THE ADVENTURES OF THE AMERICAN RABBIT (1986)
Article 5445 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-6-2017
Directed by Nobutaka Nishizawa and Fred Wolf
Featuring the voices of Bob Arbogast, Pat Fraley, Barry Gordon
Country: USA / Japan
What it is: Family cartoon

A young rabbit named Rob has the ability to turn into a superhero known as the American Rabbit. He has to deal with a gang of jackals bent on extortion and their leader, Voltar.

As far as the fantastic content goes, we have a world of anthropomorphic animals, one of which has superpowers. For those into action, be aware that the superhero is one of those that eschews violence, probably to serve as a good role model for those children for whom the movie was intended. For those looking for laughs, be aware that there is a moose and his son who make chocolate and a big ape named Ping Pong, and these are the standout jokes. For those into platitudes and blandness, you’ve hit the jackpot big time here. For those expecting lots of messages about nationalism and patriotism (after all, our hero is made up in stars and stripes), be aware there’s no overt political message of that sort. For those expecting to be fully entertained, try to catch this one before you’re seven years old. And for those into general weirdness, be aware that the villain of the movie spends most of his time talking through a necktie and that it ends with everyone having a mass hallucination. It’s probably most useful for those of you with young children who you want to keep occupied while you take a nap.