Master Thespian Bunzo The Bunny Deserves An Oscar

Nobody talks about The Artist’s adorable pup Uggie anymore.

Rin Tin Tin may have earned $6,000 a week in the 1920s, but he’s officially old news. Don’t even get us started on Crystal the Capuchin. We're over it.

None of those animal actors hold a candle to Bunzo, the scene-stealing rabbit from festival favourite Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.

Apologies to Oscar-nominated star – and human – Rinko Kikuchi; that bunny is just impossible to tear your eyes away from. You will be alarmed how moved you are by its expressionless eyes and twitching nose.

In Kumiko, Bunzo acts as the only friend of the haunted title character, who eventually leaves behind Tokyo to seek a lost treasure in America, which she learns about from a scratchy old VHS tape. That the VHS tape is of the movie Fargo and the loot she’s looking for is fictional gives this black comedy its truly tragic edge.

Ahead of the film’s release in cinemas, TimeOut has documented in detail Bunzo’s ascent to stardom.

Originally hired by directors David and Nathan Zellner following an open casting call in 2012, today, the #TeamBunzo hashtag (as feverishly tweeted by some of the earliest moviegoers) has been taken onboard as the picture’s official tagline.

However, Bunzo isn’t looking for an ongoing career on celluloid. According to the Zellners, Bunzo has retired “to a farm in rural Minnesota.”

We really hope that isn’t code for something else.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter arrives in VIC, NSW, QLD, SA, ACT and TAS cinemas April 30. Win tickets to an opening day screening with Student Edge here.