History Main / FollowTheWhiteRabbit

"Going down the rabbit hole" is also a metaphor for getting so obsessed with following a [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy Theory]] that it leads you further and further away from everyday objective reality. An entire warren of such rabbit holes is a ConspiracyKitchenSink.

* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', downplayed in "Pastoral." Camilla is playing with kittens when one runs off -- no farther than reasonable, but in following it, she finds the final piece of knowledge that makes her decide something.

* ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro''. Chibi Totoro even looks like a little rabbit.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' story "Dig Those Diglett," Pikachu and the other Pokémon have been acting strange throughout the whole story. Pikachu runs off while Ash and his friends are in a hot spring, and they follow Pikachu, who leads them to where the Diglett and Dugtrio are planting trees.
** A global-scale version in ''Anime/{{Pokemon 2000}}''. Pokémon from all over the world are travelling to the Orange Islands because they can sense that the disruption of weather started from there and they seek to prevent the OlympusMons from causing ApocalypseHow. Also, Ash has to chase after Pikachu early on, before [[TheChooserOfTheOne Slowking]] explains him his mission.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'' ''Film/ANewHope'' it is Luke going off on a tear to find a runaway droid, who happens to be white and little, that brings him face-to-face with Ob-Wan Kenobi and it saves his life, as he is then not at home for the arrival of the Imperial Stormtroopers that kill his Aunt and Uncle, his adoptive parents--the death of which means he has nothing to stay around for, so can commit and go on the adventure, leaving his home planet. Later, the Millennium Falcon follows a lone TIE fighter to the Death Star, and the Death Star follows the Millennium Falcon to the Rebel Base at Yavin. In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' the Imperials follow the Millennium Falcon into the asteroid field, then Boba Fetts' ship, and the Imperials after him, follow the Millennium Falcon to Cloud City.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'' ''Film/ANewHope'' it is Luke going off on a tear to find a runaway droid, who happens to be white and little, that brings him face-to-face with Ob-Wan Kenobi and it saves his life, as he is then not at home for the arrival of the Imperial Stormtroopers that kill his Aunt and Uncle, his adoptive parents--the death of which means he has nothing to stay around for, so can commit and go on the adventure, leaving his home planet.

* In Creator/TheBrothersGrimm's ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/60twobrothers.html The Two Brothers]]'', one brother, having rescued a princess from the dragon and married her, goes hunting and is lured into danger by a deer.

* ''Series/SixFeetUnder'' has an episode in Season 4 where Nate follows a dog because he believes it to be [[spoiler: his recently-deceased wife, Lisa]]. As with the rest of the show, the whole thing is laced with MagicRealism and left to MaybeMagicMaybeMundane.

* ''Webcomic/BirdBoy'': [[http://bird-boy.com/volume-1-page-11 Trying to spear the bird leads him into the woods]].

* In ''Fanfic/ThereAndBackAgain'', Sansa Stark is {{Peggy Sue}}'d back into the past by one of {{the Old Gods}} of the forest, who first appears to her as a ghostly specter of her beloved late pet direwolf Lady leading her into the Godswood tree.

It can be a form of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane, if anyone brings up the fact that it was an amazing coincidence, sceptical characters can still reasonably argue that it was indeed just the coincidence. Huntsmen often chase TheMarvelousDeer. Compare ChasingAButterfly, where an innocent character follows a creature out of curiosity, leading them to danger. Despite this trope name, the animal is never exclusively a WhiteBunny.

** In the fourth season of''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'', Korra is particularly dispirited after being chased by hallucinations of her SuperpoweredEvilSide. She sees a small furry white creature and chases it into the swamp where she meets [[spoiler:Toph Beifong]].

* In Webcomic/{{Hinges}}, [[http://hingescomic.blogspot.com/2014/05/paper-tigers-072.html the creature seems to want it.]]
* In WebComic/TwoKinds, [[http://twokinds.keenspot.com/comic/1040/ Madelyn chases Karen]] through the Legacy Estate over a [[BerserkButton size insult]], and they end up accidentally running [[http://twokinds.keenspot.com/comic/1047/ into a forbidden area]] ([[http://twokinds.keenspot.com/comic/1039/ implied to be hidden]] using illusion spells)

It can be a form of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane, if anyone brings up the fact that it was an amazing coincidence, sceptical characters can still reasonably argue that it was indeed just the coincidence. Huntsmen often chase TheMarvelousDeer. Compare ChasingAButterfly, where an innocent character follows a creature out of curiosity, leading them to danger. Despite this trope name, the animal isn't never exclusively a WhiteBunny.

It can be a form of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane, if anyone brings up the fact that it was an amazing coincidence, sceptical characters can still reasonably argue that it was indeed just the coincidence. Huntsmen often chase TheMarvelousDeer. Compare ChasingAButterfly, where an innocent character follows a creature out of curiosity, leading them to danger.

* ''Film/TheMatrix'' referenced the trope by name when Neo is given a message to follow a white rabbit. He follows his friend Dujour, who has a white rabbit tattoo on her shoulder, which leads him to Trinity. This receives a CallBack in ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'' when Neo decides to trust and follow Bugs when she reveals a white rabbit tattoo on her shoulder.
* ''Film/{{The Secret Garden|1993}}'' had this with the children following a bird.

* ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', the TropeNamer.
* Twice in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''
** The first happened when a robin leads the children to Mr. Beaver.
** The second happened, albeit without them seeing it, when the now adult Pevensies are hunting for the Mythical White Stag, and they happen across the gate to the normal world, which they have long forgotten.

* In "Fable of the Goat", a short story by Galician-Israeli author Shmuel Yosef Agnon, an Eastern European Jewish boy, curious as to how his often-wandering goat always returns with such sweet milk, follows it into a cave which magically leads to what is now Israel.

* In ''Literature/MuddleEarthStewart'', the protagonist is transported to the magical world while chasing after his dog.

* In Creator/DevonMonk's ''Literature/MagicInTheBlood'', Allie alludes to it, calling her guide a white rabbit.
* In Creator/CharlesDeLint's ''The Cats of Tanglewood Forest'', Lillian followed a deer into the forest. Leading to [[spoiler:the snake bite.]]
* ''Literature/TheSecretGarden'': By following a robin, Mary finds the key to the secret garden.
* In ''Literature/SoulMusic'' the White Rabbit is a skeletal rat. Susan {{lampshades}} the trope, reflecting that following it is the sort of silly thing done by sad, wet girls who find themselves in ridiculous magical lands and say "My goodness me!" She then follows it anyway, in the hope that if she ''does'' find herself in a ridiculous magical land, she can get it properly organised and sensible.
* In ''Literature/{{Renegades}}'', when Adrian sees a monarch butterfly, he takes only a moment to realize it's part of his teammate [[OneToMillionToOne Donna]], whom he was unable to contact for the past few hours, so he follows it into [[spoiler:Ace Anarchy's lair.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': In the fourth season, Korra is particularly dispirited after being chased by hallucinations of her SuperpoweredEvilSide. She sees a small furry white creature and chases it into the swamp where she meets [[spoiler:Toph Beifong]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "The Southern Air Temple", Aang discovers Gyatso's body while chasing after TeamPet Momo who disappeared into a cave opening.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', an owl steals Luz's favorite fantasy novel, and Luz chases after it. She follows it through a portal into AnotherDimension, and this is how she arrives in the magical Boiling Isles.

[[folder: Real Life]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', Jack discovers Christmas Town by following Zero, the little ghost dog with a pumpkin nose.
* In the film version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'', The Other Mother first draws Coraline to the Other World by sending a rat-disguised-as-a-mouse into Coraline's real world bedroom to get her attention.
* In the animated ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', Anastasia chases her dog Pooka to the Pont Alexandre III near the end of the film, where she is trapped and attacked by Rasputin.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'', Moses is led by a stray sheep to the Burning Bush.

* ''Film/TheMatrix'' referenced the trope by name.

* In ''Manga/{{Aria}}'', [[SmallAnnoyingCreature President Aria, the cat]] sometimes wandered away, leading Akari to strange places, using some sort of time travel.

* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSun2001'', spooking a green-furred ape with Force and then seeing which way it runs is the key to navigating Mogall Forest. Though, you could also do it by using a guide, or if you're very, ''very'' patient, by trial and error. The explanation given is that creatures who live in the forest naturally know their way around.

* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheBrokenSeal'', spooking a green-furred ape with Force and then seeing which way it runs is the key to navigating Mogall Forest. Though, you could also do it by using a guide, or if you're very, ''very'' patient, by trial and error. The explanation given is that creatures who live in the forest naturally know their way around.

* In ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' the White Rabbit is a skeletal rat. Susan {{lampshades}} the trope, reflecting that following it is the sort of silly thing done by sad, wet girls who find themselves in ridiculous magical lands and say "My goodness me!" She then follows it anyway, in the hope that if she ''does'' find herself in a ridiculous magical land, she can get it properly organised and sensible.

* In TheOwlHouse, an owl steals Luz's favorite fantasy novel, and Luz chases after it. She follows it through a portal into AnotherDimension, and this is how she arrives in the magical BoilingIsles.