Trailer
Cast
Sophie Bolen ... Julia Haggen
Madeline Vail ... Patti Cooper
Colby French ... Scott Cooper
Derek Brandon ... Billy Cooper
Florence Henderson ... Betsy Ross
Plot
Julia is a young girl that has a inconsistent life with her mother (who seems to have been a whore) and has been put into the foster system. She wants to find a home, preferrably with her mother but that doesn't seem to work out very well. She ends up with the Cooper family (Patti and her husband Scott, and their son Billy). When they are at a Christmas reunion with Scott's family, Billy and his cousin get BB guns and go out to shoot at some cans. Of course, they run out of cans and start going after live stuff. A bunny is hit and Julia automatically says (without words, since she won't really talk) that she wants to take care of it.
They take the bunny to a vet who doesn't know much about rabbits and sends them to Betsy Ross. Mrs. Ross has a bunny farm from all the people that abandon their pets and those that just don't know how to take care of them. Mrs. Ross says that she will take care of Rumple (the bunny) until he is better and then maybe, if Julia gets some training, she can take the bunny back.
Mrs. Ross and Julia start working together to take care of the rabbits at the farm as Julia learns how to take care of rabbits. Julia seems to have learned about how to take care of them but her life with the Cooper family still is not well. Billy and his cousin decide to pick up Rumple and put him on a slide that could seriously hurt if not kill him. Julia, still not talking, decides to protect the bunny by any means necessary [which means she bit Billy]. Mr. Cooper says to his wife that Julia and the rabbit are both too big of a hassle. Maybe the two of them should both leave.
How can Julia and Rumple find a permanent home? Can the Cooper family accept her or must she move on?
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.
{Warning: I am passionate about rabbits so you are going to get a lot of stuff from me on this one.}
4/5 - The main thing that I knock down is the way that Mrs. Ross (the "expert" on rabbits) picks up the rabbits. You are NOT supposed to pick them up by the scruff of the neck like you do a cat: 0:41 seconds on the video. That can actually hurt them! Um, seriously, if you are going to be the expert, you should know this!
Aside that, this movie is very good about taking care of rabbits. Yes, they do eat their cecotropes. A movie mistake: It isn't poop. It is a nutritious undigested part of their food that they have to eat to stay healthy. Per San Diego Rabbit Society:
Cecal pellets (aka cecotropes) are a special food made by bunny, just for bunny. They are partially digested foods that are passed from the bunny and then reingested. You may not see bunny do this, but when she appears to be bathing her belly and she comes up chewing, she's probably just taken up a cecal pellet. It is from these cecal pellets that a rabbit gets the majority of her nutrition, not from the first passage of food through the gut.
Unlike most other mammals, rabbits produce two types of droppings, fecal pellets (the round, dry ones you usually see in the litterbox) and cecotropes. The latter are produced in a portion of the rabbit's digestive tract called the cecum. The cecum contains a wild brew of bacteria and fungi that are normal and beneficial for the rabbit. In fact, the rabbit cannot live without them, since the cecal flora produces essential nutrients (e.g., fatty acids and vitamins) that the rabbit cannot produce on her own.
How does the rabbit get those vitamins? She eats the cecotropes as they exit the anus. Sound disgusting? Not for a rabbit. When she's enjoying her favorite, home-made snack, she'll tell you how delightful it is with that blissful, soft-eyed face and butt-twitch that signals all is well with the world.
Cecotropes are not feces. They are nutrient-packed dietary items essential to your rabbit's good health. A rabbit usually produces cecotropes at a characteristic time of the day, which may vary from rabbit to rabbit. Some produce cecotropes in the late morning, some in the late afternoon, and some at night. In any case, they usually do this when you're not watching, which might be why some people refer to cecotropes as "night droppings."
Another thing that the movie stated properly is the fact that rabbit teeth are constantly growing. They need to gnaw. It is just part of their characteristics for the species. If they don't gnaw, their teeth can overgrow, which is really bad for their health (because then they can't eat or groom themselves). I'd show you but it really makes me sad to look at the photos... :'-(
The movie said right that they need hay to keep their systems working properly. They need the ruffage to keep the system going. If they don't have the hay, their system can get blocked. And if their system gets blocked, they can die within a day (unlike dogs or cats who slowly die over days).
Another movie said right is the fact that you should NEVER be giving (or allow) your rabbit sweets and bread products. A carrot or a thin slice of banana has more than sufficient sugar in it. You can give the rabbit diabetes or go into (roughly) sugar shock if they get that kind of stuff in their system. Like chocolate for a dog, sugars are not good for rabbits. [Honestly, I was surprised Rumple the bunny survived as long as he did.]
The last right fact that the movie said (that I will touch on) is the fact that rabbits are social animals. Yes, they are. They need attention. They may be picky about when/how the attention is given but they need to know that others are around. They are not like fish that you can just put in their "bed", feed it, give it water, and let it be. No, rabbits need socializing. There are so many skiddish rabbits out there because they have not been properly socialized. The Easter rabbit thought really doesn't help this out because stupid families go and buy a little bunny for their children {that don't know how to take care of it, nor do the parents}, don't interact with the rabbit properly and scare the critter to the point of Post Tramatic Syndrome, and then realize that the bunny won't stay small. Well, what are we to do with the bunny that became an adult rabbit who likes to chew on furniture and dig up the carpet? Most say "give it to a shelter" or "let it free" (which is WAY worse than giving it to even a no-kill shelter). Domesticated rabbits cannot fend for themselves. They are prey animals and will be killed or will die from lack of food. DO NOT let a domesticated/pet rabbit free, for the love of all things holy and good.
Anyways, that's my thing about rabbits. I love my buns and, though our buns (currently, on March 17, 2017, we only have one - Dobby) are the light of our lives, we warn others that rabbits are much harder to deal with than a cat or a dog. There is a lot at stake and a lot of work to do when you take in a rabbit. They are worth it, if you train them right and take care of them properly.
Regarding the movie, aside the whole "let's pick up the rabbit the WRONG way", this was a very good movie for families that are debating on bringing a rabbit into their house. And it is a good movie for those that are trying to find their own forever home. I highly recommend the movie for its themes but not for the fact that they pick up the rabbit wrong.
Oh, and there is a strong religious theme in this movie though they don't name with religion. It definitely feels Christian or Catholic. So there's that, for those that are worried. For those that are not worried, maybe it makes this movie even better for families.
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