Dumb Bunnies
Dumb Bunnies is a series of books created by Dav Pilkey, the author of Captain Underpants, under the pseudonym "Sue Denim". They involve the adventures of a dumb family of bunnies. The Dumb Bunnies did everything in reverse, including sleeping under beds and putting flowers upside down in vases.
The series is said to be mocking or parodying books like Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and The Stupids Step Out by Harry G. Allard and illustrated by James Marshall.
Book appearances
[edit]The Dumb Bunnies first appeared in the book The Dumb Bunnies. In the book the Dumb Bunnies are having porridge when they decide to go for a walk. They go to Kentucky Fried Carrots (parody of Kentucky Fried Chicken) and have a picnic in the car wash. Meanwhile, Little Red Goldilocks enters their home. When the Dumb Bunnies return, they are thrilled to see her. But Poppa Bunny is embarrassed because he thought someone slept on his porridge. Momma Bunny is angry because she thought someone ate her bed. Baby Bunny cries because he thinks someone used his pimple cream. Then Papa Bunny dances, Mama Bunny sings a song, and Baby Bunny flushes Little Red Goldilocks down the toilet. At the end of the book, a picture on the back cover shows her coming out of a sewer pipe and landing in a lake. Note: The cover originally had the word "spam" on the bowl of porridge, which Pilkey claims was meant to be a joke, until the Hormel Foods Corporation threatened legal action, causing either a recall of the book or placing a golden sticker on it until a reprint was made without the word. The Spam covers have now become extremely hard to find.
The Dumb Bunnies made their second appearance in the book The Dumb Bunnies Easter. The Dumb Bunnies are preparing for Easter (which appears to be more related to Christmas) and set up the decorations (including putting an "Easter Tree" upside down). After preparing, they spray-paint fried eggs (claimed to be "painting Easter Eggs") and watch a small football on top of their television. They go to hang up their stockings before they realize that they are wearing them and they are sleeping upside down in front of the fireplace. The Easter Bunny soon arrives and drops all the eggs down the chimney. The next morning, the Dumb Bunnies are thrilled to see the eggs (although they are completely cracked with shells lying everywhere).
Their third appearance was in the book Make Way for Dumb Bunnies. While the Dumb Bunnies are spending quality time at home, it suddenly starts raining. They think it is a perfect day to go to the beach and they head there. But then the sun comes out and they think it is bad weather, so they head to the movie theater (accidentally stealing a car in the process). During the movie, the Dumb Bunnies think the projector is the screen, which blinds them for a while. They return home on a steamroller (which they thought was their car) and regain vision again.
The Dumb Bunnies latest appearance is in the book The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo. They first go outside to pick things in their garden (using pickaxes). They later drive to the zoo, only to discover the animals they are seeing are a lot smaller than they really are (they mistake a small bird perched on the "Elephant" sign as being the elephant and a butterfly perched on the "Lion" sign as being the lion). When the butterfly flutters off the sign they think the lion escaped and go crazy all over the zoo and letting all the animals loose (including the "real" lion). The S.W.A.T. cops arrive to capture the lion, but the Dumb Bunnies say he flew away. As they leave the zoo (the book says that they decide to go home, but they really got kicked out by the zookeeper), they come across two giant apes which they mistake for being "Free Kitties" (the box that the words were written on did contain real kittens, but when the apes climbed over the wall, they scared all the kittens, and the owner who carried the box, away). Baby Bunny decides to keep them, but as they drive out, the apes fall off the top of the car they had been tied to. They return home at the end of the day and get into their new waterbed (with a series of hoses spraying water on the bed) and fall asleep.
Challenges
[edit]In 2010, The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo was placed on the "Most Challenged Books of 2010" list that was published by the Canadian Library Association.[1] Again, this particular book was challenged – this time in Oregon for "concern that reading this book may result in confusion and stupidity." The book was retained in the library.[2]
Because of the "sarcastic view of humor", the series was challenged in Summit County and was moved out the primary library and into the intermediate library.[3]
The original book was challenged in Texas because of parent complaints that the book depicted violence.[4]
Books
[edit]- The Dumb Bunnies (1994, Blue Sky Press; ISBN 0-590-47708-0)
- The Dumb Bunnies' Easter (1995, Blue Sky Press; ISBN 0-590-20241-3)
- Make Way for Dumb Bunnies (1996, Blue Sky Press; ISBN 0-590-58286-0)
- The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (1997, Blue Sky Press; ISBN 0-590-84735-X)
Television series
[edit]| Dumb Bunnies | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animated series |
| Created by | Dav Pilkey |
| Developed by | Dale Schott |
| Written by | Dale Schott Laura Kosterski Ken Ross Erika Stobel Bob Ardiell Timothy Carter Gerald Tripp Nicola Barton Ben Joseph Dave Dias Kim Thompson Shan MacDougall Bonnie Chung Bridget Newson Shelley Hoffman Rob Pincombe Hugh Duffy |
| Voices of | Rob Smith Catherine Gallant Dustin Lauzon |
| Narrated by | Peter Wildman |
| Composer | Guy Gross |
| Country of origin | Canada Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Patrick Loubert Michael Hirsh Clive A. Smith Tim Brooke-Hunt James Wang Elizabeth Partyka |
| Producer | Yoram Gross |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Nelvana Limited Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow Hong Guang Animation (Suzhou) Scottish Television Enterprises Scholastic Inc. |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | 3 October 1998 – 27 March 1999 |
It was also adapted into an animated television series produced by Nelvana and Yoram Gross,[5] airing on CBS in the U.S. The show ran for 26 episodes,[6] from October 3, 1998 to March 27, 1999.[7] In Australia, the show ran on Seven Network.
Episodes
[edit] | This section needs a plot summary. (September 2020) |
| No. | Title | Written by | Original air date [citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "One Small Step" | Dale Schott | 3 October 1998 |
| 2 | "Bunny Beach Bonanza" | Dale Schott | 10 October 1998 |
| 3 | "Puddle Muddle" | Laura Kosterski | 17 October 1998 |
| 4 | "The Magic Lamp" | Ken Ross | 24 October 1998 |
| 5 | "Stressed to Impress" | Erika Stobel | 31 October 1998 |
| 6 | "The Case of the Missing Lollapaluzzi" | Bob Ardiel | 7 November 1998 |
| 7 | "Ghost of a Chance" | Laura Kosterski | 14 November 1998 |
| 8 | "Can It" | Timothy Carter | 21 November 1998 |
| 9 | "Keeping Uppity" | Ken Ross | 28 November 1998 |
| 10 | "Lose To Win" | Gerald Tripp | 5 December 1998 |
| 11 | "Run Away Home" | Nicola Barton | 12 December 1998 |
| 12 | "Madly Off in Small Directions" | Ben Joseph | 19 December 1998 |
| 13 | "Bunnies on the Bunnyzon" | Laura Kosterski | 26 December 1998 |
| 14 | "Downtown on the Farm" | Ken Ross | 2 January 1999 |
| 15 | "Smile Trail" | Timothy Carter | 9 January 1999 |
| 16 | "Felony Cleans Up" | Laura Kosterski | 16 January 1999 |
| 17 | "Camp Uppity" | Dave Dias | 23 January 1999 |
| 18 | "Mission Improbable" | Kim Thompson | 30 January 1999 |
| 19 | "Wizdumb" | Ben Joseph | 6 February 1999 |
| 20 | "I'll Be Dumb For Christmas" | Shane MacDougall | 13 February 1999 |
| 21 | "The Prince of Monte Carrot" | Bonnie Chung | 20 February 1999 |
| 22 | "Git Along Little Bunnies" | Bridget Newson | 27 February 1999 |
| 23 | "Situation Vacation" | Shelley Hoffman & Rob Pincombe | 6 March 1999 |
| 24 | "Fear No Bunny" | Laura Kosterski | 13 March 1999 |
| 25 | "May The Bunnies Rise To Meet Ya" | Hugh Duffy | 20 March 1999 |
| 26 | "The Garden of E Dumb" | Dave Dias | 27 March 1999 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Freedom to Read" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2016.
- ^ "Powells Books".
- ^ "Challenged Books and Magazines List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ^ "ACLU" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012.
- ^ "The Dumb Bunnies (TV Series 1998–1999)". IMDb.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 173. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 297–298. ISBN 978-1476665993.
External links
[edit]
- 1994 children's books
- Children's fiction books
- Series of children's books
- Children's books about rabbits and hares
- Children's books about families
- Works by Dav Pilkey
- 1990s Australian animated television series
- 1998 Australian television series debuts
- 1999 Australian television series endings
- 1990s Canadian animated television series
- 1990s Canadian children's television series
- 1998 Canadian television series debuts
- 1999 Canadian television series endings
- Australian children's animated comedy television series
- Australian television shows based on children's books
- Canadian children's animated comedy television series
- Canadian television shows based on children's books
- Television series based on books by Dav Pilkey
- YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming
- CBS original programming
- Animated television series about rabbits and hares
- Animated television series about families
- Television series by Nelvana