Happy the Littlest Bunny (1994)

Too much of everything

There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

I was able to tell from the title that Happy The Littlest Bunny would be a shower of cuteness. But if you ask me, cuteness is not enough to carry a movie. I decided to take a look for myself. One of Happy The Littlest Bunny's biggest assets is its animation, which has a storybook quality to it. I also liked the message of "size matters not", the warm and caring figure of the mother, and just how innocent the whole thing feels. This charming little gem tells the story of how Happy gets teased not only by his brothers, but by every other animal except his chipmunk friend Chippy because of his size, all narrated by an Uncle Remus-esque bird. Happy and Chippy decide to get back at Happy's brothers by pulling a scary prank on them and Happy comes to the conclusion that meanness will make up for smallness. He eventually learns his lesson though. I'm sure that children will enjoy it as well, just like me. It's fairly short and sweet with clear morals and minimal conflict, able to be enjoyed by a child. But at the same time it manages to appeal to me in its gentleness.

From the title I knew what to expect, good, clean, solid, colourful and undemanding fun. And Happy The Littlest Bunny does exactly that, while not among Jetlag's best, it is nowhere near one of their worst either. The writing may get corny at times, though not as distractingly bad as in other outings. Besides most of it is sweet and well-meaning, with no extreme cheesiness or sappiness. I did enjoy the story on the whole, structurally it may be a little thin, but the sprightly pace, its smooth telling and its cuteness and charm more than make up for things. As does the moral, it is a good one and doesn't feel preachy or shoe-horned in, something I think adults will appreciate. The animation is colourful and well drawn, while the music is another big surprise, whimsical and catchy as I like it. Heaven Here on Earth is not one of my favourite Jetlag songs, but when it comes to the makings of a good song(memorable melodies, good lyrics and a succinct structure), it ticks the right boxes, while TROUBLE has a real sense of urgency and As Long as You Have a Heart is very touching. The characters are very cute and endearing(then again I do with bunnies), and you do care for them and their situation, while the voice acting is good and not too overly-cutesy. All in all, lovely and very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this film when I was 6 with my younger cousin, and we both really loved it. It basically follows the story of Happy Rabbit, who wants to become tougher and therefore adopts a new persona: Scrappy. 'Scrappy' and his friends have adventures while avoiding the taunts of Scrappy's older brothers, but the tables are turned when Scrappy's brothers get captured by a local farmer who sees them stealing his crops. Scrappy and his friend rescue them, and Scrappy realises that he doesn't need to pretend to be somebody else to be cool, and goes back to being Happy. It's not like Watership Down: here the animals all wear clothes and act like humans. The storyline isn't that great in my opinion, but the cute land that they live in with the lively intro music captured my 6 year old self. So if you want something to keep the younger ones entertained, this is worth looking at.