In the American dub, the story is about a little puppy named Tiny who is separated from his family, a young girl and her grandfather, during a thunderstorm as he chases after a frog when the car breaks down on the side of the road. Since his family believes him to be under a blanket in the front seat, they drive off without him, leaving Tiny to fend for himself.
This is only in the American version. However, in the original Hungarian and German versions, mind you, Tiny's previous (never seen) owner(s) is / are driving along only to stop the car and literally throw the puppy out over the ledge and into the forest before driving off again.
In all three versions, Tiny (whose name is Vacak in the Hungarian version and Bobo in the German version) is then taken in by six rabbit siblings who find him the next morning, and teach him how to be a rabbit, thinking of him as their seventh brother. However, not all the animals are happy that there is a dog in the forest ...
All three versions have the same theme of bravery (as the rabbits and Vacak/Bobo/Tiny are thrown into many life-threatening situations, from hawks to drowning) and are filled with many songs.
Interestingly enough, this movie was given out in a promotion at McDonald's in The '90s, along with Willy the Sparrow and The Addams Family. This release titles it Tiny, The Seventh Brother and is otherwise identical to other releases of the English dub.
The film has a 1997 sequel called Tiny Heroes (known as Bobo und die Hasenbande 2 - Abenteuer im Wald in German).
This Movie Provides Examples Of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In the Hungarian and German versions, the little girl Ágnes/Angie and her grandfather only appear at the end, when the rabbits bring the puppy to their house and they adopt him. In the American version, Angie and her grandfather are Tiny's owners from the beginning, who accidentally lose him, but reunite with him thanks to the rabbits in the end.
- Animal Stereotypes:
- Played straight with Dr. Owl as the wise owl "chairman" of the animal council. Also, he is called for when the health condition of Vacak/Bobo/Tiny gets worse.
- Played straight with the rabbits at first, as they run at the first sign of potential danger. Inverted later on, as Vacak/Bobo/Tiny teaches them to stand and fight back.
- Award-Bait Song:
- In the American version, there are two: "There is a Place" and "How Lonely".
- There's the song "Gib nicht auf" ("Don't Give Up") in the German version which plays in the end credits and provides the main theme of this localization. The Italian version uses the same melody.
- "Nature's Pace" fits the bill for the Tiny Heroes sequel.
- Big Eater: Pufi/Puffer/Cody. In the English version, he even declares "Eating is my life!"
- Big Little Brother: Since he's a dog, the main character is bigger than his adopted rabbit siblings but gets treated (and is in some versions referred to) as a "little brother".
- Break the Cutie: Vacak/Bobo/Tiny is a kind and innocent puppy who (in the original version) gets literally thrown out of a car by his owner in the middle of a thunderstorm.
- Comically Missing the Point: In one early scene, Vacak/Bobo/Tiny dives into the water for a swim, and the rabbits think he's drowned when he doesn't resurface right away. When he does resurface, instead of realizing he survived, Malé/Maxie/Marty is terrified, thinking he's a ghost.
- Conspicuously Light Patch: Things the animals interact with can be easily distinguished from the beautiful backgrounds.
- Defrosting Ice King: Tasli/Theo/J.C. He starts out not caring about Tiny at first. After he gets outvoted by his siblings and agrees to spend more time with the puppy, he warms up to him a little. After Tiny saves him from being eaten by a hawk, J.C. changes his mind and is happy to ask Tiny if he wants to be their brother.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": In the English dub, J.C. hates being called by his full name, Jerald Cuthbert.
- Dub Name Change:
- The puppy is named Vacak in the Hungarian version, Bobo in the German, French and Italian versions, and Tiny in the English version.
- The rabbit siblings have different names in different dubs:
- In the Hungarian version, their names are Tasli, Okoska, Malé, Karotta, Pufi, and Musz-Musz.
- In the German version, their names are Theo, Julchen, Maxie, Karotta (only her name is unchanged), Puffer, and Coco.
- In the French version, their names are Theo, Julie, Maxie, Ludivine, Ponpon, and Coco.
- In the Italian version, their names are Teo, Chicco, Mimmo, Carlotta, Pepe, and Giulietta.
- In the English version, their names are J.C., Rebecca, Marty, Joanna, Cody, and Mimi.
- The little girl is named Ágnes in the Hungarian version, but Angie in the German and English versions, and Annie in the French version.
- Edible Theme Naming: In the Hungarian and German versions, the strawberry blonde-haired rabbit sister is named Karotta, meaning "carrot". Averted in the English dub, which names her Joanna.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: In the movie, the Rabbits are attacked by a hawk, a weasel and a fox, as the forest is occupied by hunters, and are all nearly drowned near the end. Oh, and Vacak/Bobo/Tiny almost eats a poisonous mushroom.
- Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: Mrs. Magpie basically acts as the "town crier" of the forest, informing everyone about Vacak/Bobo/Tiny and how his presence allegedly makes things worse. That being said, she spreads the gossip with joy.
- Fantastic Racism: The rabbits are afraid of Vacak/Bobo/Tiny at first, understandably since dogs/wolves are a predator species and dogs, in particular, are often trained by humans (another species they're distrustful of) to hunt rabbits. After they've warmed up to him to the point of accepting him as a family member, he sometimes gets mocked and gossiped about by the other forest animals for being a "bunny puppy" until he gains their respect.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: There are three sister rabbits and three brother rabbits before Vacak/Bobo/Tiny came along.
- Gossip Evolution: Implemented hilariously in the German version of the film - when Mrs. Magpie is spreading the news of Vacak/Bobo/Tiny living with the rabbit family, each time she tells the story, she further mixes up details herself until she ends up with stating that when the Hawk tried to have breakfast this morning, a dog came flying and tried to eat the rabbits.
- Happily Adopted: Vacak/Bobo/Tiny, until the end, where Tiny becomes weak from malnutrition, then gets injured while fighting off a weasel, and needs to be returned to the humans to get better. Tiny and the rabbits still consider themselves siblings at the end though.
- Interspecies Adoption: A puppy being adopted into a rabbit family.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Tasli/Theo/J.C. He's often rude and boastful but clearly cares about all of his siblings, including, eventually, his newly adopted brother Vacak/Bobo/Tiny.
- Lighter and Softer: The American version. Instead of being thrown out of a car by his owners, the puppy actually gets forgotten by mistake.
- Lovable Coward: Malé/Maxie/Marty, the scaredy-cat of the rabbit siblings.
- Meaningful Name: For the original Hungarian version - "Vacak" means "Rubbish" in that language.
- Raised by Natives: While all versions of the main character were raised by humans initially, he's still a puppy when he ends up in the forest and spends much of the movie learning how to be a rabbit instead of a dog.
- Recycled Animation: Not sure about the original Hungarian or German, but in the American release, a high-five scene is used about five times. Even more blatant is the shot of a closeup of Tiny crying.
- Saying Too Much: When attending the animal council, Mrs. Magpie has a place near Mr. Hawk up in a tree. In the German version, after Mr. Hawk stated he would leave the forest once his beak was straight again, Mrs. Magpie quips that "We can wait a long time for that with this hideous thing" - this gets her into trouble with Mr. Hawk immediately, as he grabs her by the neck and interrogates her about her previous statement as well as about the current whereabouts of the rabbits.
- She's a Man in Japan:
- The magpie is a male in the Hungarian and Italian dubs, but a female in the German, French and English dubs.
- The brown-haired rabbit sister, Okoska/Julchen/Rebecca, is changed to a brother named Chicco in the Italian dub.
- Shout-Out:
- In the English version, as Tiny is learning to be a "bunny puppy," he repeats "Bunny puppy! Bunny puppy! I think I can! I think I can!"
- In the German version, when Tasli/Theo/J.C. is about to introduce himself, it is said about him that he would actually prefer to be called "Arnold".
- Stock Animal Diet: The rabbits love carrots. Though in a realistic touch, they also happily eat grass and clover.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Unexpectedly, at that. The film runs entirely on "kid movie" logic until the end, when the rabbits need to get Tiny back home because dogs can't live on what rabbits eat, and he's suffering from malnutrition.
- Take That!: When the rabbits introduce themselves to Vacak/Bobo/Tiny and it's Tasli's/Theo's/J.C.'s turn, he is shown punching a shadow shaped like the head of a certain cartoon mouse (at least in the German version of the movie).
- Title Confusion: The American dub was originally released as Tiny, the Seventh Brother, and then changed to The Seventh Brother. The original Hungarian had the same problem — A hetedik testvér versus Vacak a hetedik testvér.