Bunnyville

In a typical classic cartoon, a predator animal would try to catch and chase a prey animal but would never succeed in eating their prey. Think ‘Tom and Jerry’ or ‘Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd’. For my short film, I wanted to put these predators in a situation where everyone around them is their prey, but they are not allowed to eat them. The predator must adapt to this new way of living or find ways to safely eat their prey without getting caught. Bunnyville explores cartoon tropes and plays with its premise. It aligns with my vision of being open to experimental ideas, breaking the boundaries of what people expect in a ’cat vs mouse’ cartoon.

Visually I added as much simple texture, lighting, and shadows to give the drawings depth. The town itself is designed based on traits and foods related to rabbits. While the rabbit citizens look similar, I wanted distinct designs for rabbits that play a specific role. For example, Angora rabbits are referenced to make the policemen big and strong. Originally the wolf resembles a Hanna-Barbera character wearing a hat, bowtie, and pants. But I wanted him to be hungry and skinny, so his scrawniness is emphasised and only the pants remain. Sometimes the backgrounds become abstract colours, directly inspired by the intense scenes of Ren and Stimpy.