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Rabbit of Caerbannog

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Captain Smartass (talk | contribs) at 15:24, 21 November 2007 (removed references to the cave of caerbannog and the carvings inside it, that belongs in a seperate article). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog is a fictional beast from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. According to Tim the Enchanter, it "[has] a vicious streak a mile wide!", as well as "nasty, big, pointy teeth!" The creature has become known as the vorpal bunny, although this name does not appear in the film.

The attack of the Killer Rabbit

The Cave of Caerbannog ("Caer bannog" being Welsh for "turreted castle") is the home of the Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh, and is ostensibly guarded by a fearsome predator of an unknown description, because no one who attempts to enter the Cave or face the monster has ever lived to tell the tale.

In the film, King Arthur and his knights are led to the Cave of Caerbannog by Tim the Enchanter, and find that they must face down the beast. The beast appears to be a cute, fluffy white rabbit, surrounded by the bones of the fallen. Despite Tim's warnings, King Arthur orders one of his knights, Bors, to decapitate the rabbit. Bors approaches it, sword drawn, and is immediately decapitated by the rabbit to the sound of a can opener. The knights attack in force, but are driven into retreat as the rabbit leaps and attacks, killing Gawain and Ector.

Only the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch allows the knights to defeat the beast and proceed into the cave. The Rabbit makes a similar appearance in Spamalot, a musical inspired by Holy Grail.

Other appearances

The Rabbit of Caerbannog inspired numerous imitations and tributes in a variety of media. Usually it is referred to as a vorpal bunny, devil bunny, or killer rabbit.

  • In the Super Nintendo game "Breath of Fire II", a citizen in the circus tent wonders if the main attraction is "the dreaded killer bunny".
  • In the PlayStation 2 game Final Fantasy XII, the Vorpal Bunny appears as a mark to be hunted, though it mainly runs away.
  • The Playstation game Suikoden 2 features a bloodthirsty rabbit as a commonly encountered monster, as does the PlayStation 2 game Suikoden V.
  • The Playstation game Tales of Destiny features vorpal bunnies as a random-encounter enemy.
  • The card game Munchkin features a card that appears to be a weak monster, the "Perfectly Ordinary Bunny Rabbit". When engaged in combat, however, a die is rolled, and on a result of "6" it turns out to be "that rabbit from that movie". If a player is forced to flee, the rabbit slays that player, even if it was a perfectly normal rabbit. The monster art depicts Bun-bun, of the webcomic Sluggy Freelance.
  • A version of the rabbit is featured as an obstacle in the Grailquest series of interactive fiction books, notably in book 6 (Realm of Chaos). The player character must defeat the rabbit to progress through to the final sections of the story. A successful strike against the player character by the rabbit in combat immediately severs the character's head and ends the story.
  • The 1985 Iron Crown game supplement Creatures and Treasures features a Killer Rabbit that "bounds for the throat, never for another part of the body", and can be slain by an explosion.
  • In the comedy film Leonard Part 6, there is a scene in which furious bunnies attack the scientists on Leonard's command, in a manner reminiscent of the Rabbit of Caerbannog.
  • The fantasy television series Xena: Warrior Princess features an episode titled "In Sickness and in Hell", in which the "sidekick" character, Gabrielle, has to fight for her life when she is viciously attacked by a fanged rabbit.
  • Killer Rabbit was also a term used by the press to describe the swamp rabbit that "attacked" the then US-President Jimmy Carter while he was fishing on a farm pond on April 20, 1979, four years after the release of the movie.
  • Magic: The Gathering has a card named "When Fluffy Bunnies Attack" in the Unhinged set that has been cited by the designer as being a Monty Python reference.
  • The trailer to 'Illegal Danish 2: Escape from Orgrimmar' shows the paladin Basutei hurling a small white rabbit at the throat of Warchief Thrall, whom he seems unable to defeat.
  • In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, there are two white rabbit monsters with effects reminiscent to the viciousness of their Holy Grail counterpart: Blade Rabbit destroys a monster on the field whenever it is switched from face-up attack to face-up defense position. Another, Japanese-only monster, the Normal monster Wilmee, is described as "A rabid rabbit that tears its way through opposition with its sharp claws".
  • The Nintendo DS game Touch Detective features a ferocious bunny-looking animal named Karbanog in the last chapter.
  • The comedy-driven videogame review TV show X-Play features a hand muppet called Ratty the Puppet. When made angry, this character sometimes launches itself to a person's neck to decapitate him or her, much like the rabbit.
  • In the Adventure Quest online game, there is a monster called the vorpal zard which is a zard with a white colour and rabbit ears.
  • In a Diablo II Modification called Zy-el, there is a monster living in the Suicide Sanctum called the Vorpal Bunny. It is a tiny white rabbit that deals high damage. It is also difficult to target because of its small size. Screenshot of Rabbit is here.
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