Bunny and the Bull
The cardboard backgrounds are a reference to the "Paddington Bear" (1976) animations. Director Paul King later directed the live action adaptation of Paddington (2014).,Ripon racetrack is a flat course, not hurdles as depicted in the film.,Javier: Much has been written about the art of bullfighting, but I can sum it up in one sentence: get out of the way of the bull, you idiot! Otherwise he will rip open your anus like it was a cheap velcro wallet.,Featured in Live from Studio Five: Episode #1.57 (2009),Attics
Composed by Olly Ralfe (as Oliver Ralfe) and Andrew Mitchell
Performed by Ralfe Band
Published by Domino Publishing Co. LTD. (PRS)
P+C Loose Music under exclusive license from Ralfe Band,As a fan of The Mighty Boosh, I'm surprised that it took me so long to get around to watching this film; my girlfriend hating the Boosh probably was part of it but either way I finally got to seeing it recently. The film is a story of a young man who is a recluse and has not left the house in over a year and seems unable to do so in the near future. Closed into a carefully organised prison of his own making, he remembers the last time he left the house – an European road trip with his friend Bunny which involved a Polish tramp, a Spanish bullfighter, a feisty waitress and a massive stuffed bear.

The connection to Boosh is apparent not only in the writer/director and small roles for Fielding and Barratt but just in the construct of the film from the very start. It has a certain oddness to the telling and it makes for a surreal story even though it is a simple one if you wrote it down in bullet points. The whole thing is delivered in this semi-real world where animation means reality – and I don't mean in a "Cool World" sort of way but rather in a beautifully seamless way of backgrounds, of little flourishes and generally the design of everything – all having the effect of bringing reality and memory together so that objects often have significance within the presentation. I loved this aspect of the film and it constantly enchanted me with how creative it was. Sadly the overall story didn't quite match up to this and I didn't find myself quite as charmed or tickled by the main thrust of the film – it is OK, but never hilarious nor as clever as I had hoped.

This noticeably changes when Fielding and Barratt have their turns in the film. Fielding is fun as the bullfighter, but it is Barratt who really steals the film with his character – a character that is repulsive but yet funny, terrifying but quite enigmatic; he is very funny indeed. Hogg in the lead is a little bit weak but is rather blank slate approach does work. In regards Farnaby I had doubts and continue to have them. He works when the material helps him, but at times he is a bit too basic and lacking in the presence and character that the Boosh duo brought to their roles – OK they had the laughs to help them, but still, Farnaby doesn't totally work for me in this casting. I really liked the spirit and accent of Echegui and I also appreciated seeing Ayoade in a small role.

Bunny and the Bull is definitely worth a look if you love the Boosh, because the humour is very much in that ilk and the semi-animated world is really well constructed and delivered. It isn't as brilliant as I had hoped though and I wish it had been funnier and smarter in the latter stages, but it is wonderfully surreal throughout and I enjoyed it quite a lot on that basis.,