Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. This Sunday, is another Easter and the animal most associated with this holiday is the bunny rabbit and Disney is known for having many rabbit characters and today, I am going to countdown my Top 6 Rabbits. With that out of the way, let's begin.
6. Br'er Rabbit - Song/Splash Mountain
Now, our two of the rabbits on this list are ones that I'll be honest and say that I'm not overly familiar with but I felt that I had to include them. Coming in at # 6 from Song of The South is Br'er Rabbit and now, you may be asking how can I include this character, if I've never seen Song of The South. Simple, Splash Mountain at the parks retells the tale of Song of The South and it shows to be a fun-loving trickster that seems to get in trouble but he knows how to get out of a jam by lying his way out and tricking his opponents by getting them to throw him into his laughing place. And honestly, he's on here because I like him from the ride and want to actually to see his film get released properly some day.
5. Rabbit - Winnie The Pooh
Coming in at # 5 from Winnie The Pooh is Rabbit and I'll admit that Rabbit is probably my least favorite character from the 100 Acre Woods as I don't find his neurotic behavior all that funny but with the right voice actor such as Tom Kenny in the 2011 film, he can be made endearing and likable or where he really shines in my opinion is as a father figure to his surrogate daughter, Kessie in The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh.
First seen in the episode, Find Her, Keep Her, which I reviewed back during my Winnie The Pooh event, Kessie brought out a fatherly side to Rabbit, that made me warm up to him and made me happy to see a less neurotic and more caring side of Rabbit, that made him seem more relatable.
4. Thumper - Bambi
Coming in at # 4 is Thumper from Bambi. He is easily one of the most playful, mischievous and fun loving little rabbits out there. Watching him through the film, he is just one big d'aww moment after another with Thumper. Truth be told, Thumper is the cutest character in Bambi. They just capture the spirit of a cute little kid that means well but doesn't always know when not to say something. Yeah, for the list, I'm mainly looking at young Thumper as I'm not a big fan of the characters as adults as I don't find them as interesting but with little Thumper, he is just so adorable.
3. Roger Rabbit - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Coming in at # 3 is the funniest rabbit on this list is Roger Rabbit. Roger Rabbit is so unique in that he's like a Looney Tunes/Tex Avery character designed as a Disney character and he is all the more hilarious for it. He may not be the smartest rabbit and he is a little clumsy but his heart is always in the right place and he always tries to do the right thing and when it comes to his wife, there couldn't be anyone more faithful.
I believe it was Doug Walker that pointed out in his Top 11 Strangest Couples List that Roger doesn't view as Jessica as a sex symbol like everyone else in the film but instead of his wife and treats with the respect that he believes she deserves and that is one of the biggest reasons, I like Roger. He's silly, funny but at the end of the day, it's his loyalty to his marriage that makes me truly like him.
2. Clover - Sofia The First
Coming in at # 2 is perhaps my favorite Disney rabbit. Now you may be thinking, but he's only at # 2. Well, there is one rabbit that is more important that deserves the number 1 spot. Originally, I was going to put Clover at # 1 because of how much I like him. He's probably my third favorite Sofia character after Sofia and Cedric. I think that comes in part from both Wayne Brady's voice performance as Clover and more importantly, how much he cares for the little princess. He's a loyal friend to her through and even when he runs away in the episode, Finding Clover, he realizes how much Sofia cares about him as she puts aside all other activities to go looking for her best friend and their relationship is one of the highlights in the series as you can feel how much these two truly care for one another and would go through thick and thin. This is best explored in the song from the same episode mentioned above, Bring My Best Friend Back.
It's a cute little song that shows how much Clover cares for Sofia and realizes that he shouldn't have left her because she still cares about him and feels lonely without her in his life. It's a cute number that shows these two are indeed best friends and will do anything for each other and Clover more importantly does care about his princess and while he may not always give the best advice, (See Four's A Crowd) will always stick by Sofia's side.
1 Oswald The Lucky Rabbit - Classic Oswald Shorts/Epic Mickey
Just the sheer importance to the history of Disney could land Oswald on this list and while he lost him for many years and he didn't return to us until 2006, he was welcomed with open arms by most Disney fans and has greeted with great fanfare and many merchandise from ears to plushies to now appearing as a meet and greet character in Tokyo Disney and even getting a cameo in Get a Horse
But for this list, I want to go with how I was introduced to Oswald, through my favorite video game (that I still need to finish), Epic Mickey. I can go on and on and on about how great the first Epic Mickey is for a Disney fan with all the gems in it and to a lesser extent, the sequel. In the first Epic Mickey, Warren Specter took Oswald and used the idea of him making him a jealous "older brother" that feels he should've had all the fame and success that Mickey got. And we see that and through Mickey's time in the Wasteland, we see Oswald grow to appreciate and come to accept his "younger brother" for who he is and grow past his jealously but they have many hurdles to overcome such as Mickey revealing that he was the cause of the great Thinner Disaster that kinda ruined Wasteland. This cynical take on Oswald in the games is quite fascinating to me because it reflects what truly happened to Oswald, when Walt lost him. From the Disney Wiki, just read for yourself.
In 1928, with the series going strong, Disney demanded an increased budget from Mintz, which he refused. Mintz instead told Disney that he was going to cut the budget and if Disney did not agree to the cut, Mintz would take over Oswald for himself. Disney refused and most of Disney's employees left for Mintz. Only Ub Iwerks remained, who, along with Walt, secretly created a new cartoon character to replace Oswald — Mickey Mouse.
So, just as Walt was betrayed when he lost Oswald, in the first Epic Mickey game, we see that Oswald felt betrayed and hurt when Walt created Mickey and as though he has been replaced and was no longer important. Which in many respects is true because once Mickey came along, Oswald was forgotten about. I think one of the key moments that sums up how Oswald truly felt is when Mickey sees the Wasteland version of the famous Partners statute.
When Mickey first sees this, he recognizes Walt and has a smile on his face but then he sees Oswald, where he normally is holding Walt's hand and his smile turns into a frown. Making Mickey realize how jaded Oswald feels and this statute alone speaks for how Oswald felt as though, he deserved everything that Mickey got and hated that the world forgot about him. It is quite interesting how Warren Specter was able to take such a simple little cartoon character and adds so many different layers to him to make him a more complex and interesting character and did a good job of reintroducing him to the world. And I wouldn't be lying if I said that bitterness and resentment that Oswald held for Mickey is probably how some fans felt when Walt lost Oswald. I know I can at least attest to that because I feel that way, every way I get to this portion in any biopic about Walt, even though, I know it's coming. You know, it's funny but originally Oswald was only going to be at the # 2 spot but I realized the more I wrote about him, the more he deserved the number one spot. Also, this line from Oswald sums up his feelings towards Mickey in these games.
Read that line.
Until YOU stole my popularity, mouse.
Oswald blames Mickey's success for causing him to be forgotten and again, I can't argue that fact. This game took what happened to Oswald in the real world and placed it on him and made him a bitter and jaded character that is also rather tragic.
There you have it, my Top 6 Disney Rabbits. Who are some, I left off the list that you like. Let me know in the comments. Peace!
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