Dot and the Bunny

I don't understand why so many people have missed the point of this charming little film (my personal favorite in the series almost as long-sequeled as the "Land Before Time" series) First and foremost, this is a Yoram Gross film. While the animation was at often times quite poor by critical standards, its message (in my opinion) more than made up for it.

We must remember that this is a children's film. I didn't actually understand the meaning of the film until I was about 9 or 10, but the meaning was imprinted on my life even before then.

This is essentially a lesson on Australia's native fauna...with he exception of one feral Funny-Bunny.

It is also a lesson in life, how to respect ALL creatures for what they are and acknowledging their right to live.

It even has a clever nod to Gross' Jewish heritage, if you choose to see that.

For what it is worth, I found this film to be exceptional- all ebcause of its educational factor. Kids don't really care what the quality of the film they watch is, I don;t recall comparing it to Disney films.

Indeed, I learnt far more from this (and Gross' other films) than any Disney film. For Disney tought us to love ourselves, Gross taught us to love others.

and the added bonus of learning poetry (through the songs- all poems by an Australian poet- I think it was Banjo...but it might have been Henry lawson) I LOVE this film, always will, and I have it on tape to show my own children. I was mroe educated by this film than in school.

As satirized in a reasonably good episode of "the Simpsons", back in the 80's, *EVERYTHING* from Australia was inherently cool.

With the notable exception of the "Dot and (enter name of one of Dot's animal buddies here)" movies.

They used to show these on the Disney Channel all the time. I've seen bits and pieces of the approximately 912 episodes in the series, but until today, I never sat down and watched one all the way through. Having finally done so, I can understand why.

The plot of every Dot movie is essentially the same. Dot wanders off alone into the Outback, she befriends an endangered indigenous animal, they have various adventures as Dot tries to rescue her new friend. I remember some of the movies as more surreal than others. In the one where she meets some insects, she can shrink. In the one where she meets a dolphin, she can hold her breath for hours. And in one otherwise routine entry, Dot is the only human in a world where anthropomorphic animals like pigs and dogs are about to bulldoze a forest where some *wild* (non-Furry) animals live.

"Dot and the Bunny" is a little off as well, but in a more subversive way. The animal friend in question is not endangered. Quite the opposite. The gruesome fact is, so I've heard, that the rabbits that accidentally ended up in the Australian Outback have essentially mutated into fuzzy long-eared locusts. They are such a menace that they are immediately terminated on sight.

Strange, then, that Dot would befriend one. I almost want to see a sequel in which Funny Bunny invites his friends to party at Dot's home, resulting in the entire neighborhood getting eaten alive. Bwahaha!

Having really liked 'Dot and the Kangaroo' and liked, but not quite as much, 'Dot and Santa Claus', there were high hopes for this second follow-up. High hopes that were lived up to, in one of the better Dot sequels and one of the best in the series.

There is not much to complain about in 'Dot and the Bunny'. There is no surprises as to how the story will end or how it would progress, if one is familiar with the Dot films in general they will see how 'Dot and the Bunny' adheres to the same formula. The animation actually generally is improved over 'Dot and the Kangaroo' and 'Dot and Santa Claus', if occasionally a little rough and flat. Didn't care really for the bunny's song about being a kangaroo who never grew up, more rather whiny than cute.

Generally however the animation is an improvement, with mostly more vibrant colours and smoother character designs. The backgrounds as with the previous two Dot films are meticulously detailed, and like the previous two there is some live action which is done very well and doesn't jar at all.

Music is almost as good as that for 'Dot and Santa Claus' while being of a better and more consistent standard than 'Dot and the Kangaroo'. The standouts are "Roaming Free", "The Crocodile Song" and particularly "Termites". Only "The Kangaroo that Never Grew" didn't do much for me.

The script is funny, poignant, remarkably educational and heart-warming, while the characters are engaging (the bunny is a little annoying to begin with but one grows to like him) and well voiced by the likes of Barbara Frawley, Ron Haddrick and Drew Forsythe.

Even when following a basic formula, 'Dot and the Bunny's' story is also one of the film's best assets. Could have done without the kangaroo birth maybe but that wasn't enough to detract from anything. Parts are fun and uplifting and even this 25 year old adult found herself learning a good deal and that the educational aspects were delivered very engagingly. It's the charm and emotional heart that's particularly note-worthy, really warming the heart and moving even the most cynical of adults to at least a tear or two. The messaging is sincere and never preachy or tacked-on.

Overall, one of the best sequels and films of the Dot film series. 8/10 Bethany Cox

While my nostalgia for Yoram Gross's Dot films are as great as anyone else who watched these films as a child of the 80s or 90s. I'm now looking at these films a little more with a critical eye, especially to determine their qualities, not just in being the classic animated films they are, but also in continuity with one another. However, the latter seems to be bit of an issue with these films, I noticed this especially after watching the first two films "Dot and the Kangaroo" and "Dot Around the World."

One uncanny thing about this film is that it's initial plot was somewhat or already fulfilled in "Dot Around the World" (or "Dot and Santa Claus"). When Dot happened to have found the long lost joey of the kangaroo who nurtured her when she initially got lost in the Australian bush, by travelling around the world from various places Joey was taken.

Instead this film ignores the previous film in favor of a direct continuation of the original film; where Dot is largely inspired to go back into the Bush to look for the long lost baby joey of the mother Kangaroo. Dot however, is taken aback most of the time when she has frequent encounters with a long lost bunny, who becomes enamored to believe he is a baby kangaroo. It's due to this bunny's silly behavior and antics, Dot names him; 'Funny Bunny', while Funny Bunny continues to convince Dot otherwise to be a kangaroo to fit in with the bush's environment, the two of them eventually explore the vast bush-land areas and encounter many different animals along the way of Dot's quest to find the mother kangaroo's joey.

I've now come to a conclusion, the continuity between these films are very loose, especially when the Macguffin 'roots of understanding' played a key role in both the original Ethel C. Pedley book and Yoram Gross's original film; "Dot and the Kangaroo." While that doesn't bother me at all, what I liked about this film was it's message, as Dot and Funny Bunny explored the wider regions of the bush they began to discover and learn a lot about the bush's ecosystem and the importance of various wildlife's needs and environmental adaptation to their habitats. Even when Dot finds out about Funny Bunny's real circumstantial nature which is pretty horrible when considering the series' exploration on human's negative impact on nature, it's the film's ending that makes up for what the series' lack of consistent continuity has when being consistent with this single film's unique message.

Much like Gross's other films, his blending of real film footage and animation is wonderful to look at as ever. Although it hasn't aged well by modern standards, especially when real animals or figures from the live action footage become animated within various sequences and transitions, their characterizations are very charming to see. As is the humour that Gross utilizes to a great effect with some great song numbers. There are also some small instrumental callbacks of the first film's songs fitted within the soundtrack of this film to convey some scenes tones, although as unsubtle as it may be utilized, it works for the series as a whole, especially when none of the original lyrics are used or rewritten either, which is great to see Gross respects his creations.

Overall, 'Dot and the Bunny' is one of the more entertaining films in the Dot series, mostly thanks to the presence of Funny Bunny; whose crazy ideas and antics are funny, as his persona is empathetic and his development heartfelt. It's an acceptable film that explores the series' humorous side, while continuing to be heartwarming and persistent on educating children on human's negative impacts on nature, Funny Bunny's story being the main focus.