The Adventures of the American Rabbit
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| The Adventures of the American Rabbit | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nobutaka Nishizawa Fred Wolf |
| Produced by | Michael Rosenblatt |
| Written by | Norman Lenzer |
| Starring | Barry Gordon, Fred Wolf, Norm Lenzer |
| Music by | John Hoier Howard Kaylan Mark Volman |
| Cinematography | Isamu Tsuchida |
| Distributed by | Clubhouse Pictures (original release) MGM (DVD) |
| Release date(s) | February 14, 1986[1] |
| Running time | 82 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Adventures of the American Rabbit (released in the UK as simply The American Rabbit) was an animated film released in 1986 by Clubhouse Pictures, and subsequently on DVD by MGM.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story begins just after the birth of Robert Rabbit. As his parents and friends welcome him into the world, a mysterious old rabbit whose walking is assisted by a cane greets young Rob and disappears. Neither parent knew who he was, each assuming that he was from the opposite side of the family. Rob grows up as a normal child, learning to play the piano. One day his parents become endangered by a falling boulder. Rob sprints towards them and changes into a star and striped spangled superhero on golden rollerskates. The old man on his cane reappears and tells Rob that he is the American Rabbit; capable of changing into superhero form when he sprints and capable of being changed back to normal when someone, or he himself, says his name.
As Rob moves to the big city he decides to keep his secret identity hidden. He finds a job as a piano player in the Panda Monium nightclub that is harassed by a gang of jackals and their mafia style protection racket. Rob and his new friends form a rock band and go on tour to raise money to oppose the jackals, though they are continually threatened by the gang. After the Panda Monium is burnt down, Rob, as his superhero counterpart, thwarts their plans and the jackals decide to take over a moose run chocolate factory and in turn cut off the chocolate supply to the city. Rob must overcome his reluctant role as a superhero and humiliation at the hands of the villains to restore order to the city.
[edit] Production
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 Toei Animation. The screenplay was written by Norman Lenzer, from the ABC television movie The Point!.[2]
[edit] Reception and release
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, and only made little more than US$1.2 million in 242 venues.[3]
As proclaimed The Los Angeles Times' Charles Solomon: "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!"[2]
MGM Home Entertainment released American Rabbit on DVD in February 2005. It was presented in fullscreen (as opposed to its original widescreen release), and contained no extras.
[edit] References
- ^ The Adventures of the American Rabbit (English). Animatedbliss. Retrieved on August 13, 2006.
- ^ a b Beck, Jerry (2005), p. 6.
- ^ The Adventures of the American Rabbit at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
[edit] Sources
- Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. ISBN 1-55652-591-5. Chicago Reader Press. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
