Lucky Rabbit's Foot

Taking "You make your own luck" literally.

"Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit."

— R.E. Shay

This trope refers to the association between rabbits and luck. A variety of cultures use the foot of a rabbit as a good luck charm. In some traditions, the rabbit from which the foot is obtained must have certain properties and be killed in a certain way. However, in other practices, just any old rabbit foot will do. (The former version does have the advantage of providing an answer to the point made in the page quote.)

The practice of using a lucky rabbit's foot is usually depicted as something that only applies to people owning the feet of dead rabbits. Sometimes humans attempting to obtain a lucky rabbit's foot may lead to a chase because the rabbit would prefer to keep his feet. If he's a Rascally Rabbit, then the human can be the unlucky one as the rabbit uses his trickery to defend himself.

More benign examples of this trope include a live rabbit that benefits from the luck of his own feet, or is able to give luck to people while still being alive.

Another superstition that associates rabbits and luck is that saying "Rabbit Rabbit" or "White Rabbits" at the beginning of the month will bring luck. It is also considered good luck for a rabbit to cross your path.

Subtrope of Good Luck Charm.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Familia Chronicle: Episode Lyu: Bell Cranel may not be an actual rabbit, or even a Hume Bunny, but people have called him a lucky rabbit on at least one occasion, such as when he was at a casino and had such a spectacular winning streak all onlookers were shocked. Syr even sought for his presence in a high-stakes gambling game to improve their odds of winning.
• Gunslinger Girl. Triela does hand-to-hand combat training with the GIS, who dub the cyborg Child Soldier Lepretto (roughly "bunny") after a child's doll that shares her Twin Tails. A year later on a mission she runs into those same GIS soldiers on a mission and they start rubbing her twin tails for luck, to her embarrassment.
• Shouta from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has worn a rabbit's foot on a necklace ever since he was a baby for good luck. He notes to Lucoa in their spin-off that wearing it while he's asleep causes him to have nightmares of being chased by vengeful three-legged rabbits.
• In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Goh's Rotom Phone Pokédex explains that the soles of Scorbunny, a Fire-type rabbit Pokémon, are believed to bring good luck.

Comic Books

• A very superstitious general in the Lucky Luke Spin-Off Rantanplan has this, of course. And then, Rantanplan eats it, thinking it was a snack.

Films — Animated

• Lucky Jack from Home on the Range is a jackrabbit with a pegleg and incredibly bad luck, implying that someone took one of his feet, and with it all his good luck.

Films — Live-Action

• Hollis P. Wood in 1941 (1979) has one. It is mistaken for a whistle on the Japanese submarine.

Live-Action TV

• Supernatural had an episode centered on a cursed rabbit's foot. If you touched it, as long as you had it in your possession, you had phenomenally good luck. As soon as you lost it, your luck would turn and soon you would die through sheer bad luck.
• Dennis the Menace had an episode called "The Lucky Rabbit's Foot." In it, Dennis has what he thinks is a lucky rabbit's foot. With the recent bad luck Mr. Wilson has been having, Dennis offers to let him borrow the foot. Mr. Wilson, however, doesn't believe in such superstition and doesn't take the foot. Immediately thereafter, his bad luck continues when something jams his lawnmower, and he runs over his garden hose with the mower.
• Gilligan's Island:
  • In one episode, the castaways found a robot, eventually programmed it with a rescue message, and sent it out. The robot's message was messed up by a rabbit's foot that Gilligan gave it for good luck.
  • In another episode, Gilligan's rabbit's foot is stolen by a Witch Doctor as the personal possession needed to curse him with a Voodoo Doll.
• The Twilight Zone (1959):
  • In "Nick of Time", Don Carter carries one with him at all times, as well as a Four-Leaf Clover.
  • In "The Jungle", Mr. Sinclair, the president of Alan Richards' company, wears a rabbit's foot on his watch chain. Richards uses this to point out that he is almost as superstitious as the Kekouyu.
• Inverted in Parks and Recreation. To help Andy for his police exam, April made him a good luck charm: a stuffed rabbit that she found dead at the side of the road, with its feet cut off, to bring him good luck.
  Andy: Baby, you are so creepy! Thank you, I love it.

Music

• The rabbit's foot is mentioned in the American folk song "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight", once popular in minstrel shows. One line goes: "And you've got a rabbit's foot / To keep away de hoo-doo."
• The cover to Rabbit Foot Blues, a blues song by Blind Lemon Jefferson, links the rabbit's foot tradition with the bones of the dead.
• Hooverville has an album called "Lucky Rabbit's Foot".

Newspaper Comics

• Non Sequitur had one strip with Kate gushing about the lucky rabbit's foot keychain she just acquired. Danae points out that if she got another one, she'd be twice as lucky. And that if she got two more, she'd be... almost as lucky as the rabbit.
• The PreHistory of The Far Side, a compilation/history of The Far Side, includes one of Gary Larson's earlier comics, which shows an inversion: a rabbit wearing a severed human foot on a chain around his neck, with the caption "I heard it was good luck."

Tabletop Games

• In Arkham Horror, Lucky Rabbit's Foot is a common item. You can exhaust it to get a +1 to a luck check.
• Basic Dungeons & Dragons supplement Book of Marvelous Magic. A magical Rabbit's Foot gave a +1 bonus to all saving throws. However, all herbivores seeing it took an instant dislike to the wearer (−2 reaction penalty).
• Shadowrun: One of the items in Dunkelzahn's will is his lucky prece's foot. Considering that preces are giant, magical, meat-eating rabbits, it is a rabbit's foot scaled up for a dragon.

Toys

• Referenced in the Gogo's Crazy Bones series with a rabbit character from the Explorer set named Lucky Rab. The character's description says that he is the luckiest Gogo around, and his special ability is even called "Very Lucky".

Video Games

• Touhou Project has Tewi, an unabashed prankster whose explicit power is giving people good luck.
• True Neutral mage and sorcerer heroes in Baldur's Gate can summon a rabbit as a familiar. They can also be chosen as familiars by mages in Neverwinter Nights 2, where they provide a +1 luck bonus to all saving throws.
• In the Tie in Novels to the Gears of War series, Bernie gives Hoffman one of these from a rabbit she killed to make a stew. in the fourth novel, Hoffman comments that it isn't working.
• In Runescape, a strung rabbit foot — also known as a rabbit foot necklace — is an item that gives players a better chance of getting a bird's nest when cutting trees or ivy; it also gives them a better chance of getting long and curved bones in combat.
• The 2010 reboot of Medal of Honor has a player-character who goes by the name of Rabbit. Late in the game, he has to make a Leap of Faith, and the player gets a POV shot of him looking at a Lucky Rabbit's Foot. In the game's epilogue, one of the other characters is contemplating the rabbit's foot while mourning Rabbit's death.
• A rabbit's foot appears in the Tales series as an accessory that increases the wearer's Luck Stat.
• In Kingdom of Loathing, the Lucky Rabbit's Foot increases item drop and money drops. It subverts the usual joke by saying this rabbit had a long and happy life, was spared a more painful death from bowel cancer, and his family got a big life insurance payout.
• In King's Quest VI, an out-of-work ferryman has a rabbit's foot, which he notes isn't doing him any good. With the right prompting, he will give it to Alexander, who can use it to save his skin later. At no point does it noticeably improve anyone's luck.
• EarthBound (1994) has the Rabbit's Foot as an equipable item, which raises Defense slightly, raises speed by a huge number, and makes you invulnerable to paralysis.
• Dragon Quest IV has a variation of this trope: instead of a rabbit's foot bringing luck, it's the rabbit's tail. Also of note is that it isn't even a real rabbit's tail, but rather part of a Playboy Bunny outfit.
• In Granblue Fantasy, the three summons (White Rabbit, Black Rabbit, Kaguya) that help in increasing treasure drop rates during battles are all rabbit-themed.
• The Binding of Isaac offers the "Lucky Foot" item, which boosts your Luck Stat. It's a human foot. On a keychain.
• Nuclear Throne has the "Rabbit Paw" mutation, which increases the drop rate for ammo and health packs.
• Averted in Quake Champions: The Doom Slayer/Doomguy's artifact is of the back left paw of his pet rabbit Daisy, one of the first casualties of the demons coming to Earth in Doom II. He keeps it "as a reminder of innocence lost" and as a Shout-Out to Ultimate Doom.
• Rabbits' feet can be acquired in Stardew Valley as a rare product from rabbits you keep in a coop. The rabbits themselves don't appear to be harmed by this, thankfully. While carrying one doesn't actually influence your own daily luck, doing so unlocks a hidden cutscene that helps you to avoid getting the cold shoulder if you form simultaneous romantic relationships with all of the eligible bachelors or bachelorettes in the village.
• Final Fantasy X-2 has the Rabite's Foot accessory that increments Luck by 100. It's named after the Mascot Mook from the Mana games who ironically do not have feet.

Webcomics

• A recurring theme for Zach the Weirdness Magnet bunny in Housepets! is that his feet never seem to bring him any luck. There's a whole arc called "Rabbit's Foot", which ends with him reflecting that maybe they do after all.

Web Original

• Referenced in RWBY Recaps when rabbit girl Velvet mentions that Weiss once tried to cut off her foot for this. Weiss claims it was For Science!.

Western Animation

• In Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, when Daphne is trying to get a pet with the same sort of bond that Shaggy and Scooby have, she starts collecting random farm animals. When she gets her hands on a rabbit, she claims they have a lot in common because one of her feet is also lucky.
• In Steven Universe, after Peridot is captured and loses her artificial limbs, Steven wonders if Peridot's robotic foot is lucky, while Amethyst thinks it isn't for Peridot.
• Aaagh! It's the Mr. Hell Show!: Serge's sidekick, Lucky is a fellow victim of the fashion industry. As in just a rabbit's foot key ring that somehow hops along with a Serge.
• Lucky Seven Sampson from Schoolhouse Rock! has a lucky foot with a 7 on it.
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit invokes the association between luck and rabbits. In some shorts, he would even remove his foot and kiss it whenever he felt he needed a little more luck (see the page image). The foot detaching is his idle animation in Epic Mickey 2.
• Looney Tunes references this trope from time to time, especially in relation to Bugs Bunny.
  • In "Bowery Bugs," a character called Steve Brody decides he needs a rabbit foot for luck, so he goes after Bugs. Bugs also sometimes makes references to having lucky rabbit feet.
  • Whether a rabbit's foot (with Bugs Bunny still attached) is lucky or not is at the root of fierce contention between Christopher Columbus and his crew in "Hare We Go."
  • A rabbit's foot is one of the items that Yosemite Sam doesn't allow in his casino in "Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas". He gets furious when he finds out it's the reason why Bugs has been able to win the games there easily.
• Monterey Jack of Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers has one among his many good luck charms. Bear in mind that he's a mouse, and the rabbit's foot is quite large in comparison to him. Chip comments that it couldn't have been very lucky for its previous owner...
• On an episode of The Real Ghostbusters, the boys had to cross the river Styx. When Charon asked for payment, Winston offered him a rabbit's foot.
• One episode of Cyberchase had the Hacker kidnap a rabbit to complete his collection of lucky charms.
• In one episode of Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Whiskers, upon hearing that rabbit's feet were lucky, felt he was the luckiest guy in the jungle. And he was...at first.
• When Pete on Goof Troop thought he had a streak of bad luck, one of the lucky charms he got was a rabbit's foot complete with rabbit.
• In Jackie Chan Adventures, when Jackie had to return a cursed emerald to its rightful place, Uncle gave Jackie some lucky charms to counter the emerald's bad luck. One of them was a live, whole rabbit, which he explained as the rabbit's foot being luckier when it's still attached to the rabbit. He also gave Jackie radishes.
  Uncle: Keep these radishes with you at all times...or else.
  Jackie: (Nervously) Or else what?
  Uncle: The rabbit will get hungry!
• At the end of "The Bad Luck Eye Of The Little Yellow God," Danger Mouse tries to obtain a rabbit's foot—with the rabbit still attached to it.
• In Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, when Oblina thinks she's been stricken with bad luck, Krum searches the dump for a good luck charm and comes back with a lucky fish head which he tells her will bring good luck. Directly before that while searching, Krum finds a rabbit's foot charm and dismisses it as being gross.
• In Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race, Josee owns a white rabbit's foot which she calls "Bunbun". She wins a lot with it...then she loses it.
• House of Mouse: In the short "Donald's Charmed Date", Daisy takes out Thumper and kisses his foot.
• Yin Yang Yo!: In "Family Day", Carl and Herman's mother, Edna, decides that she wants a pink and a blue rabbit's foot to complete her collection for the titular holiday, and Yin and Yang happen to be pink and blue rabbits, respectively. It's only because of Carl and Herman's poor teamwork that they end up failing.
• Inverted in one episode of The Inspector, where Deux-Deux, due to it being the Friday the 13th, brought along a rabbit's foot. It ends up bringing nothing but bad luck. Fortunately, it helps out the Inspector and Deux-Deux when the criminal they were after took it.
• The Loud House: In the Dream Sequence from "White Hare", Bernice gives Warren a rabbit's foot as a lucky charm for impressing his crush. It doesn't appear to work at all. And given that the characters in question are rabbits themselves, this can cause some confusing implications.

Real Life

• President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography that he had been given a gold-mounted rabbit's foot by John L. Sullivan as well as a penholder made by Bob Fitzsimmons out of a horseshoe.
• Rabbits' feet, either authentic or imitation, are frequently sold by curio shops and vending machines. Often, these rabbit's feet have been dyed various colors, and they are often turned into keychains. Few of these rabbit's feet carry any warranty concerning their provenance or any evidence that the preparers have made any effort to comply with the rituals required by the original tradition. Some may be created from fake fur and latex "bones."
• Subverted - the (now amputated) rabbit's foot obviously wasn't especially lucky for its original, deceased owner!

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