABC television movie '' The Point!''.Beck, Jerry (2005), p. 6. It was co-directed by Fred Wolf and long-time Toei Animation director Nobutaka Nishizawa.


Release and reception

The film was among the first to be released by Clubhouse Pictures, a division of independent distributor, Atlantic Releasing, which specialized in children's entertainment. It was not well received by critics or audiences through its original run. The film was released January 17, 1986 and grossed $291,126 during its opening weekend from 242 screens and ran for two months, grossing $1,268,443. Charles Solomon of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' said, "Both the writing and the animation in ''The Adventures of the American Rabbit'' are so inept that the viewer expects the governor to interrupt the film and declare the theater a disaster area!"
MGM Home Entertainment MGM Home Entertainment LLC (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of the American med ...
released ''American Rabbit'' on DVD in February 2005. It was presented in fullscreen (as opposed to its original widescreen release) and contained no extras.


References


Sources

*Beck, Jerry (2005). ''The Animated Movie Guide''. . Chicago Reader Press. Retrieved April 7, 2007.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of The American Rabbit 1986 American animated films 1980s British animated films 1980s British films 1980s children's adventure films 1980s children's animated films 1980s children's fantasy films 1980s English-language films 1980s fantasy adventure films 1980s Japanese films 1980s superhero films 1986 films 1986 children's films American children's adventure films American children's animated fantasy films American fantasy adventure films Animated films about birds Animated films about Canis Animated films about giant pandas Animated films about gorillas Animated films about pigs Animated films about rabbits and hares Animated films about sheep Animated films set in Arizona Animated films set in Louisiana Animated films set in New York City American independent films American superhero films Atlantic Entertainment Group films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated films British animated fantasy films British children's adventure films British children's animated films British children's fantasy films British fantasy adventure films British independent films British superhero films Films set in New Orleans Independent animated films Japanese animated fantasy films Japanese children's fantasy films Japanese fantasy adventure films Japanese independent films Japanese superhero films Toei Animation films United States-themed superheroes Films based on art English-language action films English-language fantasy adventure films