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James Stewart in Harvey |
"Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?" is, of course, the question the young hero of Donnie Darko asks his imaginary friend, to which the equally reasonable response is: "Why are you wearing that stupid human suit?" Both are good questions, both left without answers, but then, giant rabbits in the movies have always been mysterious - and there are more of them about than you might think.
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Beside him, the one who set the standard was of course Harvey, the invisible best friend of James Stewart's baffled bachelor Elwood P Dowd. Whilst his family worry that he's losing his mind, Elwood knows that Harvey is real, and that only by following the rabbit's advice can he find happiness. Of course, in the end, it doesn't really matter whether Harvey is real or not - it's the idea of him which lifts Elwood out of the mundane world and gives him access to his own wonderland.
James Stewart's performance opposite Harvey, who was presumably invisible to the actor, is often cited as one of the greatest examples of his craft. A similar effort was required of Bob Hoskins when he acted opposite the eponymous hero of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, creating one of Hollywood's most successful animation/live action crossovers. With its wide appeal to children, film noir fans and mainstream moviegoers, the film easily overcame initial industry concerns about its wayward plot, in which a private detective is hired to help a troubled cartoon character. Intrinsic to this, of course, is Jessica Rabbit, who more closely resembles a different sort of bunny girl, but then, Bugs Bunny's cross dressing aside, rabbit antics in the movies are a traditionally male preserve.
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'Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?' |
Whether he's a befuddled lawyer continually checking his watch or Iggy Pop sweeping Any Locane off her feet in Cry-Baby, the giant rabbit is a character who always makes his mark, and it would appear that he's here to stay. He has travelled through time in the history of film much as he does in Donnie Darko, bringing us face to face with the paradox of our own existence. He is a natural part of the evolution of film, and it is perhaps time we started asking ourselves not what he's doing there, but what we are.