The Adventures of the American Rabbit (1986) User Reviews (15)

A forgotten 80s Relic that isn't offensively awful, but feels like three episodes of a TV series daisy chained together.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 5/10 · 4 April 2022]

Robert "Rob" Rabbit (Barry Gordon) is born in a small town and grows up showing an aptitude for sports and piano. When Rob miraculously saves his parents from a falling bolder by transforming into a star-spangled superhero, a wise mentor (Hal Smith) appears to tell him he is inheritor of the legacy of the American Rabbit and is destined to become a great hero. Now in possession of this great power Rob sets off into the world and heads to San Francisco where he finds a job as a piano player for the rock and roll club the Panda-Monium owned by Teddy Panda (Bob Arbogast). However a gang of Jackal bikers demanding protection money trash the club after teddy's refusal to pay. With no way to rebuild the Panda-Monium, Teddy, Rob, and the rest of the Panda-Monium staff decide to take the house band The White Brothers on tour of the United States to raise funds to rebuild while the Jackals' crime boss Vultor (Ken Mars) plots against them.

American Rabbit is based upon illustrations by Stewart Moskowitz that became popular throughout the 70s and 80s on posters and greeting cards. Moskowitz' illustrations were particularly popular in Japan which inspired Japanese investors to finance a co-production between Toei Animation and Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Films. There was no story behind any of Moskowtz' illustrations, so writer Norman Lenzer was tasked with building a story around Moskowitz' characters and building a narrative incorporating them. The movie was distributed by the short-lived Clubhouse Pictures label of Atlantic Records' also short-lived theatrical venture Atlantic Releasing where it opened far outside the top 10 in February of 1986 alongside other Clubhouse releases like Adventures of Mark Twain and a re-issue of Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! Which had almost twice the gross of American Rabbit. The film has mostly fallen into obscurity these days with the only major point of public interest being in its relation to a certain internet celebrity whom I'll not name. The movie isn't terribly made, but it also doesn't feel like a movie.

American Rabbit makes it pretty obvious from the beginning it takes great inspiration from Superman. With Rob Rabbit's alliterative name, Rob wearing glasses while American Rabbit doesn't, it's pretty much Superman in all but costume and species (and position I guess since he's a piano player and not a reporter). As far as a setup for children's entertainment it's fine, but everything from the villains to the very episodic structure of the movie feels like you're binging a TV show rather than a film. The overall structure of the movie goes like this: Rob Rabbit and the Panda-Monium staff go somewhere, stumble into a trap by Vultor and the Jackals, Rob does his Clark Kent style disappearing act to become American Rabbit to save the day, Vultor curses American Rabbit, repeat. That structure works fine for a 22 minute cartoon on Saturday Morning TV, but when you're watching a movie that goes through that structure about 3 times it feels inescapable to compare this to a children's cartoon on TV (Save for the animation which is a bit more fluid and polished but not theatrical). For a movie based on greeting cards with no real backstory it's better than something like the DiC season of Care Bears, The Get Along Gang, or Shirt Tales which were also based on greeting card characters, but if compared to The Care Bears Movie, despite its questionable internal logic, had a more cinematic structure (relatively speaking) and more atmosphere. There are the odd moments of brazen ridiculousness that lend themselves to laughter like the third encounter where Vultor concocts an evil plan involving chocolate (don't ask, it won't make sense) and we get some lines like "The road to power is paved with chocolate" or "First chocolate and then...THE WORLD!" that lend themselves to unintended hilarity, but for the most part the movie feels like one of those cartoons that would take up space between viewings of Thundercats and He-Man.

The Adventures of the American Rabbit isn't awful or poorly made, but there's nothing about it that feels like it belongs on a cinema screen. It's not ironic enough to be taken as parody and it's not smart enough to be taken in earnest. It's just a very middle of the road product. It isn't boring and there are moments that are kind of amusing like Lorenzo Music's supporting presence as Ping Pong the gorilla or Vultor's over the top declarations of villainy they're just moments. It's better than some greeting card adaptations, but that's really all you can give it.

It's a film called "The Adventures of the American Rabbit." Come on.

[jdennist · 4/10 · 21 October 2012]

THE ADVENTURES OF THE American RABBIT is so incredibly un-noteworthy I'm vaguely obsessed with it. The idea that something this insubstantial could get a theatrical release is a bit amazing--but then again, I've seen THE OOGIELOVES. In a theater.

What can you really say about a film like this? The plot is so thin that the same things happen two or three times just to fill up the space--and a lot of what goes down is completely irrelevant. This could have been a one-hour TV special, no problem. There's nothing really approaching substance here.

Is there anything to recommend it? Curiosity, I guess. It's well- intentioned (more or less). The villain is kind of cool-looking. It's weird and illogical enough as a whole to be worth laughing at. It's a film called THE ADVENTURES OF THE American RABBIT and it actually got shown in theaters. You can watch it on Netflix, on YouTube, or do your best to imagine it based on the bare plot summary.

If you were stuck watching this, it would be preferable to chewing off your own leg. It would even be preferable to being knocked unconscious. But...yeah.

A fun movie...to riff

[darkshadow-80016 · 5/10 · 27 July 2016]

I've seen Bobsheaux (a reviewer on YouTube) do a riffing video and it was really funny.The Adventures of American Rabbit is kind of like a "so bad that it's good" movie. What I mean is that you should get all your friends, family, and their friends, sit down with some snacks, and just riff the heck out of it. But on a serious note, this movie is ripping off Superman's theme, Captain America's design (only a little), and even the Star Wars theme and I'm surprised that no one who watched it even noticed. It also doesn't help that this movie has basically every superhero's problem when they first get their powers. The villain threatens the lives of their friends/family and innocents alike if the hero doesn't do what the villain wants and needs a pep-talk to get back in the game. But other than the many jokes you can make out of this film, I recommend it because it has Peter Vankman's (Ghostbusters cartoon) and Garfield's 80's voice actor in it. And that's really it. The other problems are: the hero is lame, the villain is even lamer, the old rabbit in it just comes off as creepy like Herbert from Family Guy, the hero's friends are completely useless to the plot, and speaking of which, the plot twist, involving the villain, close to the end is just....dumb. But if there's three nice things that I have to say about the movie it's this: the jokes you'll make, some kids might like it, and...well, let's just say that all the jokes I made were because it took place in San Francisco. Hint Hint.

No complaints from the Marxists, actually

[adam1117 · 12 June 2001]

No one watching this film casually is going to find anything political about this movie. They'll just see it as a fun little superhero cartoon. But, after reading some reviews here, I decided to watch it again. I didn't see anything that would suggest putting the National Anthem into a cartoon, as one review suggested, or anything all that patriotic, for that matter. Surprisingly, this isn't anti-Marxist at all. If anything, it's pro-Marxist.

There's an early scene in which the characters organize a rally against the bad guys, and the scene, in a not-so-subtle way, suggests unionizing workers. The bad guys, led by a dude in a business suit, take over the city's supply of chocolate (controlling the means of production and what have you). I thought my idea that the shoe was Marxist was falling apart when one of the good guys said "I know people who can help us. Big, corporation guys!" Then, however, it turned out that the corporations were working for the bad guys!

My favorite Marxist moment comes early on, when the bad guys ask an "intellectual" for directions to the library. Her reply: "Turn left on McCarthy." It's a bit of a stretch, I know, but it's fun, and may even be intentional.

Of course, non-Marxists should still enjoy this movie, and there's no danger that it's going to make your kids into commies. While I for one found it to be, well, more pro-marxist than anti-marxist, it still isn't a political movie at all. An unfortunately overlooked picture. Not a masterpiece, but a fun movie for kids.

Well, The Chocolate Moose was good.

[Oli-P · 2/10 · 29 September 1999]

Imagine turning the American national anthem into a cartoon. Throw in a couple of cute animals, some terrible puns and a pair of roller skates and you'd find yourself with almost an exact replica of this film.

I remember seeing this when I was younger; I made my Mother rent it from the video shop about 5 times. The story itself isn't too bad, it's just that any Marxists watching would certainly have something to complain about.

If you don't like America you won't like this film.

Bad.

[eimpson · 1/10 · 5 July 2011]

Basically a Superman rip-off for the cutesy animal crowd, this movie goes everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The "nerd as secret hero" motif is essentially the plot as it rambles from scene to scene.

It begins in a mountain village with the young title character excelling at everything he tries and receiving limitless support from his bland, Cleaveresque parents. A creepy old stalker wanders the village asking personal questions about the boy and the villagers answer them without hesitation. During a picnic nearby his parents are nearly crushed by a falling boulder only to be saved as his powers manifest for the first time. Then the creepy stalker shows up - in a wizard robe - to tell him he is a hero and must leave his family immediately, which he does. I'm not saying the stalker dropped the boulder but the circumstances are awfully fishy. This sounds like the first act of a film but is only about the opening ten minutes.

From there we head to San Francisco where our hero stands idly in Golden Gate Park only to be conveniently accosted by a gang of biker wolves. This transitions to a scene in what can only be described as a strip bar where the wolves harass a barely-clothed pig. No need to say more - the whole film is safe and saccharine kiddy stuff jarringly punctuated by uncomfortably inappropriate situations. Not suitable for children or adults.

Other minor things: The score was done by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (The Turtles, Mothers of Invention) who should know better. Seeing their names in the opening credits intrigued me but nothing in the music reflects what they are capable of. Also, the road shown leading up to Golden Gate Park does not exist. Finally, why does a rabbit that can fly need roller skates as part of their costume?

Very cool, overlooked cartoon.

[La Gremlin · 7/10 · 29 June 2000]

I remember watching this movie multiple times as a lass. I saw it again recently and found it to be just as charming now as then. The characters are very cute and I liked the fact that there were some very weird elements to this movie. For one thing, I have a vague memory that the Chocolate Moose and his son were trapped in the same kind of room that Louie's vampire "wife" was held in "Interview With a Vampire" (where the sun could vaporize her). Well, here, the moose were trapped in this room so they'd melt, as they're actual moose made of chocolate. Disturbing. And of course there's the little twist involving the villain and his pet vulture.

Definitely give this a look, especially if you'd like to see some cute anime characters.

Never let a card company make a movie.

[loraleejessome · 3/10 · 12 December 2016]

This was a reminder how most 80's cartoons that weren't by Disney or Don Bluth were just hilariously awful. A lot of things don't get resolved in this movie. Why do we never see or hear from Rob's parents after he leaves? Why didn't Rob turn into the American Rabbit so he could save Panda-Monium when he had the chance? Do the protagonists ever rebuild Panda-Monium? What happened to the Jackals? Why does the Statue of Liberty look human in a world full of talking animals? Maybe it's the Animal-pocalypse, I don't know. Rob Rabbit is a real wimpy character which is understandable because he's basically Clark Kent in rabbit form, but he's just as pathetic as a superhero. There's racism (species-ism?)in the movie in the movie as well because although it's said several times that not all jackals are bad, we never see any good ones at all. I guess 5-year-old kids might enjoy seeing Rob's flashy transformations into the American Rabbit. But then again this movie must have been written by 5-year-old kids.

Great Saturday Morning Patriotism

[mk723 · 8/10 · 19 April 2003]

This was definitely one of my favorite Saturday morning cartoon movies when I was a child. The characters were extremely fun, the storyline was relatively complex, and the tone was not that of most condescending animated movies that caused me, even as a very young child, to feel as if the movies were talking down to me.

I haven't seen the movie in quite a few years, but I do remember watching it in late middle school or early high school and noting some of the political ideas that it seemed to be expressing. (By this time, I had realized how the media had affected my mind and opinion about political issues. For example, my once inexplicable cautious attitude towards Eastern Europeans [which have since been eradicated] could probably be trace to such propaganda films as Rocky IV.)

However, I do think this film is pretty harmless and actually delivers some good lessons that a child of any age needs to learn. It's definitely still on my favorites list.

Crude, uninspired cartoon

[eminkl · 3/10 · 17 November 2019]

Crude, uninspired cartoon involving a superhero rabbit's adventures (named, appropriately enough, the American Rabbit) who is forced to confront a villainous jackal's framework. The American Rabbit's Adventures are strictly for the children, although it seems entirely possible that even here they will find little to embrace. The animation style is certainly subpar, which by contrast makes even the fastest straight-to-video release of Disney look amazing. The voice work is passable, but the dialog is atrocious; the action seems to pause every 15 minutes like clockwork, or so as an important message is doled out (i.e. winning is not all). And let's not even get into the parody of the outfit of the American Rabbit, which is basically an American flag sponsored by roller skates (maybe the getup be more than ' 80s?)

Cute Cartoon

[SHB_73 · 8/10 · 16 November 2000]

I remember seeing this as a kid in 1986 (at that time I didn't know what the cold war was.) But I liked it. what I remember most was the music, (especially when Rob the Bunny would transform into a bunny with roller skates and look like the American flag.) regardless of the message, it was a cute movie 3 stars

American propaganda

[ravsten428 · 1/10 · 20 June 2016]

At its finest people! This movie should be used in the classroom as an educational tool about how America tries to fool us. This film was made to promote extreme patriotism.

This movie is an assault on how we view other countries government systems. Yes communism isn't viewed as good in America but other countries are allowed to use their own systems as long as they don't bother us. We don't need to run the whole world!

This short little cartoon actually reminds me of how McCarthy thought. Anyone who was even remotely against American politics but not America itself, was called out as a communist.

I would hope that this kind of garbage wouldn't be pumped out today, especially in a kids cartoon. Shame on whoever came up with this garbage!

Terrible Piece of Nonsensical Garbage

[jt21995 · 15 August 2011]

This movie is so bad, I registered at this site to review it. "The Adventures of the American Rabbit" is a film so devoid of any sort of human qualities, it is impossible to conclude that it was made by our species. The film contains no intelligence whatsoever. There is not a shred of anything that resembles an actual movie in this film. It's unspeakably awful. The film starts with Rob the rabbit being raised in some weird European place, even though he's the American rabbit. These first few scenes play like something like I wrote when I was ten, having very little exposition, awkward and jarring pacing, and making almost no sense. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, Rob turns into the American Rabbit during a picnic. An old rabbit shows up and tells him that he is part of a "legacy" and then Rob walks away and does something to go to San Francisco, where he meets these Jackals who shout nonsense and ride motorcycles. This first act of the film made me want to turn it off immediately. But I kept watching. And it just got stupider and stupider. Like when the villain kidnaps a chocolate making moose and claims that he now controls all chocolate. Or how Rob the Rabbit stops the water at Niagara Falls with lightening, shutting off the power grid for the entire country. The whole thing was just awful. While the plot was nonsensical, the dialogue was something else. It made no sense what so ever. Not one shred of sense. And yes, the film was made in Japan, but it was written by Americans, which nulls that excuse. In addition to the nonsense that the characters said, there was the fact that the voice actors were just bad. They spoke in monotonous dull voices that sapped away any sense of emotion. The only possible scenario I can imagine where one would pull enjoyment from this film is from a purely nostalgic perspective. Other than that, there is not one shred of entertainment to be found.

Better left in the memory banks for the ones who saw this as child!

[the amorphousmachine · 4/10 · 22 May 2014]

When you were nine years old, it was perfectly believable that a rabbit Wizard would assist a young rabbit to be a patriotic hero who will save other rabbits and animals. Yep, totally legit! However, revisiting this film as an adult induces frequent groans at the dialogue and the silliness of the story- not to mention our hero is called American Rabbit which suggests patriotism is important for the rabbit population.

Okay, I remember 'The Adventures of American Rabbit' being released at the cinemas back in the 80s, and it disappeared during the 90s. Admittedly, I had fonder memories of this forgotten flick, but I guess I was so enamoured by the trailers at the time, that I may have forgotten my disappointment. This is not a great animated film by any standard- especially upon a re-watch! It is worth noting that voice-great in Lorenzo Music (Garfield) was the voice of Ping the Gorilla, and other than that, this film is pretty lame. When the bad guy kidnaps the Chocolate Moose to control New York, this film had good from bad to worse. Hard to find a good quality version of this movie, and that is probably for the best.

** out of *****!

Underrated Cartoon Movie

[jeremycrimsonfox · 8/10 · 10 March 2019]

This is a movie from my childhood that I still enjoy. It is shocking how nowadays, this movie is basically bashed on for many reasons, be it because of propaganda or some other silly reason.

Yes, it's not something to write home to, but you have to remember, this was made for kids, a target audience that can basically watch any cartoon without question. And yes, he does seem like a rip-off of Superman since he has his superpowers, but you know who else ripped off Superman? Mighty Mouse and Underdog, and I don't see anyone batting an eye at how cheesy those two cartoons can be nowadays.

So, the movie is basically your typical superhero origin story: Robbie, a normal rabbit, lives a normal life until he sees his family in danger of a rockslide and transforms into a star-spangled bunny on roller skates to save them. An old wizard tells him of his destiny, and he goes to the city to get a job, only to go cross country with his friends when the club he works at gets demolished, using his newfound powers to save his friends from the weasel bikers that are working for Vultor.

Yeah, the plot does seem like it can be weak, but it works. And while it does have flaws, you have to remember even classic superhero films like the first Superman movie had its flaws as well (especially the time travel scene where he reversed time to save Lois, which basically left the question of the second missile unanswered). The movie has some good voice acting, especially from Barry Gordon (who would voice Donatello and Bebop in TMNT the following year) and the late Lorenzo Music (best known as the voice of Garfield and the first voice of Peter Venkman in The Real Ghostbusters), and the music is also good. And while the ending is a letdown, you have to realize Robbie needed the pep talk because he lost since Vultor threatened New York City if he interfered, and losing is something every young kid has to go through and they need a pep talk to help them do better next time.

As a movie from my childhood, I think the old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" applies to Adventures of the American Rabbit as well as many other animated films that have gotten a lot of hate. While it may not be a masterpiece as some Disney films, it's still a charming cartoon movie that should at least be given a chance before passing judgment.