Bunny and the Bull

This film is definitely not for everyone, a real love it or hate it. It is a little surreal but at its heart, its a nice little story of friendship.In short, an agoraphobic man tries to work up the courage to leave his house. Much of the film is his memories of a road trip he took with his best friend. I guess bunny and the bull can be categorised as a comedy, but the humour is mild and a little dark. For me the unique element to this film is the quirky cinematography separating memories from reality. The final five minuets of this film are well worth waiting for. This movie is without doubt a one off and very British. There is no guarantee you will enjoy this film......but watch it anyway! (Its only 100 mins of your life)

As a fan of The Mighty Boosh, I'm surprised that it took me so long to get around to watching this film; my girlfriend hating the Boosh probably was part of it but either way I finally got to seeing it recently. The film is a story of a young man who is a recluse and has not left the house in over a year and seems unable to do so in the near future. Closed into a carefully organised prison of his own making, he remembers the last time he left the house – an European road trip with his friend Bunny which involved a Polish tramp, a Spanish bullfighter, a feisty waitress and a massive stuffed bear.

The connection to Boosh is apparent not only in the writer/director and small roles for Fielding and Barratt but just in the construct of the film from the very start. It has a certain oddness to the telling and it makes for a surreal story even though it is a simple one if you wrote it down in bullet points. The whole thing is delivered in this semi-real world where animation means reality – and I don't mean in a "Cool World" sort of way but rather in a beautifully seamless way of backgrounds, of little flourishes and generally the design of everything – all having the effect of bringing reality and memory together so that objects often have significance within the presentation. I loved this aspect of the film and it constantly enchanted me with how creative it was. Sadly the overall story didn't quite match up to this and I didn't find myself quite as charmed or tickled by the main thrust of the film – it is OK, but never hilarious nor as clever as I had hoped.

This noticeably changes when Fielding and Barratt have their turns in the film. Fielding is fun as the bullfighter, but it is Barratt who really steals the film with his character – a character that is repulsive but yet funny, terrifying but quite enigmatic; he is very funny indeed. Hogg in the lead is a little bit weak but is rather blank slate approach does work. In regards Farnaby I had doubts and continue to have them. He works when the material helps him, but at times he is a bit too basic and lacking in the presence and character that the Boosh duo brought to their roles – OK they had the laughs to help them, but still, Farnaby doesn't totally work for me in this casting. I really liked the spirit and accent of Echegui and I also appreciated seeing Ayoade in a small role.

Bunny and the Bull is definitely worth a look if you love the Boosh, because the humour is very much in that ilk and the semi-animated world is really well constructed and delivered. It isn't as brilliant as I had hoped though and I wish it had been funnier and smarter in the latter stages, but it is wonderfully surreal throughout and I enjoyed it quite a lot on that basis.

Bunny and the Bull is a really good debut for writer & director Paul King whilst offering early proof of how rewarding his collaborations with Simon Farnaby can be. It's a debut in every sense of the word because the collision of ideas here don't entirely coalesce but the sheer inventiveness of what it's doing never runs out and also powers through most of the flaws. The style outweighs the substance and it's funny and stylish enough to compensate.

Edward Hogg brings a believability to his character's awkwardness which makes him a likeable protagonist and naturally enhances the situational comedy. Simon Farnaby is a lot more confident and self obsessed so he pairs well with Hogg. There's undoubtedly some fun to be had seeing someone who's synonymous with the kid friendly Horrible Histories be truly let off the leash in a much more adult film that gives him the opportunity to swear, be raunchy and even bare all.

Paul King's direction has an endless supply of whimsy working with the low budget. Every new location is a delight as they come up with really fun ways to showcase different countries without ever leaving the UK, utilising everyday items in the best ways. Even though the content is more adult, it's still clear this is the creative team who'd go on to make Paddington, especially in the ending that really goes for the emotion and acts as a noble first attempt of something they'd only get better at.

This 'surreal' comedy plays much like an extended episode of The Mighty Boosh, however, it is far more endearing than this. The story focuses on friends Stephen (Edward Hogg) and Bunny (Simon Farnaby). Stephen is a shut-in who hoards everyday items and mementos in boxes stacked around the house. The two characters go on an imaginary road trip, which is fantasised through memories of past events. This faux-adventure takes them to Spain, where Bunny learns how to be a matador. This is after they meet Spanish seafood restaurant waitress Eloisa (Veronica Echegui), who has quit her job and decided to make the journey back to Spain. After acquiring a vehicle in a crab eating contest, Stephen and Bunny catch up with Eloisa and make that journey happen.

The connection between this and the BBC show The Mighty Boosh, is obvious, as the films writer/director Paul King is involved in directing the shows episodes. The inclusion of Noel Fielding and Julien Barract in small (but highly hilarious) parts heightens this further.

The visual style of the film is reminiscent of the work of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Michel Gondry. King uses the fantasy elements of the journey to create a backdrop of animations made from cardboard and layered paper. In an opening sequence we she Stephen and Bunny making bets in a bookies that looks like a set lifted from an episode of Paddington from the 1970s: that is, two dimensional pencil sketched surroundings.

There is much to like here, the performances of the two main characters are excellent, especially Simon Farnaby, who dresses like a 1970s binman. But for me the stand out character, and giver of the best laughs is Julien Barrats Polish Tramp. In a scene under a motorway flyover, Atilla offers Stephen some milk. "It's dog milk". This is offered in a bottle, but Atilla drinks directly from the dogs teet. Stephen gets a hard-on from the dog, Atilla replies "You want f**k my wife?"

In the closing sequences we get a beautiful Jeunetesque payoff, beauty becomes rhythm. Without words, the visuals play. The mechanical bull becomes the person. Metal to skin, skin to muscle, but death is ultimate when fantasy is mistaken for reality. Well, that's what I wrote in my notes. I'd had a few drinks whilst I watched it. In conclusion, a beautifully crafted film visually, with many laugh-out-loud moments, and some endearing characters.

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Firstly this isn't a Mighty Boosh film and secondly this isn't a comedy, yes it has some funny moments, but it's more of a drama. Quirkily telling the story of a road trip across Europe by friends Bunny and Stephen the action is told through a series of lo-fi set pieces which is a heady blend of Gilliam, Gondry and even Oliver Postgate. There is a real sense of a hands on glue and scissors approach. This comes across in the film as the attention to detail in the sets often threatens to overshadow the actors but it's the central friendship which is at the core of the film that keeps the fantasy in check. Grounded in a reality that most people should be able to recognise the story is at times a heartbreaking flashback to misspent youth and the bonds, no matter how strange, we form as humans. It's an age old story of boy meets girl, girl meets boy's best friend etc but the way the story unfolds with the aid of the animation gives it a fresh lease of life, its surreal and weird but at the same time charming and real. A series of cameos from three fifths of the Boosh are a little light relief in what turns out to be quite a dark tale but it's really Simon Farnaby as the lovable rogue Bunny that shines above all else. Clearly 'Withnail & I' had a big influence on the director if not the film and you will spot similarities, which isn't a bad thing, Whitnail is a classic. Whether this resonates as much with today's youth as that film did we will have to see but all in all director Paul King's leap from small to big screen is a success. It's clever, funny and dark and the start of a big screen career that will be well worth following.