Letters to the Editor
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A serious message to whoever makes these rabbit videos (and to the editors who post them)
I am not trying to be mean or imperious, but I think you are wasting effort here. The rabbit videos are not funny. I think if you took a poll of Salon "Video Dog" viewers, you would find that my opinion is shared by the majority. (I notice these videos get few comments, probably because most people can't be troubled to watch them all the way through.)
Here's what's wrong with the rabbit videos:
(1) The high-pitched voices are hard to understand. Even though they're most legible, they take a little aural interpretation. By the time the words have sunk in, whatever effect the punchlines might have has been muted. The high pitch also lessens whatever emotional/personality emphasis the actor has used.
(2) High-pitched voices for animals is not an inherently funny idea -- quite the contrary. In the 1950s or early '60s, David Seville first used the high-pitched technique (recording slowly while speaking slowly) in the song "Witch Doctor." Then he adapted that technique to make big bucks with Alvin & the Chipmunks, a series of novelty records that included Christmas tunes and finally petered out with the LP "Chipmunk Punk" in the early 1980s. It was only marginally funny then, aimed at an audience of children. What makes the creators of these videos think it's funny now, aimed at online adults?
(3) The writing isn't very funny. In this episode, a buxom brunette talks about something, and then the rabbits discuss the Pussycat Dolls. I admit I didn't pay much attention because of the diminishing returns of doing so, but the scraps I heard just weren't very interesting or funny. This particular video is also undermined by the distraction of the attractive woman's big blue breasts. Here's a rule: if you put a woman with big, prominent breasts in scene after scene after scene, you can be sure they will upstage any humor that might be floating around.
Whoever makes these videos seems very technically skillful. They seem to have time to sit down, write a script, hire actors (or convince friends to act), etc. I don't know the process that gets things chosen for Video Dog, but it's strange to me that this series has been chosen to be displayed to Salon readers; are they made by a Video Dog producer?
Anyway, not that you asked, but my recommendation is to nix the rabbits and just try to make individualized funny videos. Actually try to make them humorous and satirical on their own merit, not by using a repetitive gimmick. I think you could pull it off if you tried.
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perhaps the rabbits are an acquired taste
Initially, I didn't bother watching them because yes, they are on the longer side and frankly, I was somewhat baffled by them. I didn't think they were very amusing... just weird and a bit non-linear, from the one episode I tried to watch (didn't even make it all the way through). But at some point, I gave them another chance and that time, something seemed to click and I "got" them. Now I actually look forward to Rabbit Bites. I love the irreverence.
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Another Informative and Funny Video
Hey Buns and Chouchou,
Enjoyed another fun and insightful video. Missed you earlier in the week...glad to catch you today. Keep it coming.
Zskirt
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No killing the rabbits
When I first started watching the show, I just thought the bunnies were cute, and had silly sayings. Then I would watch one episode more than once. The more I watched each episode, the funnier they became. And I love the social commentary, it fits with everything else Salon puts up... critical of the culture we live in. I think that's a good reason for Salon to put it up. Kudos for Salon for recognizing a new medium for cultural critique!
The voice may be the "acquired" taste part.
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Hossenfeffer
German for "rabbit stew."
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Pussy cat dolls
I look forward every week to Bunz and Chou chou critiques of the world at large! You always give me a good laugh!
Please keep at up...So creative and fun what you have done with these cute little bunnies!
Susan
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Rabbit killer
Rabbit Killer has no sense of humor! Too serious ..Maybe you wouldn't know funny if it bite you on the ...#$@*.
I have shared more rabbit bites with friends and I love the reruns and have gone back there when I needed a good laugh. I love those little voices and the funny thngs they say. Rabbit Killer should just spread his misery around somewhere else. Maybe he can put his energy into the Drudge report, maybe he is Drudge. An enema could help you Rabbit Killer.. May take two.
Rabbit Bites Lover
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Oooohhhh!! The cute little bunnies!!!!!........GAG!
Are people having their 6th grade kids write these posts?
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Rabbit fan
"The rabbit videos are not funny."
Oh, I don't know, I found the one for Cheaters to be quite funny. This one was good, too, though not at the level of the Cheaters episode.
I didn't care for these at first, but they've grown on me over time. Initially, I had trouble understanding the rabbits, and they can be a bit on the grating side, so I can agree somewhat with your criticisms as per the voices. However, as I viewed more and more of these, I found I understood them better. Kind of like my experience with struggling to understand Meatwad on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I also feel that the episodes have been improving with each new one released.
At any rate, I like them, and hope that Video Dog will keep posting them. Particularly if they keep improving.
(...now if they could just get that hyperkinetic rabbity thing named Max to make a cameo.....)
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LOVE RABBITBITES
Oh "Biteme", surely someone beyond 6th grade can find cuteness in certain creatures. Why the bitterness?! Don't answer that. Us fans (6th grade and up) just want to let the world know what a treat Rabbit Bites is to us! Some of the dialogue may need improvement, but the humor has always been there if you dig deep (or if you're capable of digging deep.)
Love it Love it Love it!
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To Bite Me
Dear Bite Me,
So you don't see the humor in these "Cute liitle ole Bunnies". A couple of my favorite's were the Oxygen episode and Predator in the reruns. Some of them are good, some are ok and some of them are great. Well they obviously appeal to other people I have gotten forwarded Rabbit Bites from other Salon subscribers who also seem to find them entertaining. If you don't like them you don't have to watch them, no one is making you. Why torment yourself? Why do you keep going back to look at what they are doing with it? I think you just want something to complain about. I gather you are Rabbit Killer as well. Wonder why you react so strongly to this ... very curious indeed.