Those of you who remember watching Pinwheel
will probably remember the charming Hungarian animated children's series “Bunny in The Suitcase”
or “A kockásfülű nyúl,”
which, in English translates to "The Rabbit with Checkered Ears".
This 26-episode
animated classic was first produced in 1978 in the studios of PannóniaFilm and was created
by the acclaimed children's literature writer and graphic artist Veronika Marék
and animator Zsolt Richly.
The series originally ran every Saturday in
the children's programming section of the Hungarian television channel, Magyar
Televízió. Episodes were generally about one minute long and consisted of
simple stories in which the rabbit with checkered ears helped one or more of
the series' other main characters. Other characters included four children, a dark-haired
girl named Kriszta, a red-haired boy named Menyus, a blond toddler boy named Kistöfi
and a big bully named Mozdony.
Since the episodes didn’t have spoken dialogue
there was no need for dubbing and made the storylines very comprehensible and adaptable
in various countries. This helped later with the series being syndicated, first
in the countries around Hungary, and then in nearly ninety other countries
around the world. It also became somewhat sought after in the U.S., where it is
often described as the "bunny in a suitcase" and recalled from its
frequent broadcasts on the Pinwheel cable program which appeared on the
original Nickelodeon channel.
At the time of the original series,
merchandising was an unknown term in Hungary, but with the return of the series
the rabbit can now be found on school accessories, pillows as well as in the
form of plush toys.
The series saw the release of two DVD sets of the series in Hungary, 2002 and 2003, each holding 13 of the 26 episodes.
References (from Wikipedia)
Website of Veronika Marék on the premise of
the series (in Hungarian)
Interview with Veronika Marék about the
creation and legacy of the series (in Hungarian)
Episodes (from Wikipedia)
Kriszta Születésnapja (Krisztina's Birthday)
Menyus És A Hóember (Menyus And The Snowman)
Kistöfi Az Állatkertben (Kistöfi At The Zoo)
Kriszta A Majálison (Krisztina At The Picnic)
Menyus És A Sportsverseny (Menyus And The
Sports Competition)
Kriszta, Az Indián (Krisztina, The Indian)
Kriszta És A Jelmezbál (Krisztina And The
Costume)
Kistöfi A Tóparton (Kistöfi At The Lake)
Menyus És A Rajzverseny (Menyus And The
Drawing Competition)
Kistöfi A Hegyekben (Kistöfi In The Mountains)
Kriszta A Játszótéren (Krisztina On The
Playground)
Kriszta Eltéved (Krisztina Gets Lost) This Is
An Error; It's Actually Kistöfi Who Gets Lost
Menyus Meg A Foxi (Menyus And The Fox
[Terrier])
Tulipánok A Téren (Tulips [In The] Field)
A Fényképezőgép (The Camera)
Az Erőművész (The Artist's Power)
A Kölcsönkért Babakocsi (The Borrowed
Stroller)
Kutyasétáltatás (Dog Walking)
A Cirkusz (The Circus)
A Repülő Térkép (The Airport Map)
Süt A Nap (The Sun Is Shining)
A Csodakocsi (The Wonder Car)
Az Elveszett Papagáj (The Lost Parrot)
Kié A Ház? (Whose House Is This?)
Zenedélután (Afternoon Music)
A Nagy Bújócska (A Great Hide And Seek)
