While not quite as mainstream and easily wieldable for profit as that other bastion of Christianity, Christmas, Easter has its fair share of “festive” movies thanks to the pervasive presence of the rabbit in American culture. Particularly when the rabbit is animated (though not reanimated like Jesus). Below are the most hoppin’ choices for paying homage to that horny bastard of an animal.
Alice in Wonderland: Symbolizing some sort of code for drug-taking at the time it was released on Disney’s watch, the term “chasing the white rabbit” could not sound more 60s in alluding to elevating one’s consciousness. Which is precisely what Alice does as she falls down the rabbit hole to encounter an array of aloof and arcane characters that are all secretly (and not so secretly–that caterpillar) high.
Rabbits: One of the weirdest creations (which is saying something) to come out of David Lynch’s mind, Rabbits was intended as an animated sitcom before being repurposed into part of Inland Empire. Yet the only part of it that possesses any element of the sitcom is the requisite laugh track played over lines delivered by the voices of Scott Coffey, Laura Elena Harring and Naomi Watts, most of which have absolutely no humor to them (e.g. “Don’t forget, today is Friday”). An ominous sound resembling a train whistling in the distance the entire time lends further bizarreness to the non-cohesive dialogue.
Get Out: Though only briefly mentioned at the outset of the film with the playing of Flanagan and Allen’s “Run Rabbit Run,” the eerie precedent it sets for the rest of the movie–establishing the sense of being hunted by whites like prey–lingers on. Jordan Peele’s meticulous selection of the track for contrasting its happy-go-lucky sound against an altogether horrendous scene is in keeping with the song’s original intent. For it was written with a sardonic sense of humor during WWII in Britain, at the height of the Luftwaffe attacks seeking to pick humans off like rabbits in a field.
Bridget Jones’ Diary: Who could ever forget Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) famously showing up in a Playboy bunny outfit for the tarts and vicars party that Uncle Geoffrey (James Faulkner) conveniently forgot to tell her got cancelled? To add insult to injury, Daniel (Hugh Grant) the boyfriend she wanted to show up with to parade to all her family members that she’s not just another lonely spinster absconds from their weekend getaway in favor of heading back to London for “work.”
Legally Blonde: Exhibiting another instance of a deliberate costume party misunderstanding, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is horrified to show up to what she thought was a “masquerade” in a pink Playboy bunny outfit (again, Bridget’s exact plight–Playboy bunnies were clearly having a moment in 2001), only to learn that her nemesis, Vivian (Selma Blair), set her up due to jealousy over her blonde good looks or whatever. Which is not the element that should equate with being at Harvard (unless you have parents like Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli).
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?: One of the most emotionally complex cartoon rabbits ever rendered to the screen, Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer) is under a lot of pressure on his rising road to stardom in Toontown. In addition to working with difficult co-stars like Baby Herman (Lou Hirsch), he is also floored by the photographic evidence presented to him by Detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) of his sultry wife, Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner), cheating on him (that means playing patty-cake) with Marvin Acme, the owner of Toontown and a highly powerful businessman. After vowing that he and Jessica will still be happy together, the murder of Acme comes at an inopportune time for leaving Roger free of a motive.
Donnie Darko: Again a symbol of something sinister and foreboding, the rabbit’s presence in Donnie Darko comes in the form of Frank, a real or imagined presence (that much is up to the viewer) in the eponymous character’s (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) life that seems to have a lot of opinions about what Donnie should do–and who he should do it to.
Us: Now not having as brief of an appearance as in Get Out, Peele’s continued use of the rabbit as something representing cold callousness and a level of propagation that ought to be stamped out intensifies in Us. Featuring scenes (most especially the opening one) of what look to be thousands upon thousands of rabbits milling around the underground environment of the “tethereds,” they are a concrete allegory for cloning as it pertains to the narrative.
Bambi: Ah, a rare occasion of the rabbit’s true innocence rendered in movies. Among many of the sweet, doe-eyed creatures of the classic animated film, Thumper starts out as cute baby rabbit reluctantly reciting such father-told aphorisms as, “Eating greens is a special treat that makes long ears and great feet.” Of course, as he grows up along with Bambi, he eventually gives into his rabbit nature when he sights a sexily drawn lady rabbit in the forest who makes his foot thump uncontrollably.
The House Bunny: Harkening back to the sex-addicted “personality” of a rabbit, the Playboy bunny materializes once more in the form of Anna Faris as Shelley Darlington in The House Bunny. Kicked out of the Playmate Mansion despite her dreams of becoming the Playmate of the Year, Shelley stumbles onto a row of sorority houses that she feels can help her re-create her lavish lifestyle lived in “sisterhood solidarity” at the mansion. Of course, the same cattiness (to use a different animal analogy) abounds. Yet it doesn’t take Shelley long to melt the hearts of one sorority in particular, the Zetas (fittingly called so for being the last of the sororities to be recognized, just as the letter Z is in the alphabet).
Fatal Attraction: While another instance of a brief appearance of the rabbit as a symbolic gesture, the one in Fatal Attraction is surely unforgettable. Wielded once more as a symbol of being sex-crazed, there’s a reason why Alex (Glenn Close) chooses to do something quite wicked with the pet rabbit of Dan’s (Michael Douglas) daughter. Incidentally, a clip of this film makes it into Bridget Jones’ Diary, for your cross-genre “Easter movie” reference.
The Favourite: Queen Anne might not be able to have children, but, at the very least, she can certainly have all the rabbits she wants. Seventeen, to be exact, each representing the number she’s lost through miscarriages or childbirth. The metaphor for sex here is overt as well, with Queen Anne’s appetite for worshipful human companionship as only sex can consummate being clouded with the arrival of her impending new favorite, Abigail (Emma Stone), soon to oust Sarah (Rachel Weisz), who has far less affection for Anne’s rabbits than Abigail pretends to have.
Mean Girls: To conclude, we have to have just one more immortalized costume version of a Playboy bunny: Regina George a.k.a. “Caesar” herself. For as Cady (Lindsay Lohan) quickly learns, “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” In contrast to the snafus of the other movies with a Playboy bunny costume mentioned, Cady fucks up for not dressing sluttier. Incidentally, Mean Girls ticks practically every holiday box including Halloween, Easter and Christmas.
P.S. Sorry to anyone who was expecting to find Easter Parade on the list.
