Bunny and the Bull

2009
6.6| 1h41m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 27 November 2009 Released
Producted By: Wild Bunch
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A young shut-in takes an imaginary road trip inside his apartment, based on mementos and memories of a European trek from years before.

Genre

Comedy, Romance

Watch Online

Bunny and the Bull (2009) is now streaming with subscription on AMC+

Director

Paul King

Production Companies

Wild Bunch

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Bunny and the Bull Videos and Images
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

Bunny and the Bull Audience Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!
Console best movie i've ever seen.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Erik Stuborn I think that film it's not funny as most comments on IMDb said. The movie aims to be a sort of Amelie, but remains in a failed attempt to create an aesthetic kind Michael Gondry (cheap sets, much cardboard painting with pen and funny cartoons that here are not), about an agoraphobic and his memories before to be. The actors are not funny, the story has no interest and also the script is silly and without any sense of humor. All the work of all that digital retouching, pretending not to be, is crass and without wit, all the aesthetic of the movie is so distasteful that makes you want to wake up because this world seems more an unpleasant nightmare than a dream.
rooprect "Bunny and the Bull" is possibly the most visually inventive film I've seen in my life. It begins with a title credit sequence with the camera gracefully flowing from object to object in a small room, like in Jeunet-Caro's classic "Delicatessen". It stays in that same Delicatessenesque vein while we meet our hero, an agoraphobe who evidently hasn't left his apartment in 1 year, and then the real fun starts...Our hero "Stephen" (Edward Hogg) stares at random objects in his meticulously cluttered apartment, and each object triggers a flashback. Each flashback is vividly adorned in scenery relating to the object that triggered it. For example, his first flashback comes from a box of fast food takeout. The flashback scene contains the actors and some real props but they are sitting inside an animated cardboard box. Occasionally cars will pass by the window outside, similarly animated cardboard cutouts.I found this visual style to be both eye-catching and wonderfully creative. Animation is very old school, using tricks of stop motion photography, hand drawings, confetti for snow, and projection screens showing dreamlike landscapes behind the action. It reminded me of the work of Michel Gondry ("The Science of Sleep", "Eternal sunshine of the Spotless Mind") or Tim Burton's old school stuff ("Nightmare Before Christmas", "Edward Scissorhands", "Peewee's Big Adventure") but ramped up on steroids. Everything is very vivid and pleasing to the eye with cartoonish colors and simplicity surrounding what ultimately ends up being a very complex story.The actors present a fabulous dynamic with "Michael" being the obsessively uptight dweeb who courts a girl for 3 years before working up the nerve to say he likes her, while his best friend "Bunny" (Simon Farnaby) is the antithesis: a devil-may-care hedonist who can bed any girl in under 2 minutes it seems. The movie is a series of flashbacks unraveling a strange adventure that the two of them had together, mostly silly escapades culminating in a life-altering event that just might alter your life as well.Something I found particularly funny was the way our hero is an animal lover, and a very outspoken one at that. He has a hilarious way of turning almost any situation awkward by expressing his views, almost like a "Debbie Downer" character. But if you're an animal lover you may find yourself cheering him on. For example, in one scene they are talking to a would-be matador who is relating the joy and elegance of bullfighting. He says something like "It is not a fight. It is a dance. A beautiful dance as only man and beast can do." And our hero Michael fires back "Really? I thought it was all about stabbing a defenceless animal in the back of the neck until he dies." And the matador says, "It is a peculiar dance, I'll give you that." Great sarcastic & deadpan humor along with hilariously awkward situations pepper this film throughout, making it fun from beginning to end. And as I alluded earlier, there is ultimately some great depth and power to this seemingly whimsical flick.If you're a fan of the directors I mentioned above, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Michel Gondry & Tim Burton... and I'll throw in Charlie Kaufman & Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich", "Synecdoche NY") and maybe Terry Gilliam ("Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas") then do not hesitate to see this wonderfully bizarre flick. In over 500 films, I've only given out about 20 perfect "10" ratings, but this film truly deserves the honor.
Growlyted I love surreal films and this was one I overlooked. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance. The trailer doesn't really do it justice. My favourite cameo actor was Julian Barratt of the Boosh. (I was disappointed with Noel's scene though.) Also pleased to see Richard Ayoade. While these two provide light relief, the main story-line is dark and traumatic. It is accompanied by bizarre animated sequences and an excellent soundtrack by the Ralfe Band. Stephen and Bunny's loyal and tortured relationship is at the heart of this film though. Their adventure is revealed through Stephen's memories stored up in his flat. They are imaginatively linked. The conclusion is perfect.
James Clarey This is the debut effort from director Paul King (Mighty Boosh), advertised as 'Withnail and I for the mentally ill'. This is an attempt to get audiences in, but oversimplifies the film to an extent of misleading the viewers. Yes, it is based on two young men going travelling, however what makes both these films great is their style, and that could not be any more different.'Withnail and I' is famously bleak, portraying the struggling characters in the context of a social-realism drabness. However, stylistically, Bunny and the Bull can compete with the classics in eccentricity; stealing nuggets of genius from directors such as Gondry, Gilliam and Burton. By imitating Gondry's use of set design, theme parks are created from clock workings, and train cartridges from toilet parts. This manages to create stunning visuals along with awe-inspiring animation; but still retains the charm and spark of a low-budget movie.Essentially a road movie, it tells the story of an obsessive-compulsive Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg) as he travels around Europe with unlikely friend, Bunny (Simon Farnaby). Over the course of 100 minutes, the cause of Turnbull's crippling agoraphobia is explained with the help of his catalogued mementos of the trip. These are used as jumping-off points into flashback scenes, as shot from his mental illness-addled imagination.While at moments touching, the main problem seemed to be the lack of shots helping us to engage with the two leads. With the plot holding the potential to get an audience gripped and engaged, the acting seemed rigid and confused in places. The titular character, Bunny, is not fully realised, flickering between off-the-wall quirkiness, reminiscent of Seinfeld's Kramer, and a one-dimensional, Northern booze-hound.With cameos from Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding, playing an unhinged matador, and Julian Barratt as a dog-milk-craving tramp, the expectations are understandable for this to be a feature-length episode of the show. However, the film takes the much loved quirks from first series of Boosh and manages to restrain them; connecting its celebrated vivid imagery with the real world, which allows viewers to connect better with the narrative.While in parts uncomfortable, the state of Turnbull's mental illness slowly dawning, the film action never slows and gives the audience chance to get bored. Not as quick-paced as Boosh, this only serves to help the plot lines form naturally and the film to flourish, highlighting the real star of the film; Paul King.