Bunny Call | In the Flesh | The Man in Room 1280
Survive til 6am... where have I heard that before?
This had gone beyond trying to stop Ralpho from scaring his wife and kids. This was about stopping Ralpho, period. Bob couldn’t have explained what was going on, even if someone had put a gun to his head and demanded he explain himself, but he just knew that there would be horrible consequences if Ralpho got inside the cabin.
Bob Mackenzie is an exhausted man in a family full of excited, energetic people. He hates his wife's idea of taking the whole family on a camping trip to Camp Etenia, unless it means he can relax by himself and fish... which won't be happening, as they have a whole list of family-building activities to do. As he's signing up for them, though, a secretary asks him if he wants to sign up for a Bunny Call– a counselor dressed as a giant bunny named Ralpho will come and awaken the family with loud noises and screaming between 5 and 6 A.M. Thinking it the perfect prank as payback for having to be here, Bob signs up.
As the night goes on, however, Bob becomes more and more guilty about signing on for the bunny call. His family are light sleepers who have bad overreactions to noise, and the rabbit's spinning head will probably traumatize his daughter. When the rabbit arrives, he gently tells him to leave. To his surprise, Ralpho agrees... before trying to climb in through the window. Now convinced that the rabbit is actually out to harm his family, rather than just scare them, it's up to Bob to quietly keep Ralpho out of the house until 6 A.M.
The thirteenth Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights story, and the first of the fifth book. This short was also adapted into the Graphic Novel series in 2023.
Tropes related to “Bunny Call”:
- Abusive Parents: Phillip, a man Bob meets at camp while waiting for the bunny call, quietly tells him about how his father became neglectful and abusive after his mother died, and that he fears he's become just like him.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: Bob's described as having graying black hair in the book; the graphic novel gives him light brown hair.
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: In high school, Wanda was a cheerleader, and still has the same perky look.
- Ambiguously Evil: When Ralpho starts attacking, Bob's instincts tell him that the rabbit really intends to cause harm to his family and becomes determined to keep him out at any cost. Is that true, or is the person inside just trying to give them a scare?
- Ambiguous Situation: What exactly Ralpho is, and what he wants.
- Animal Lover: Cindy is a huge fan of any and all animals and insects, a trait she shares with her paternal grandfather.
- Animal Motifs: When Bob hears of an owl, he thinks of his dad, an Animal Lover, who was really into animal symbolism. Bob thinks of the owl and remembers that they could be harbingers of death, but they could also be portents of renewal and rebirth.
- Are We There Yet?: Cindy repeats this on the car trip there, and Wanda jokingly parrots it at Bob.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Cindy, who's three years old and the youngest in the family. She's the darling angel of the group, who is beloved by everyone.
- Brainy Brunette: In the graphic novel, when Bob has brown hair, and still is a clever architect.
- Call-Back: The events of the story resemble the gameplay for the fourth game specifically, with trying to keep a nightmarish animatronic out of the house of a sleeping child before 6 A.M., especially with Bob having to check and block multiple entryways. Ralpho disappearing at 6 A.M. with no explanation also parallels most of the series' gameplay, with 6 A.M. marking a level completion even if the animatronics are about to attack.
- Camping Episode: The first Fazbear Frights story to take place at a camp.
- Cheerful Child: Mainly Cindy, who's a bundle of energy. Her energy manages to rile up her brothers, who are just as excitable.
- Children Are Innocent: Cindy, "extra sensitive," still believes in fairies and magic.
- Children Are Tender-Hearted: Little Cindy refuses to eat hot dogs and cries when she sees them, because she thinks they're made of actual dogs.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Bob first notices Phillip when he sees the man smoking outside, worried about what the bunny call will do to his family.
- In the graphic novel, the cigarette is Adapted Out and turned into a glowing phone. Bob's relieved thought of "rabbits don't use cell phones" makes a bit less sense than "rabbits don't smoke," though neither are very rational.
- Covers Always Lie: The depiction of Ralpho on the book cover seems to directly contradict his appearance in the story; while it is difficult to judge given the lack of a background, the cover makes him look about the size of a classic "cymbal monkey" toy, quite a far cry from the six-and-a-half foot tall monstrosity in the story proper. LadyFiszi, the cover artist, has said this is due to the vague description of the character she was given to work off of.
- Crazy-Prepared: Wanda likes to be this, telling Bob to wear sunscreen even when expecting rain, and preparing a list of over seventy activities she wants to do.
- Cue the Sun: Ralpho seems to stop being hostile exactly on 6 A.M., when the sun goes up - similarly to the animatronics from the game series.
- Cymbal-Banging Monkey: Ralpho is deliberately dressed like one of these, though he's a rabbit instead of a monkey.
- The Cynic: Bob, who really doesn't want to go on this trip and snarks about the ridiculousness.
- Deadpan Snarker: Bob likes to sarcastically quip, though his wife and kids don't pick up on the double meaning.
- Determinator: Ralpho is very determined to get into this cabin, whether he has to bleed to do it or not.
- Everybody Lives: All human characters manage to survive the night.
- Exorcist Head: Apparently when he's working, Ralpho's head will spin around.
- Fiery Redhead: Though not angry at any point, Wanda is extremely energetic, as is little Cindy and athletic Aaron.
- Friend to Bugs: Cindy is overjoyed to see a butterfly, and excitedly requests a story about caterpillars. She also seems to adore bees, as it's what she wants her face painted like, and pretends to be a bee with her father.
- Genki Girl: Cindy, who has an endless supply of energy and optimism.
- Girlish Pigtails: In the graphic novel, Cindy's hair is put into high pigtails.
- Good Parents: Wanda is always trying to get her family to spend time together and have fun, and genuinely loves bounding along with her energetic kids. While Bob is tired, he eventually does think again about how much he loves them, and will do anything to protect them.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Everything in Camp Etenia is named after an Indigenous-American word... each one's picked from a different tribe's language, however, to make a chaotic cluster. Bob notes this in the story as one of the little things that's driving him crazy.
- Guilt-Induced Nightmare: Bob has one offscreen about the bunny call, even before Ralpho shows up.
- Hair-Raising Hare: Even before he starts trying to break into the cabin, Ralpho's supposed to be a little freaky.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Ralpho's only got a hat, bowtie, and vest.
- Henpecked Husband: Bob, who just kinda goes along with anything that Wanda says.
- High-School Sweethearts: Bob and Wanda fell in love in high-school, and are still married and in love.
- In Name Only: It's never stated directly that Ralpho was made by Fazbear Entertainment. If he's not, this would be the first short to have nothing to do with Freddy's company. He does later make a cameo on an arcade machine in Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, so it is likely he's somewhat related to Fazbear.
- It Can Think: Any thought of Ralpho being a mindless killer goes out the window when he is shown successfully picking the lock to Cabin Nuttah, nearly allowing him to get back in before Bob pins the door shut using a chair. He is also extremely resourceful in finding entrances to the cabin.
- Lots of Luggage: Which Bob has to carry.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: All of Bob's family are loud snorers, and thus all five of them wear black-out earplugs.
- Lovable Jock: Bob thinks that Tyler will become this once he gets older, as he's already getting an athletic build. His list of activities he's most excited for are all sports-related as well.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's not entirely clear whether he's simply a deranged human in a suit attempting to break into Bob's cabin, or something even worse. The ending heavily implies that the latter is the case; who (or what) it exactly was is still ambiguous, but the only thing that's certain is that he was not the counselor who usually did Bunny Calls in the camp.
- Monster of the Week: Ralpho.
- Nature Lover: Wanda and the kids are all incredibly excited to have a "nature experience" in camp. Especially Aaron, whose favorite upcoming activities are "archery, horseback riding, canoeing, mountain biking" and "hiking." Even Bob says that nature sounds calm him down.
- Near-Villain Victory: Bob can only watch as Ralpho enters through the loft window, directly above the sleeping boys... only for 6 A.M. to arrive, causing Ralpho to retreat.
- Orange/Blue Contrast: Ralpho's orange fur in contrast to his bright blue cheeks.
- Papa Wolf: As soon as he realizes his family's actually in danger, Bob will do whatever it takes to protect them.
- Parents as People: Bob is a tired, overworked man who just wants to be left in peace rather than be forced into activities he doesn't want to do... but he's also setting himself apart from his family, when they just want to spend time with him.
- Pink Means Feminine: In the graphic novel, Wanda's first day outfit is a bright pink shirt, and Cindy's put in a bright pink dress.
- The Pollyanna: Wanda and her son, Tyler, who like to think positive and look ahead rather than back at their regrets.
- Pom-Pom Girl: Perhaps once literally, as Wanda was a cheerleader in high school. She's always keeping the family on the move and trying to get them to work together.
- Princess Phase: Cindy dances around the cabin, declaring herself a princess, and bursts into tears as she realizes she doesn't have a crown.
- Real After All: The ending of the story reveals that the counselor who usually plays Ralpho overslept that morning, meaning that whatever attacked Bob earlier in the morning was something else entirely.
- Redhead In Green: Wanda on the second morning, wearing a bright green tank.
- Signature Headgear: Ralpho's pictured in both the book and graphic novel as having a decorative black top-hat. (In his Security Breach cameo, he lacks the hat, but has a viking helmet instead.)
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Wanda has bright auburn hair, and was given green eyes in the graphic novel, as was Cindy.
- Stalker without a Crush: Ralpho is definitely trying his hardest to break into this cabin. Why? Who knows. But he wants in, no matter what it takes.
- Trap Door: There's one in Camp Nuttah, though it only leads to the cabin's crawl space. Ralpho tries to use this to get in.
- Twist Ending: The story ends just as Bob finds out that Ralpho wasn't supposed to be outside at all, so whatever he encountered wasn't supposed to be there.
- Vibrant Orange: Ralpho is a bright orange rabbit, in-keeping with his job of being loud, annoying, and eye-catching.
- Youthful Freckles: On Cindy and Aaron, the two younger kids. Tyler is illustrated with freckles as well in the graphic novel.
