Rabbids, usually called "Bunnies", are recurring characters in the Rayman franchise. They are a race of highly intelligent, yet incredibly insane alien rabbits who desire to conquer Rayman's world. Although usually appearing as enemies to Rayman, in other appearances, they appear as the protagonists.
History
Rayman 4
In the trailers initially released for a Rayman 4 game-in-making, the Rabbids are shown as a much more intimidating force. They have a more feral look and are shown with giant robotic Rabbids that fire lasers from their eyes. As the idea for Rayman 4 waned, the Rabbids gained more of the comical appearance and mannerisms that they are known for.
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
In Rayman: Raving Rabbids, they began appearing out of the ground en masse and quickly took over Rayman's world, kidnapping him and the Baby Globoxes. They forced Rayman to compete in various gladiatorial events (namely odd minigames), and rewarded him only with plungers. Rayman eventually used all the plungers he got from them to build a ladder to freedom, but after escaping realized the Rabbids still had the baby Globoxes and he would no longer be around to protect them from the games they made him go through, so he turned around and jumped into one of the Rabbid hole to go back for them, only to get his foot stuck in it. Later games seem to only be focused on the Rabbids rather than Rayman for some reason, resolving around the minigames.
Other Appearances
In followup games, the Rabbids became significantly less of a threat as their goofy demeanor took over, making them all the more laughable. However, there is still something of a villainous side to them as these followup games sometimes centered around their attempted invasions of Earth. During these invasions, the Rabbids become malefactors in harassing people, stealing what they want, and just otherwise wreaking havoc.
This is most notable in their game Rabbids Go Home wherein the Rabbids plot to go to the moon via a tall pile of objects. They collect these objects by stealing items and clothing from people they come across. Unfortunately, they also kidnap unlucky people and animals in the process, such as the woman trapped in the car they steal to serve as the base of their pile. They arguably cross the Moral Event Horizon when they repeatedly abduct a terminally ill patient to use as part of their pile, the last time from his own wedding they crash in order to personally abduct him once more.
Rabbids Invasion
They also appear in the Nick series Rabbids Invasion where they appear as the main protagonists. Throughout the series, they cause mayhem which usually causes them to drive people insane and sometimes turn on each other. Usually only four Rabbids are seen at a time in the series, though, in the episode "Rabbid, Are You There?", only three Rabbids are seen. From there, the number of Rabbids has been known to range from 3 to 12 in an episode.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
In the upcoming crossover with the Super Mario Bros. franchise, the Rabbids mysteriously end up in the Mario universe and begin causing havoc, forcing Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Yoshi to team up with Rabbid versions of themselves to defeat them. The Rabbids also gain a new member (nicknamed Spawny by Bowser Jr.) who can fuse a Rabbid with anything near it when stressed or afraid, most notably enemies from the Mario universe.
Characteristics
They are said not to be able to properly perform tasks like phoning, playing football and cooking eggs, but they certainly try. However, the one thing they are certanly good at is dancing, as seen in the adverts for the first game. They are also the frequent victim of abuse, which has increased over the years due to the Rabbids' continued minigames and fan response. Nevertheless, the Rabbids themselves can be quite sadistic at times, even towards each other, although their lack of intelligence often makes them oblivious to things.
The Rabbids' eyes are normally blue when they are in a normal mood, but turn red when they go berserk. In the TV show, a few of them have one blue eye and one red. Generally, this is accompanied by the Rabbid pulling out an item (usually a plunger) and screaming "DAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!".
Trivia
- Until the release of Rayman Origins, the Rabbids overshadowed Rayman in popularity and became the stars of their own spin-offs, something heavily disliked by most Rayman fans.
External Links
- Rabbidsin Heroes wiki.