The Adventures of the American Rabbit
1986 animated film directed by Fred Wolf and Nobutaka Nishizawa
The Adventures of the American Rabbit (released in the UK as simply The American Rabbit) is a 1986 animated film directed by Fred Wolf and Nobutaka Nishizawa. It was released by Clubhouse Pictures.
Plot
The story begins just after the birth of Robert Rabbit (Barry Gordon). As his parents and friends welcome him into the world, a mysterious old rabbit who walks with a cane greets young Rob and disappears. The old rabbit shows up a few more times throughout Rob's childhood, always disappearing after making comments or inquiries about his talents and attitude. One day, when Rob's parents become endangered by a falling boulder, he sprints toward them and changes into a striped and star-spangled superhero on golden rollerskates. The old rabbit reappears and tells Rob that he is the American Rabbit, capable of changing into superhero form when he sprints and changing back to normal when he says his own name.
After his hometown turns out to be in a pocket dimension to which he can never return, Rob decides to try to keep his superpowers a secret and moves to the city. He finds a job as a piano player at the Panda Monium, a nightclub run by a panda named Teddy and a female rabbit named Bunny O'Hare. The club is harassed by a gang of jackals who run a Mafia-style protection racket.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Adventures of the American Rabbit” as 1986 animated film directed by Fred Wolf and Nobutaka Nishizawa. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1986 animated film directed by Fred Wolf and Nobutaka Nishizawa. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7712685. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1986.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Adventures of the American Rabbit”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Adventures of the American Rabbit primary sources, The Adventures of the American Rabbit archive and Adventures research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Adventures of the American Rabbit”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Adventures of the American Rabbit” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.