''The Adventures of Brer Rabbit'' is a 2006 American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

loosely inspired by the

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Br'er Rabbit Br'er Rabbit (an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Bahami ...

stories popularized by

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

. The film notably features an all-black cast, including

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...

as the titular character. It was described by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' as having hip-hop influences. It was nominated for the Best Home Entertainment Production Annie Award.

Plot

A girl named Janey is constantly pushed around by her siblings, Lester and Julie. She goes for a walk in the woods, only to happen upon an anthropomorphic rabbit named Brer Rabbit being chased by a fox named Brer Fox. Brer Rabbit soon tricks Brer Fox into getting trapped down a well before scurrying off. Janey is soon approached by Brer Turtle, who begins to tell her some of Brer Rabbit’s exploits. The movie then becomes a series of vignettes starring Brer Rabbit.

How the Animals Came to Earth

Brer Turtle explains that the animals once lived as constellations in outer space, watched over by Sister Moon. When Sister Moon catches a cold, she tasks Brer Rabbit to send a message to a human on Earth named Mr. Man that she will be going away for a while to recuperate through a series of metaphors. While Brer Rabbit manages to get the message across, he was confused and didn’t tell Mr. Man exactly how she said it, prompting Sister Moon to get upset and they have a spat that culminates in Brer Rabbit making holes in her. Because of this, Brer Rabbit decides to move to Earth and when he tells the other animals how good it is, they decide to move with him.

How Brer Rabbit Tricks Brer Fox Again and what came next

Brer Rabbit spends his days trying to avoid getting eaten by the predator animals (most notably Brer Fox and Brer Wolf) and constantly outwits them through a series of comical hijinks.

Brer Rabbit Tricks Brer Bear

When Brer Rabbit tries to pick some peanuts in Brer Fox’s property, he is promptly caught in a trap and hung from a tree. He notices Brer Bear coming along and dupes him into taking his place by saying that he is “earning a dollar and hour” by guarding the peanut bushes and they manage to switch before Brer Fox comes.

Sister Moon in the Pond

The animals have an annual fishing trip at night. Brer Rabbit is having no such luck, so he and Brer Turtle work together to distract the others by making them think Sister Moon is in the pond and scaring away the fishes so that they can steal their fish for themselves.

How Brer Rabbit breaks up the Party

Brer Turtle tells Janey that Brer Rabbit’s antics eventually caused the other animals to snub him from a party at Brer Fox’s house. Brer Rabbit soon gets an idea to retaliate by covering himself in mud, leaves and sticks and pretends to be a monster to scare away the animals, putting an abrupt end to the party. Satisfied with his payback at first, Brer Rabbit then sadly walks away to sulk in loneliness.

Brer Rabbit to the Rescue

Feeling sorry for Brer Rabbit, Brer Turtle attempts to get Brer Wolf to befriend him, but Brer Wolf rebuffs him and soon tries to eat him before Brer Rabbit saves him. After which, Brer Rabbit then begins to perform selfless acts for the other animals, causing him to be in their good graces, with the exception of Brer Fox.

How Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear Trick Brer Fox

When Brer Rabbit learns from Brer Fox that he is after some “big game” food to feed his relatives, he soon find out that he’s trying to capture Brer Bear. So the two of them manage to trick Brer Fox into catching the ferocious Brer Lion and Brer Fox is promptly beaten to a pulp. However, later that night, Brer Fox breaks down Brer Rabbit’s front door and captures him.

Brer Rabbit’s Laughing Place

Tied up to a pole to be roasted by Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit manages to convince him that creatures who eat “sad rabbits” don’t fare very well and tells Brer Fox that he can be happy if he goes to his “laughing place”. Brer Rabbit leads Brer Fox way across the forest to an old tree where he tricks Brer Fox into causing a bee-hive to fall on his head, prompting the Fox to run away, leaving Brer Rabbit tied up on the pole.

Brer Wolf Gets in Trouble

Brer Wolf finds Brer Rabbit tied to the pole but before he eats him, Brer Rabbit fools Brer Wolf into going into a log by saying that there’s buried treasure within it. Brer Rabbit pushes the log off a cliff it was hanging over and into a pond where he meets Brer Fox and they soon find out that Brer Rabbit tricked them both again.

Brer Rabbit and The Briar Patch

Brer Fox and Brer Wolf resolve to get revenge on the rabbit by making a baby out of tar. When Brer Rabbit happens upon it he gets trapped in it, and Brer Fox and Brer Wolf appear to ponder on how to get rid of Brer Rabbit. The rabbit sees a briar patch and gets an idea to use reverse psychology to make them throw him in there. They do so, and Brer Rabbit gets free and tricks them into jumping into the patch themselves. Back in the present, Brer Fox happens upon Brer Turtle and Janey and asks where Brer Rabbit went. Brer Turtle points him in the wrong direction. After Brer Fox leaves, Brer Rabbit arrives and Janey asks how he is able to trick the other animals, to which Brer Rabbit responds “just give them what they think they want”. Janet’s mother than calls her for dinner and she says goodbye to the animals.

How Janey Tricks Lester

In the final vignette, Janey takes what Brer Rabbit said to heart and dupes Lester into wanting their mom’s dinner, which is tuna casserole, much to his dismay. Brer Rabbit and Turtle see this and are impressed before they have a race to go back to the woods. Brer Rabbit is then caught in another trap. The movies ends by showing Sister Moon in outer space watching over the rabbit with a smile before winking at the audience.

Voice cast

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

as Brer Wolf *

Brer Rabbit Br'er Rabbit (an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Baham ...

* Danny Glover as Brer Turtle * D. L. Hughley as Brer Fox *

Phil LaMarr Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include J ...

as Brer Gator *

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on '' The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertai ...

as Sister Moon *

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He voiced the character of Uncle Ruckus on '' The Boondocks'', and a number of video game characters. He also appeared on the television series '' Weeds'' ...

as Brer Bear *

Debra Wilson Debra Wilson, also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton, is an American actress and comedian. She is known for being the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series '' Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's fir ...

as Sister Buzzard * Monica Allison as Julie *

Rhyon Nicole Brown Rhyon Nicole Brown (; born October 6, 1992) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Career She made her film debut in ''Santa & Pete'' (1999) And has since appeared in various television shows. Brown has had recurring roles on shows such as ...

as Janey *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in '' The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003). E ...

as Mr. Man *

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

as Mom *Quinton Madin as Lester *Daniel Christopher Paige as Brer Crow/Brer Lion/Brer Skunk/Brer Elephant *Deborah Speck as Momma Mouse *Michael Ferdie as Ninja #1 *

Jeff Kushner Jeff Kushner (born May 4, 1965) is a Film Editor, Supervising Sound Editor and educator who has worked in various post production positions since 1987. He also taught film history and sound design at the Los Angeles Film School between 2005 and 2 ...

as Ninja #2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Brer Rabbit, The 2006 animated films 2006 films 2006 direct-to-video films Universal Pictures direct-to-video animated films American children's animated comedy films Universal Animation Studios animated films Universal Pictures direct-to-video films 2000s musical comedy films American folklore films and television series Films scored by Stephen James Taylor 2000s American animated films African-American animated films 2006 comedy films Br'er Rabbit 2000s English-language films