10 rascally rabbit flicks in honor of Easter

Bunnies aren't just for Easter you know.

But the annual spring celebration traditionally focuses attention on the Easter bunny who hides eggs for little boys and girls to find.

So, in the spirit of the season, we offer 10 movies prominently featuring bunnies.

Not Playboy bunnies. Or the poor pet bunny that winds up as stew in the thriller "Fatal Attraction." Or Australia's "Rabbit Fence," which has no actual rabbit characters in it.

We have standards, you know. So here are 10 movies for your consideration. Most of them are fun. Some are not. And take note: The last few are definitely not for kids.

But all are very bunny.

<b>"Harvey" (1950)</b>

The greatest bunny movie ever. This classic comic fantasy tells the story of Jimmy Stewart's Elwood P. Dowd, a gentle soul whose best friend is Harvey, a 6-foot, 8-inch tall invisible rabbit. (At 6-foot, 4-inches, Stewart bumped up Harvey's original Broadway play height so he could look up at him.) Dowd's social-climbing sister attempts to have him committed. A sheer delight featuring one of Stewart's many definitive roles.

<b>"Bambi" (1942)</b>

The world's most lovable rabbit (that's actually visible) is Thumper, the childlike best buddy to Bambi the deer in one of Walt Disney's all-time greatest animated classics. Thumper (voiced by Peter Behn) practically steals the movie from its titular character.

Who could forget that great comic sequence when Thumper teaches an unsteady Bambi how to navigate on the ice? Of course, the movie's main claim to fame is the death of Bambi's mother by a hunter's bullet, an event that became the single most traumatizing moment in baby boomer movie history.

<b>"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)</b>

When Maroon Cartoons' superstar Roger Rabbit appears to have murdered his studio boss, Bob Hoskins' private detective Eddie Valiant sets out to crack the case. Another Hollywood family classic that brings together the greatest cartoon characters of the 20th century and mixes them with live-action footage to create a monumental work of entertainment and fun.

Especially when the alluring Jessica Rabbit (sex bomb Kathleen Turner) says to Eddie, "I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

<b>"Space Jam" (1996)</b>

Chicago sports legend Michael Jordan probably thought he was the star of this highly entertaining merger of cartoons and live-action footage. But we all know Bugs Bunny is the main event in this joyful, action-packed sports movie masquerading as a science-fiction thriller.

When bad guys kidnap major basketball stars to play an unfair game against Bugs' animated pals, the wascally wabbit taps his pal Michael Jordan to tip the scales - and basketball - in their favor.

To quote the immortal words of Bill Murray in the movie, "Go, Bulls!"

<b>"Hop" (2011)</b>

A cute but unremarkable mix of CGI and live action tells the story of how an aging Easter bunny (Hugh Laurie, using his natural British accent) wants his son (Russell Brand, using his natural rabbit-esque accent) to take over the family business, but he'd rather be a drummer in a rock 'n' roll band.

Adults might not appreciate the racist stereotypes and, depending on personal political persuasions, the story's blunt, anti-union message. But kids will enjoy the action and the characters.

<b>"Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005)</b>

It took five years, 44 pounds of glue per month, 30 miniature sets, 2.8 tons of moldable Plasticine and 1,000 baby wipes per week to make this witty, astonishing part-CGI, part-stop-motion animated comedy the directors called "the world's first vegetarian horror film."

Lovable Wallace (Peter Sallis) turns into a were-rabbit, wreaking havoc in the community just before the annual Giant Vegetable Competition. A wonderful family movie and winner of the Best Animated Feature Academy Award.

<b>"Watership Down" (1978)</b>

Yes, it may be an animated feature, but scenes of bloody violence and rough language make this movie not ideal viewing for younger children. The story, taken from Richard Adams' novel, is simple and direct: Rabbits leave their beloved warren after one of them has a vision they will be killed if they stay.

But finding a new safe home proves to be difficult as well in Martin Rosen's provocative and brave animated adventure. Featuring the voices of Zero Mostel, John Hurt, Sir Ralph Richardson and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" star Denholm Elliott.

<b>"Night of the Lepus" (1972)</b>

It's the "Plan 9 From Outer Space" of the rabbit world. Giant killer bunnies - the result of experiments designed to curb rabbit reproduction - menace an all-star cast of Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun and DeForest Kelley (in his last non-"Star Trek" film).

The marauding bunny scenes are hysterically cheesy. Actual rabbits were filmed in slow motion to make them scary. It didn't work. Neither did the guy in a bunny suit attacking shrieking victims.

"Lepus" (Latin students know that means "rabbit") is so benign, putting bunny ears on someone in a photograph might be scarier.

<b>"Donnie Darko" (2001)</b>

Talk about creepy! Richard Kelly's deservedly cult movie features a frightening, demonic rabbit, a tall anti-Harvey who pushes his teen human friend Jake Gyllenhaal into committing terrible crimes that he can't totally recall.

"Donnie Darko" comes in both a truncated, ambiguous theatrical version that won instant cult status, and a much longer director's cut that actually explains everything the theatrical version skips over. In both, Frank the bunny ranks as the single most disturbing portrait of a malevolent rabbit since the carnivorous killer bunny in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

<b>"Pulp Fiction" (1994)</b>

OK, there really is a bunny character in Quentin Tarantino's film noir thriller, hands down the best movie of 1994. Amanda Plummer plays Honey Bunny, a role written for her by Tarantino. She's with Pumpkin (Tim Roth) at the beginning and end of the movie, and it would not be a good thing to reveal too much because their scene depends on the element of surprise.

Honey Bunny, contrary to her name, is hardly a honey, or a lovable bunny, but a hard-nosed thug with anger issues. Perhaps I've said too much.