The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real is a children's novel written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson. The story revolves around a stuffed rabbit's journey to become "Real" through his owner’s love. The book was first published in 1922 and has been republished many times since.
The Velveteen Rabbit was Williams' first children's book and it was the most popular of all her children's books. It has been awarded the IRA/CBC Children's Choice award.
The Velveteen Rabbit was adapted into a video recording in 1985 by Random House Video; narrated by Meryl Streep, with music by George Winston. It received a Parents' Choice Award for Multimedia and was a Grammy award nominee. Also released in 1985 were two different animated adaptations made around the same time. The first was produced in Canada by Atkinson Film-Arts and narrated by Christopher Plummer, while the second was produced by Hanna-Barbera's Australia unit and premiered as a ABC Weekend Special. In 1976 it was very loosely adapted into the Rankin/Bass Productions Holiday Special, The First Easter Rabbit, in which the rabbit goes on to become the Easter Bunny after becoming real. In 1984 it was part of the "Enchanted Musical Playhouse" series, where Marie Osmond played the part of the Velveteen Rabbit. In 2003 it was also adapted into a clay-animated film by Xyzoo Animation. In 2004, a Japanese adaptation in the form of audiobook + vocal album is released by Noriko Ogawa and Yuki Kajiura
note In 2009 it was adapted into a Human-Focused Adaptation film, and in 2023, it was adapted into a special for Apple TV+. Both of these last two adaptations combined live action with animation.
The Velveteen Rabbit has examples of:
- All of the Other Reindeer: The Boy's "modern" mechanical toys snub the Rabbit for being only a stuffed animal. Until he becomes's the Boy's favorite toy, his only friend is the Skin Horse.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: The Boy's parents are never seen or mentioned, only Nana, his nanny. Some adaptations address this issue and make it a part of why the Boy so needs the Rabbit to love: for example, the 2009 film gives him a dead mother and a When You Coming Home, Dad? father.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Several adaptations add some trouble in the Boy's personal life to explain why he becomes so attached to the Rabbit. The 2009 film gives him the above-mentioned Missing Mom and When You Coming Home, Dad? father, the 1986 stage musical adaptation gives him an Aloof Big Brother, and in the 2023 film he's just moved to the country and is too shy to make new friends. These problems are usually solved by the end, which explains why the Boy doesn't need the Rabbit anymore.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Rabbit becomes a Real rabbit in the end, but is separated from the Boy, who is left thinking the Rabbit was burned with the rest of his toys. The 2009 movie makes this a tad happier by making Toby aware that the rabbit became Real, but they still end up separated. Averted in The First Easter Rabbit, where Stuffy becomes a talking, human-like Easter Bunny instead of a wild rabbit and happily reunites with Glinda.
- A Boy and His X: A boy and his stuffed rabbit.
- Bunnies for Cuteness: The main character is a toy bunny much adored by its owner.
- Capital Letters Are Magic: "Real" is always capitalized.
- Companion Cube: The Velveteen Rabbit is this to the Boy before it becomes Real.
- Did I Mention It's Christmas?: The book opens with the Boy receiving the Rabbit as a Christmas present, but otherwise the holiday has no bearing on the plot. Some stage adaptations and at least one Animated Adaptation change the beginning to the Boy's birthday to avoid pigeonholing the piece as a Christmas story.
- Either/Or Title: The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real. The second half of the title is rarely remembered.
- The Fair Folk: A fairy (very much the magic-wand-and-sparkles kind) shows up at the end to make the Rabbit Real.
- Gender Lift: Some stage and screen adaptations/sequels make the Boy a girl named "Andrea" or "Glinda". The CBS Storybreak version gave the (male) Skin Horse a warm, motherly woman's voice.
- Healthy Country Air: The boy is taken out to the seaside to aid his recovery after his bout with scarlet fever.
- Kill It with Fire: A doctor orders everything the Boy touched while he was sick with scarlet fever, including the Rabbit, burned after he recovers to prevent the then-dangerous disease from spreading.
- Living Toys: The toys can talk to each other, and to animals, but aren't able to move around by themselves unless they become Real.
- Love Imbues Life: Played with. According to the Skin Horse, a child's love can make a toy Real. As it turns out, this is Metaphorically True: the Rabbit stays a stuffed animal, but he becomes Real "to the Boy." In the end, a fairy's magic is what makes him a literal flesh-and-blood rabbit. Still, the reason why the fairy comes is because she takes care of all toys that children have loved.
- The 2023 film adds a twist: it's not being loved that will make the Rabbit turn Real, but the Rabbit's own unconditional love for William (the Boy). He proves it by choosing to comfort William in his bed while he's sick, even though he knows it means he'll be burned afterwards.
- Nameless Narrative: The Boy, the Rabbit, and the Skin Horse are not otherwise named in the book.
- No Name Given: In the book, the central human is just "the Boy." Averted in the 2009 movie, which names him Toby, in the 2023 movie, which names him William, and in The First Easter Rabbit, which gender flips him into a girl named Glinda. Also averted in some stage adaptations. The musical version licensed by Music Theatre International names him Steve, while another version names him Andrew, with the playwright giving the option to gender flip him into a girl named Andrea.
- Sentimental Shabbiness: Shabbiness is described as a key part of becoming "real" and "reality" is caused by love.
- Sliding Scale of Living Toys: Level 0 at the beginning, level 6 at the end.
- Sick Episode: Late in the story, the Boy becomes seriously ill with scarlet fever. He recovers, but all the toys he played with in bed need to be burned to keep the disease from spreading, including the Rabbit.
- Swiss-Army Tears: Near the end, the Rabbit is Real enough to shed a tear, which summons the fairy who makes him fully Real.
- Talking Animal: Animals can talk to each other and to toys, but not to humans.
- Tears from a Stone: The abandoned rabbit sheds a Real tear when he is thrown out to be burned.
- Tragic Abandoned Toy: The titular plush rabbit is thrown out because he was with his owner when the latter was stricken with scarlet fever. He is clearly distraught about being separated from his owner and sheds a Single Tear. He cheers up, however, when a fairy turns him "real" rather than stuffed, and he later comes across his owner (though the latter isn't aware that this is the plush toy he used to have).
