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File:Rabbids1.jpg
The Rabbids playing Wii

Rabbids (often simply called "bunnies") are a fictional species of maniac anthropomorphic rabbits, who serve as the primary antagonists in the video game Rayman Raving Rabbids, as well as the upcoming Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 . They are rather limited intellectually, but very aggressive. The Game Boy Advance version of the game says that the Rabbids used to be cute, friendly creatures, but they trusted nearly everybody, which made them the target of many jokes. After taking this for a long time, they went mad and are now trying to get their revenge on everybody who tricked them.

The earliest Rayman 4 trailers depicted the bunnies as rather menacing and zombie-like, simply appearing from underground with a blank stare in various shapes and forms. As the game concept evolved (from one of a central objective to minigames), the Rabbid figures became much more conscious and amusing, changing from clichéd computer game cannon fodder into a series of memorable characters with various traits and quirks, akin to Worms. Creator Michel Ancel described the bunnies as "vicious, but at the same time [...] totally stupid".[1]

Reception

The bunnies became massively popular both through the teaser trailers and the game itself. IGN has stated that the Rabbids have "more personality and charisma than 10 of the most popular video game mascots combined",[2] and that the bunnies have literally "upstaged Rayman himself".[3] GameSpot has noted, "The Rabbids themselves are almost exclusively responsible for [selling the game's humor], as they are, without a doubt, hysterical. They're adorably designed, with their dumb stares, high-pitched shrieks, and a penchant for taking comedic bumps."[4]

There has been speculation by both the reviewers[5] and fans alike that the success of the Rabbid character will probably inspire the developers to create more games of the franchise, possibly even without Rayman. This is evident in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, in which case Rayman disguises himself as a Rabbid, causing the game to put more emphasis on them than on Rayman himself. In a recent video review, project lead Loïc Gouno confirmed the possibility of splitting the Rayman and Rabbid series apart, mentioning that the Rabbids seem to appeal more to older gamers, due to its slapstick humor and minigames deviating from the Rayman series' more fantasy-oriented style and action adventure gameplay. [6]

Teasers

File:Rabbid.jpg
Bunnies can't cook eggs.

Rabbids earned their own share of the spotlight through the teaser trailers of the game, including a series of videos entitled Bunnies - Very Useful Scientific Facts, which showcases the bunnies' unorthodox approaches to such complex problems as milking cows, playing soccer and even infiltrating Games Convention in a Metal Gear Solid style; each video is presented as a camcorder documentary recording a Rabbid being puzzled with some kind of everyday activity, suddenly wielding various objects and punctuated by their trademark yell. The trailers, however, are also quick to point out that regardless of their antics, bunnies "can dance" - a reference to the various rhythm mini-games (One trailer, however, replaces "dance" with "fly," then shows a Bunny unsuccessfully attempting to fly off of a building, and ends by asking "Did you really believe that?"[7]; a later trailer replaces "dance" with drive, then shows a Rabbid crashing a kart racer into the camera, followed by the caption "Well, almost...").

The official E3 teaser video shows creator Michel Ancel being ambushed by a group of bunnies (perhaps as a retaliation for his above quote), who ultimately smash the camera with a toilet brush.[8]

The teasers for Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 have the bunnies travelling around the world and exploring a country in the video.

Further appearances

A Rabbid even made a cameo appearance in a trailer to Far Cry Vengeance[1], and Red Steel, where they were enemies in the Gaming District level, exploding as they came down a hill the player was forced to climb. They were also used as speakers for the villain of the level. In one part of the level, the Rabbid shout is heard on a recorder in an office.

The Rabbids have also been featured in some comics drawn by Penny Arcade [2] and VG Cats[3] parodying the videos showing the traits of bunnies.

For a period of time, the show Pants Off Dance Off often had a Rabbid dancing along in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Characteristics

File:Bunnies never close doors.jpg
"Bunnies never close doors."

Rabbids tend to be somewhat mentally unstable, and often experience strange adrenaline rushes, where their eyes turn red and they emit a loud yell which most observers transcribe as "DAAAAAAAH!" This is also often a precursor of the bunny smashing something with his tool of choice.

Rabbids have an interesting choice in weaponry; trailer videos show that bunnies have a high preference of carrying around various household items as melee weapons. Choices include feather dusters, plungers, ladles, toilet brushes, toy shovels, tennis rackets, sausages and other objects. The toilet plunger, being the central weapon of the game, is a main example of the bunnies' sense for toilet humor. Some Rabbids carry oversized spiked clubs.

Rabbids also have a penchant for dressing up. These outfits include, but are not limited to, French maid outfits, snorkels with duck-shaped swim rings or swim trunks with assorted huge swimfins and swimming goggles, ninja suits, cowboy hats with bandanas, Superman costumes, gladiator outfits made out of pans and other kitchen utensils, Sam Fisher-style night-vision goggles, and Metal Gear's cardboard boxes.

A Rabbid also seems to blink once or twice at an object before taking in what it is. It is also seen that Rabbids have a habit of closing and opening their left or right fist. They love to dance, as seen in the bonus videos in Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Types

Bunnies aren't all the same looking, as there are a couple of specimens which have different characteristics than others.

The most unique bunny of them all is Sergueï, a giant, metal muzzle-wearing rabbit with red glowing eyes. He appears to be the leader (or at least main henchman) of the bunnies and he's the one responsible for throwing Rayman himself in jail, appearing as a guard of some sort.

Another different bunny called Pink, is a robotic bunny, having large and long ears and big glowing eyes. He is seen in the Bunny Hunt mini games with some sort of vehicle having four legs.

There is one called Proffessor Barrranco who appears in several mini-games, according to the manual he is a scientist writing a thesis about thermodynamics, working on resistance of cranial bones to the impact of a bludgeon and resistance to high temperatures generated by the explosions of booby-trapped gifts. He is seen wearing a bandage over his head and a black eye.

The bunnies also seem to have a larger breed, which has a considerably lower voice and appears in a darker, gray color. They mostly appear in the on-rail segments, and require multiple plungers to subdue.

In several minigames, bunnies appear in colors like blue, yellow, green, and red.

The game's manual lists a handful of other bunny-types too, such as the scuba bunnies or Clark the Superman impersonator, although these only differ in their apparel and area of activity rather than their appearance.

Normal Rabbids

The "normal" Rabbids appear in a variety of getups. These are listed below:

  • Afro Bunny: A yellow or green Rabbid wearing a white afro. Appears in some Bunny Hunt mini games, and in "Bunnies Have Natural Rhythm."
  • Pink (Robotus Pinkus), AKA T4III7773344303XXX: A robotic rabbit with large ears. It is protected by a forcefield at all times, so explosives must be used to defeat it. It is found only in a few Bunny Hunt mini games. It also dances with the other Rabbids during the credits sequence.
  • Bunny Maid (Cleanous Maidus), alias French Maid: A Rabbid wearing a small skirt and wielding a feather duster. Appears in a lot of mini games.
  • Bunny Student: A Rabbid with black hair on his head, wearing a school uniform of sorts. A few also have glasses. They appear only in "Bunnies Have a Great Ear for Music", where they, in a large group, sing a song together. He appears to be dressed like Elvis Presley or Fonzie from Happy Days.
  • Chef Bunny: A Rabbid wearing a chef's hat, which reads "Le Chef" (The Chef). Appears in the two "Bunnies Like to Stuff Themselves" mini games. Despite being a chef, he doesn't actually seem to prepare food - All he does is eat it.
  • Cowboy Bunny: A Rabbid wearing a cowboy hat; sometimes they also wear a hankerchief. These appear in all of the Western-themed Bunny Hunt mini games. There are also a few blue Rabbids in "Bunnies Have Natural Rhythm" that wear a cowboy hat. Their radio plays Country and Western music. Also at the end of one bunny hunt stage they have the same look as the rabbids in "Bunnies Have Natural Rhythm" except that they are yellow
  • Crabtree Bunny: A Rabbid wearing a police officer's costume and moustache, which looks almost exactly the same as that of Officer Crabtree from the UK TV series 'Allo 'Allo! He appears in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.
  • Dancing Bunny: A bizarre Rabbid that floats out of a pile of coal during one of the shooting games in Rayman Raving Rabbids. Another one, doing a different dance (Which seems to resemble him riding an invisible horse) can be seen in the distance earlier in the same minigame.
  • Darth Vader Rabbid (name unknown): A Rabbid based on the character of Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series; he appears in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.[9]
  • Flying Rabbid: A normal Rabbid flying a small saucer with rabbit ears. Appears in Bunny Hunt stages.
  • Giant Bunny: A big, black, grey or blue angry-looking bunny who appears in most Bunny Hunt mini games, usually seen throwing explosive objects. He takes several shots to take down. He also appears in "Bunnies Can't Play Soccer" "Bunnies don't Shear Sheep" and "Bunnies Don't Like Bats Part 2."
  • Gift Bunny: A Rabbid who runs around in a frenzied pattern while carrying an explosive package. Don't let him reach you or he'll blow up in your face! Appears in all Bunny Hunt mini games.
  • Gladiator Bunny (Lapinus Gladiatus), AKA Peter: A Rabbid wearing various metal kitchen utensils on his body to protect him from weapons. He attacks with a ladle. Moves slow, but can take many hits before he is taken down. Appears in later Bunny Hunt mini games, usually in groups of two.
  • Godfather Bunny: A fat, slightly bigger than normal Rabbid wearing a bowler hat and a suit. He appears to be based on Vito Corleone. He will play many roles in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, assumably replacing Sergueï as the main recurring Rabbid. So far he has been shown as a guest in a restaurant and as the boss of an office.
  • Indi-Bunny: A Rabbid wearing feathers on his head and a feather skirt. Appears in Western-themed Bunny Hunt mini games, and in "Bunnies Can Only Fly Downwards," where Rayman skydives to their small settlement.
  • Ken Bunny: A Rabbid wearing a yellow wig and red karate gi, very similar to Ken Masters from the Street Fighter series of games. He appears in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.
  • Mexican Bunny: A sombrero-wearing Rabbid that sleeps as much as he can. Appears in "Bunnies Think They're in a Movie" and "Bunnies Don't Sleep Well".
  • Miner Bunny: A Rabbid wearing a mining helmet with a metal spike on the top. Tunnels underneath the ground and then pops up somewhere else. Appears in several Bunny Hunt mini games.
  • Ninja Bunny (Bert the masked Rabbid) alias "NiiiiiiiiinjA": A Rabbid on a pogo stick that bounces around a lot before it jumps over to you to smack you. Appears in later Bunny Hunt mini games, and usually in multiple waves of two or more. Seems to yell "Banzai!" while in the middle of a jump.
  • Pirate Bunny (Captinus Piratus), AKA Bunny Beard: A Rabbid wearing a pirate hat, eye patch, a fake beard, and sometimes a peg leg. Appears in pirate-themed Bunny Hunt stages.
  • Private Bunn-eye: A Rabbid police officer. Does not appear to be in the game, but he appears on the official site.
  • Professor Barranco: A Rabbid who has the top portion of his head wrapped in gauze. He is, according to the manual, the smartest Rabbid, but he never gets in your way, except in "Bunnies Are Not Ostriches." He does not seem to be liked much by the other Rabbids, as Sergueï steps on him and other Rabbids frequently hit him with blunt objects. He seems to be conducting tests on pain and the effects of various weapons.
  • Rabuto: A playable character in Raving Rabbids 2, the character is based off Naruto from the Anime series of the same name
  • Robot Bunny (Robotus Lapinus), AKA TI000¾: A black, robotic Rabbid with red eyes. Appears in "Bunnies Aren't Scared of the Dark" only. The TI000 could be a parody of the T-1000 robot from the 2nd Terminator movie.
  • Rock Bunny: A Rabbid wearing shades. Appears in most Bunny Hunt mini games, usually near a music source. Activating the music will make them dance uncontrollably. They also appear in "Bunnies Have Natural Rhythm."
  • Rolling Bunny: A Rabbid inside a glass ball, that comes rolling down corridors. The ball always breaks before it gets to you, however. Appears only in "Bunnies Aren't Scared of the Dark."
  • Saturday Night Fever Bunny: A Rabbid with a blue shirt and a black jacket and shorts that likes to dance. One would think he appears in the dancing mini games, however, he doesn't appear in the game at all except in the credits.
  • Scuba Bunny (Amphibious Carnivorous), alias "The Frog": A Rabbid wearing flippers, a snorkel mask, and occasionally, a ducky ring. They nearly always appear around a water source (One time, they even appear at a fountain). They own a very large yellow submarine that can shoot heat-seeking missiles.
  • Spider-Rabbid: A rabbid that wears a Spider-Man outfit, is a playable character in Raving Rabbids 2.
  • Stealth Bunny: A Rabbid wearing night vision goggles. He always drops down from a Rabbid UFO with a rope, and can dodge some of your shots. He is a parody of Sam Fisher, the main character in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. He appears in nearly all Bunny Hunt mini games. The official Rayman Raving Rabbids site says he is as discreet as a bull in a China shop.
  • Clark the Super Bunny (Lapinus Krytonius), AKA Clark (Alias "Super"): A Rabbid with black hair, wearing a Superman outfit. He isn't a real super hero, but he tries to be. He can fly short distances using posterior explosives hidden under his cape, but he doesn't seem to have much control over his flight path (for obvious reasons). Appears in a lot of mini games; "Bunnies Are Not Ostriches" is a minigame in which the player has to pull out 10 Super Bunnies who have gotten their heads stuck into the desert ground within a given amount of time. The name "Clark" is an obvious nod to Clark Kent.
  • Tropical Bunny: A Rabbid that wears a coconut bikini and a flower on his head. Appears in Bunny Hunt stages that take place on the beach. They also appear in "Bunnies Have Natural Rhythm", where their color is red.
  • Transformer Bunny: A bunny shown transforming from a toilet. Shown in the new trailer. A nod to the Transformers.

Other Rabbids

  • Far Cry Bunny: A Rabbid that appears in a trailer to Far Cry Vengeance.
  • Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter 2 Bunny: In the Official Xbox magazine for April 2007 there is a picture of a Rabbid wearing the high tech armor and helmet that the main characters wear. Even more the Rabbid is holding a Advanced Hi-tech plunger labeled "PL - Grunger 45 - With high impact suction".
  • Jack Sparrow bunny: A bunny with the headgear the same as Jack Sparrow from Pirates Of The Caribbean.
  • Mario Bunny: a bunny wearing the same clothes as Mario from Super Mario, except with the letter B on its hat instead of M.
  • Rabble Droid: The commander of the rabbid army, and the final boss of Rayman Raving Rabbids. He resembles a humongous mutant rabbid with a robotic head and a little spaceship in his bottom part. Regular rabbids are driving this spaceship.

References

  1. ^ Rayman Raving Rabbids Interview on IGN
  2. ^ Rayman Raving Rabbids Review on IGN
  3. ^ Rayman Raving Rabbids Review on IGN
  4. ^ Rayman Raving Rabbids Review on GameSpot
  5. ^ Rayman Raving Rabbids Review on GameSpot
  6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBZNdU5wM5A
  7. ^ Bunnies Can't Phone, But They Can Fly
  8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbuT6JoR5cU
  9. ^ IGN: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Hands-On

Videos

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