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Percy, better known as the White Rabbit, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. He débuts in the first episode and is voiced by starring cast member John Lithgow.
The White Rabbit is based on the character with the same name from the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the White Rabbit from the animated Disney film Alice in Wonderland, and Nivins McTwisp from the live-action Disney film of the same name. He also takes the place of Bayard from the live-action film.
History
With her husband Jefferson trapped in Wonderland, Priscilla enlists the White Rabbit to take her through his portal to rescue him. While she locates Jefferson, the White Rabbit waits for her return so he can whisk both of them home. However, the plan goes awry, with Priscilla dying and Jefferson forced to escape Wonderland through his portal hat instead. ("Out of the Past")
As a child, Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole into Wonderland and has many adventures. Years later, Alice returns to Wonderland, desperate for proof it is real, kidnaps the White Rabbit to bring home and show her father, who believes she is delusional. After being chased by Queen's guards into a maze, she shrinks herself and hides in a bottle containing a genie, Cyrus. As the two converse, Alice pulls out the captured White Rabbit from her bag. The White Rabbit struggles to free himself from her grasp but is promptly stuffed back in. ("Down the Rabbit Hole," "Trust Me")
After Alice exits the bottle with Cyrus, the White Rabbit continues to fight for a way out from the enclosure. Untying the bag, Alice apologizes to him for the ordeal. The White Rabbit blames himself for leading her down the hole to Wonderland many years ago, though Alice disagrees. He promptly leaves on his own into the maze. Much later, the White Rabbit secretly witnesses Alice and Cyrus burying the genie bottle near a dandy-lion hedge tree, but does not make himself known to them. After they are gone, he murmurs that they are crazy kids. For a brief moment, the White Rabbit looks at his pocket watch and then sets off to return home to his wife. ("Trust Me")
One quiet evening, the White Rabbit opens his home to Cyrus and lets him in so Alice can be treated for a sustained wound. Mrs. Rabbit easily makes an elixir to heal her. While Alice is resting up, the White Rabbit expresses concerns about her since she will always be in danger despite having chosen to be with Cyrus. The White Rabbit persuades Cyrus to think about Alice's safety, even if it means he must part from her to ensure it. ("Home")
At some point, the White Rabbit helps Cora return to the Enchanted Forest. ("Mother")The Red Queen forces the White Rabbit to follow her commands after she kidnaps and withholds Mrs. Rabbit and their two children. Fearing the worst, he obediently complies with her request to seek out the Knave of Hearts and bring Alice back to Wonderland. In actuality, it is a ploy concocted by the Red Queen and Jafar, who both want to manipulate Alice into finding the location of a genie bottle. He goes to Storybrooke to send Knave for Alice after sharing the news that Cyrus is alive. He meets up back with them in the hallway of the asylum just as Alice's doctor sees the White Rabbit. They escape into the city streets and reach a dead-end alley as the police close in until the White Rabbit digs open a portal to Wonderland. Alice and Knave follow him into the portal and land in a marshmallow pond. As they struggle, the White Rabbit tells another lie, stating he did not see Cyrus, but rather the Dormouse told him the genie is alive and in the Mad Hatter's old house. As the twosome is stuck in the pond, the rabbit runs off to get help but is picked up by the Red Queen to her castle. He affirms that everything went smoothly and Alice is back, but she still wants him to continue working for her or else. The White Rabbit leaves to regroup with Alice and Knave at Tulgey Woods and head into the Mad Hatter's house. When Alice sees that Cyrus is nowhere to be found, she steps outside while the Knave speaks scornfully about the White Rabbit who made her lose Cyrus again. As luck would have it, Alice finds Cyrus' pendant outside, which gives her a renewed sense of hope that he is alive. The three begin traveling together as a team. ("Down the Rabbit Hole," "Home")
The next morning, the White Rabbit feigns being asleep while Alice and Knave head off to Mimsy Meadows to get Cyrus' bottle. He knows Alice is lying and reports back to the Red Queen with the false information. Since he knows the true location of the bottle, the White Rabbit leads the Red Queen there. After digging up the bottle, he hands it over to her. ("Trust Me," "Forget Me Not")
After the Red Queen's encounter with Jafar, who forces her to tell him where the bottle is, she discloses the fake location, Mimsy Meadows, as the burial site. When the White Rabbit arrives, she questions him further on how he obtained knowledge on the bottle's true burial site. In his recollections, the White Rabbit remembers stumbling on and secretly watching Alice and Cyrus bury the bottle. To the Red Queen, he asks for his freedom after doing everything she has requested. Instead, she gives a strong rebuke and reminds him who is in charge. Frightened, he shuffles out of the castle. ("Trust Me")
Kidnapped by Tweedledee, the White Rabbit is brought to Jafar for interrogation. At first, he is frightened that Jafar wants to eat him. Instead, Jafar exhibits a willingness to help clear his debts to the Red Queen in exchange for any and all details about Alice, especially about anyone she's ever loved, as it is her weakness to care about people. Nervously, the White Rabbit lists off countless facts about Alice, except they are all things Jafar already has knowledge of. He snaps at him to stop stalling and wants to know exactly who else in Wonderland matters the most to Alice that she might wish for their survival, but the White Rabbit begins backing out of the conversation. Impatiently, Jafar uses his staff to slice off the White Rabbit's right foot. Then, he sets a timer for one minute, which is the amount of time the White Rabbit has to spit out an answer and regain his foot back. Eventually, he tells Jafar of a person Alice loves who is not a resident of Wonderland--her father. After reattaching the White Rabbit's foot, Jafar then asks him for a portal trip to visit Alice's father. The White Rabbit stutters out excuses as Jafar moves to use force again, so he seizes the opportunity to bolt out the door. In the hallway, he encounters a runaway Cyrus, who pleads for him not to tell Jafar. After allowing Cyrus to flee, he walks back and decides to open the portal for Jafar. ("Heart of Stone")
They land in a park of Victorian England. After requesting directions to Bethlem Asylum from a man, Jafar steals his clothes and belongings. In a bag, he forces the White Rabbit in. After meeting Alice's doctor, Dr. Lydgate, Jafar opens the bag to allow him another look at the White Rabbit; a sight which terrifies the man. ("Who's Alice")
After Jafar tempts Alice's father, Edwin, with information about his daughter's whereabouts, he unclasps the bag for the White Rabbit to come out. The White Rabbit huffs indignantly when a stunned Edwin asks if he's really a white rabbit. He opens a portal for Edwin and Jafar to go back to Wonderland. Shortly after they arrive, he is coldly dismissed by Jafar, who no longer requires his services. ("Bad Blood")
The White Rabbit returns to his home, which is now in a ruined state. He refuses to answer when Alice knocks on the door, so she kicks the entrance in. Finally, he comes out and meekly allows Alice to punish him for betraying her to the Red Queen. Instead, Alice has known about it for some time now and wants to know the reason behind his actions. When he tells them the truth, they both sympathize with his plight and decide to rescue his wife and children. Knave has an idea of where the Red Queen might have taken them, and they arrive at an abandoned wagon, which he and Anastasia once lived in. The White Rabbit happily reconciles with Mrs. Rabbit and his two children, who are found safe and sound inside the wagon. His wife and children decide to head to her mother's house for shelter while the White Rabbit goes with Alice and Knave to the Outlands. Alice goes into an invisible hideout, and as Knave joins her, the White Rabbit stands guard outside, though he is warned against trying anything sneaky. A moment later, Cyrus approaches the hideout and Alice runs out to him. Surprisingly, the Red Queen tagged along as well. The Red Queen proceeds to urge that they must leave Wonderland before a dangerous storm cloud Jafar summoned reaches them all. Alice refuses to go without an explanation for the Red Queen's actions thus far, including her reasons for taking away Cyrus and desiring the bottle. In an emotional outburst, the Red Queen admits to Knave that she wants him back, and by breaking the laws of magic, they can go back to the past and resume their relationship, but he wants nothing more to do with her. Even to this, Alice doesn't believe the Red Queen, but Cyrus does, so she asks the White Rabbit to dig a hole to someplace safe for them. As the storm cloud closes in, the Red Queen uses the bottle as a shield against a lightning bolt, which then bounces off and fatally wounds Knave. He nears death, as Alice, too, begins to die as her first wish comes into full effect. Cyrus gives Knave the third wish, which he uses to "end Alice's suffering". Alice is revived while Cyrus' servitude as a genie ends, but Knave takes his place in the bottle as a price for the wish. ("Home")
The White Rabbit receives Knave and the Red Queen at his door with a request for help. The Red Queen formally apologizes to the White Rabbit for having taken from him what can never be returned and asks for help to convince the commoners that she genuinely wants to take back the kingdom for their sake. However, he drops a bombshell when informing her that Jafar has released the Jabberwocky. Though this shocks the Red Queen, she adamantly still wants to go against Jafar. Shortly after, she and Knave leave the White Rabbit's house. ("Dirty Little Secrets")
While attempting to recruit citizens to fight against Jafar, the White Rabbit is visited by Alice and Cyrus. They request he take them through a portal to a town called Storybrooke so they can retrieve Knave's missing heart. After their arrival, the pair repeatedly react with puzzlement over modern technology, which the White Rabbit fills them in on. Eventually, Alice finds the heart hidden in Knave's apartment wall behind a poster of the Red Queen. They head back to Wonderland only to be apprehended by Jafar. Upon Cyrus' insistence that he return to his family, the White Rabbit flees to safety. ("Heart of the Matter")
He meets up with Alice again when she rushes to his house with a wounded Cyrus after Jafar's spell has lifted the laws of magic. Along with her, Cyrus' mother, Amara, is present. The White Rabbit and his wife witness Amara use magic to heal her son. Unhappily, he complains about the bloodstains on the house carpet while Mrs. Rabbit tries to calm him down. Later, the White Rabbit overhears Alice and Amara talking about defeating Jafar and nervously inquiries if he should be involved as well. Seeing as they need every spare person, he helps Alice gather up an army of commoners to storm the castle and fight Jafar. Meanwhile, Amara heads for the Well of Wonders; hoping to return the water inside her own body to the guardian, Nyx, so she will reverse a genie curse on Cyrus and her two other sons. While the White rabbit is scouting ahead, their division is ambushed by Jafar's soldiers. He hides out of sight, watching as Alice is captured, and then sneaks into the castle. An imprisoned Knave notices him and distracts Anastasia as the White Rabbit tries to unbind Alice. However, the former Red Queen catches sight of him. Knave wins Anastasia over with a kiss of true love and breaks the magical hold Jafar has on her. After Alice is freed, the White Rabbit opens a portal to take her to the Well of Wonders where Cyrus' mother has been killed by Jafar. The sorcerer meets his doom, after stealing the water Amara was returning, by being enslaved as a genie, thus restoring the laws of magic. With Wonderland at peace, the White Rabbit takes Alice and Cyrus to England. On the day of the couple's wedding, he helps Anastasia, Knave, Tweedledum and Cyrus' brothers journey there to attend the ceremony. ("And They Lived...")Magical Abilities
- World-crossing - Ability to open Rabbit Holes that allow him to jump between magical realms.
Family
| Mrs. Rabbit | White Rabbit | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Son | Daughter | ||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
- Solid lines denote blood parent-child relationships
- Dashed lines denote marriage relationships that result in offspring
Trivia
Character Notes
- The White Rabbit is featured in the title card for "Home"[1] and "And They Lived...".[2]
- Unlike Jefferson, who requires his magical hat to cross worlds, the White Rabbit appears to possess a natural skill for creating rabbit hole portals. ("Down the Rabbit Hole" et al.)
Production Notes
- The White Rabbit was originally to be voiced by Paul Reubens.[3]
- The on-set replacement for the White Rabbit was a blue pole.[4]
Disney
- The White Rabbit is pictured on the card that Jefferson puts on Paige's bike is wearing a red waistcoat and a yellow shirt (in the novel, the character is merely described as wearing a waistcoat[5]), and is carrying a dark blue umbrella, just like his counterpart from the animated Disney film film Alice in Wonderland. He also carries an oversized pocket watch (the watch is not oversized in the novel[5]). ("An Apple Red as Blood")
- The stuffed leporid sitting by the miniature dining table in Victorian England is wearing a red waistcoat,[6] just like the White Rabbit does in the animated Disney film (in the novel, it is never stated what color his waistcoat is[5]). ("Down the Rabbit Hole," "And They Lived...")
- The White Rabbit is forced to work for the Red Queen because his wife and children have been imprisoned by the queen and he fears for their lives if he does not obey. This is similar the bloodhound Bayard in the live-action film Alice in Wonderland, who is forced to the Red Queen's bidding because his wife and pups have been imprisoned by her and he fears that they will be injured if he does not obey her. Later, the White Rabbit's family is freed and the family is reunited, just like what happens to Bayard in the movie. ("Home")
Fairytales and Folklore
- Jefferson (aka the Mad Hatter) attempts to buy his daughter Grace a stuffed white rabbit for her tea party.[7] (He later presents a hand-sewn stuffed bunny to his daughter, which is patchy and more dirty than white.[8] This is a nod to the March Hare.)[9] ("Hat Trick")
- The tool set next to Jefferson's fireplace in Storybrooke is topped with a rabbit.[10] ("Hat Trick")
- A white rabbit appears on the playing card Regina puts on Paige's bike plate.[11] ("An Apple Red as Blood")
- When Jefferson is rescued from his car by David, he comes out of the wreckage clutching a stuffed bunny,[12] a reference to the March Hare and the White Rabbit.[13] ("We Are Both")
- When the first Alice returns to Victorian England as a little girl, she walks past a small dining table with several plush toys sitting in chairs around it. The party guests at the table include a hare/rabbit.[6] Many years later, Alice's daughter has the same toys.[14] ("Down the Rabbit Hole," "And They Lived...")
- Note that the hare/rabbit plush seems to be a dual reference: Due to it being filthy, it looks more dirty than white when Alice is a little girl,[6] but when she reads to her daughter many years later, it has been cleaded up and is white like the White Rabbit.[14] It is also wearing a petticoat like the Disney version of the White Rabbit, but the character does not participate in the famous tea party in the novel – the March Hare does.
- The White Rabbit is pictured on the cover of The Golden Age Compendium of Children's Fairy Tales,[15] the book that young Emma reads in Minneapolis. ("Tougher Than the Rest")
- During Gideon's birthday celebration, a white rabbit plush toy is sitting on the table,[16] fitting for an episode filled with references to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. ("Beauty")
- Tilly is wearing a white rabbit mask with a monocle on its eye for Halloween.[17] ("Beauty")
- The second iteration of Alice is chasing a different white rabbit when she meets Mr. Gold in the New Enchanted Forest.[18] ("Beauty")
- The second incarnation of Alice has a white rabbit plushie in her tower.[19] After she escapes, she has the same toy in her cottage[20] and refers to it as "Mr. Rabbit". ("The Girl in the Tower," "The Guardian")
- Tilly plays with a white origami rabbit in Rogers' car.[21] ("Flower Child")
Set Dressing
- Among the many fairy tale illustrations pinned to the wall in Henry's room are:
- "Alice in Wonderland" by the American illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith, from Nora Archibald Smith's book Boys and Girls of Bookland (1923) (Amazon link). It depicts Alice surrounded by the characters of Wonderland, including the White Rabbit. ("The Price of Gold," "The New Neverland")
- "Who stole the Tarts?"[22] by the famous English book illustrator Arthur Rackham, from a 1907 edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (link to page). This illustration depicts the scene where the Knave of Hearts is standing before the White Rabbit and the King and Queen of Hearts, as he (the Knave) stands trial for a tart burglary. Note that the illustration can be seen on the right hand side of Henry's cuckoo clock,[22] but not very clearly. It can be seen more clearly in a Flickr set photograph from Season Two.[23] ("We Are Both")
- There is a sculpted white rabbit utensil holder in Mary Margaret's loft.[24] ("The Shepherd" et al.)
- There is a white rabbit plush toy in Emma's nursery room at the Royal Castle.[25] ("The Stranger")
- There is a white rabbit plush toy in Emma's room at the Minnesota group home.[26] ("Awake")
- Lucy has a white rabbit plush toy.[27] ("Hyperion Heights," "A Tale of Two Sisters," "Is This Henry Mills?")
Appearances
| Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | ||||||||||
| "Down the Rabbit Hole": | "Trust Me": | "Forget Me Not": | "The Serpent": | "Heart of Stone": | "Who's Alice": | "Bad Blood": | ||||
| Appears | Appears | Appears | Mentioned | Appears | Appears | Appears | ||||
| "Home": | "Nothing to Fear": | "Dirty Little Secrets": | "Heart of the Matter": | "To Catch a Thief": | "And They Lived...": | |||||
| Appears | Mentioned | Appears | Appears | Mentioned | Appears | |||||
| Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
| "A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Comics | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Other Appearances | ||||||||||
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References
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