Rabbid
Rabbids (French: Lapins Crétins) are rabbit-like creatures that appear in the Rayman universe. The name is a portmanteau of 'rabid' and 'rabbit', though in the games, they are often referred to as Bunnies. They primarily appear in a spin-off series known as Rayman Raving Rabbids. They are seen as 'anti-mascots' to Ubisoft.
| Rabbid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alignment | Bad |
| Appears in | RRR, RRR2, TV Party, Go Home, Academy of Champions, Travel in Time |
| Species | Rabbid |
| Status | Travel in time |
History
The Rabbids were first introduced in a series of teaser images and videos for Rayman Raving Rabbids (then meant to be the next major platforming adventure in the Rayman series) officially released by Ubisoft in April 2006, in which they were portrayed as zombie-like enemies that were set to take over the world, akin to the Robo-Pirate Army and Hoodlums. By the time the final game was released in December that year, it turned out to be a compilation of mini-games akin to the Mario Party series due to the game being a Wii release game, and while the Rabbids were still portrayed as crazed animals that tried to take over the world, their main purpose now was to provide comic relief. Three more games featuring Rabbids were subsequently announced - Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 in 2007, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party in 2008, and Rabbids Go Home in 2009. A fourth game, Raving Rabbids: Travel In Time, was released in 2010.
Biology
Origin
In the main series, not much is known about where the Rabbids had originally come from. Rabbids Go Home suggests that they do not even know themselves. However, at an early point in the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman Raving Rabbids, Ly the Fairy explains that the Rabbids were once peaceful creatures in Rayman's world that had gradually been bullied by other creatures, therefore going bad and taking their pain out on the entire world. The back cover of the main game also suggests that the Rabbids used to be peaceful but had turned bad, though the game doesn't explain how. This explanation of the Rabbids' origin was also used in official Ubisoft press releases regarding Rayman 4, before that game was scrapped. Michel Ancel stated in an interview that the Rabbids had been “preparing this assault since the very first Rayman game”.
Appearance
Usually, Rabbids resemble albino rabbits in the sense that they have white fur and hairless bellies, mouths and the insides of their ears, though a few others can come in different colours such as grey, brown and even blue, yellow, red and green. Either way, they all have dark blue eyes which turn red when they turn mad, and they also have two giant buckteeth. Most of them are nearly as tall as Rayman is, their long ears included, though some others can be bigger or smaller; another few can look completely different from the others altogether, such as Serguei. They also have very short, stubby legs, and have no fingers on their paws, though they do have thumbs.
While most Rabbids tend to go naked, some like to dress up in costumes to tell themselves apart, such as Superbunnies and the Sam Fisher (from Splinter Cell) Rabbids. Notably in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, costumes, mostly based on geographical stereotypes (which lead to the toy collection "Rabbids Invade the World") and film characters, can be unlocked and worn when playing the game as them.
Behaviour
Most of the time, the Rabbids are portrayed as moronic and easily amused. While they often see Rayman as their enemy, they tend to attack each other as well. They are also very gullible and often get tricked into getting abused (for example, in Bunnies Like Surprises), though often they try to trick Rayman themselves, as well as abuse other animals, namely pigs, sheep, cows and Baby Globoxes - they also abuse humans in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 and Rabbids Go Home. They also don't understand how many of the objects they encounter work and often behave very immaturely (for example, burping, throwing things at others, and babbling loudly when asked to keep quiet). One of the Rabbids' favourite passtimes is dancing, and many can barely resist the sound of music - namely in Rayman Raving Rabbids, turning on a radio in the Bunny Hunts will distract some of them to Rayman's advantage.
They also share some traits of real rabbits, such as eating carrots and burrowing.
Speech
Typically, the Rabbids do not speak anything decipherable at all, and mostly communicate by screaming at the top of their voices. However, a few may have learned to "sing" in English, as throughout the games (Rabbids Go Home may be an exception), they dance to songs that have been vocally pitched to sound as if they sung them. The novelty single Making Fun (Of Everyday Life) also suggests this.
Diet
While Rabbids tend to enjoy carrots, a stereotypical trait among fictional rabbits, they are also known to practically eat anything, including things that are not food, such as sardine cans. Carrot juice however seems to have a sedating effect on them, as the minigame Bunnies Are Addicted To Carrot Juice seems to suggest.
Homes
The Rabbids tend to change homes from time to time. In Rayman Raving Rabbids, the Rabbids lived in a colosseum to capture citizens of The Glade of Dreams. In Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, they chose to live in a shopping mall to invade Planet Earth. They later chose TV stations in Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party to ruin Earth's television network. Next, they lived in a junkyard in Rabbids Go Home, to make a pile to the Moon. In Raving Rabbids Travel In Time, they lived in a history museum to take over important parts of history.
Videogame Appearances
Rayman Raving Rabbids
In Rayman Raving Rabbids, the Rabbids suddenly start capturing the Baby Globoxes that accompany Rayman during a picnic one day, and then ambush him and take him away to their Colosseum, where they force him to perform several daily trials for their entertainment. At the end of each successful day, they reward Rayman with a plunger, which he uses to help himself escape. As the game ends, Rayman climbs out of the cell and escapes from the Rabbids. When he walks toward the old picnic mat, he remembers the Baby Globoxes. He tries to go through the holes the babies were sucked into, but gets stuck.
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
In Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, the Rabbids now have a new target - Planet Earth. They spend a lot of time trying to study human traits, until their base - a shopping mall - is infiltrated by Rayman who chooses to behave the same way as them when they grow suspicious on his makeshift Rabbid costume. Oddly enough, they grow accustomed to his presence, despite not actually wearing the costume after the introduction scene. As the game does not have an ending video, it is not known what happened to Rayman. It is likely the Rabbids found out that Rayman was not one of their own, as several Rabbids take pictures of him when he is fighting the Rabbids in the shooting games.
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
In Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, the Rabbids continue to focus on harassing Rayman, forcing him to take refuge in a cabin. A bolt of lightning strikes them outside, and transfers them into the television set inside. Unsure about how to get out, they use it to constantly annoy not only Rayman but also some neighbouring animals. The Rabbids take over a TV station, and possibly others, and changes Rayman's, and others, television shows. Rayman tries various schemes to get them out. At the end of the game, as Rayman gets enraged of the Rabbids, throws his shoe at the television set. The group of Rabbids inside breaks out and chases Rayman out of his house. One Rabbid stays inside the house and makes it his own home.
Rabbids Go Home
Still on Planet Earth, the Rabbids no longer wish to harass Rayman in Rabbids Go Home, and as the title suggests, they want to go home, but they don't know where they actually come from. They become attracted to the moon, and therefore make an attempt to reach it by collecting piles upon piles of human things with a shopping trolley. As the game ends, the humans track down the Rabbids and launch bombs onto their pile to the moon. With the Rabbids on the pile, they launch into space, heading towards the moon. As the humans cheer for their "supposed death", they are attacked by falling objects from the Rabbid's pile. The Rabbids successfully reach the moon, their pile of objects forming a ring around the moon.
Rabbids Go Phone
In Rabbids Go Phone, a Rabbid appears to be in your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can interact with him, such as shaking the phone, squeezing him, and other ways. This title does not have any bearings on the Rabbids series.
Academy of Champions
Rabbids appear as playable characters in the 2009 soccer game Academy of Champions. There is an entire team of them, as well as a single Rabbid that runs the item shop. This game does not have any bearings on the events in the Rabbids series.
Raving Rabbids Travel In Time
Still on Earth, a Rabbid discovers a modified washing machine used to travel in time. He travels through time and goes to a history museum. With the time machine damaged from traveling through time, he and a group of other Rabbids, with nothing to do, use the damaged machine to travel in time and ruin important parts of human history. They access the events from paintings of that event. As they ruin time, they make time paradoxes. The actions successfully fix the time machine. At the end of the game, the main Rabbid travels into time to a warehouse full of giant robots. He finds Professor Barranco the III, ( descendant of Professor Barranco the II from Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.)drilling Rabbids on how to use time machines to take control of human history. The main Rabbid pulls a plug on one of the time machines, causing all the machines and himself to disappear. This causes the Rabbid to travel in time the events in the game intro, which makes him come back to the history museum.
Merchandise
Several Raving Rabbids products have been made and sold in the past three years, and include the following.
- A set of 4 figurines, consisting of a normal Rabbid, a screaming one, one dressed as Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell, and one dressed as Altair from Assassin's Creed. Many more figurines had been produced, most of which are based on Rabbids Go Home.
- Another set of figurines were available at least in the United Kingdom, where they were given as free gifts for every purchase of Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Wii. [1]
- In many countries across Europe, a collection of 30 small Rabbids figurines are available, called "Rabbids Invade the World" and each Rabbid follows a certain geographical stereotype.
- Also a collection of 30 Rabbids figurines called "Rabbids invade the sports" in which each Rabbid play a particular sport is available in many countries of Europe.
- Another Rabbids collection of 9 figurines called "Rabbids invade football" is available in many countries in Europe. Each Rabbid represent a football player from an international team or a referee or an ultras.
- In France and Germany, a CD single was released in 2007 to coincide with the release of Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, called Making Fun (Of Everyday Life).
- Several plush dolls, phone straps and the like can be found on auction sites such as eBay, mainly originating from Australia and Hong Kong, but whether or not they are official is currently unknown.
- An official Ubi Art bag.
- In Germany, a calender for 2010 is available courtesy of Panini.
- Other official merchandise, such as T-shirts, was given as prizes in Ubisoft competitions.
Cameos
- A picture of a Rabbid can be seen on a purchasable cot as a cameo in the Nintendo DS game Imagine: Babies, which was developed by Visual Impact Productions, the developing studio behind the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman Raving Rabbids. The game was also published by Ubisoft.
- Three Rabbids - two of which dress as a ninja and Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell - are playable characters in the Ubisoft title, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up!.