| “ | Hazel, I don't like this story. I know I'm not brave...
―Pipkin about a story involving the Black Rabbit of Inlé
|
” |
Pipkin is a survivor of Sandleford Warren and one of the original members of Watership Down Warren.
Hlao is his Lapine name which means a small concavity in grass where moisture may collect. He is also referred to as Hlao-roo (Little Pipkin) at times.
He isn't featured in the miniseries, instead being replaced by Bluebell.
Appearance[]
Pipkin is chubby and the smallest of all the rabbits due to being the youngest. He's dark brown and is around the same size as Fiver. In the TV series, Pipkin is very similar in design to his movie version, but he has more reddish fur than most of the characters and his eyes change from olive to gold in between seasons two and three, in season three Pipkin has a spot around his right eye.
Personality[]
Pipkin is Fiver's friend and is fiercely loyal to Hazel. Hazel can often count on Pipkin to follow him without questioning and without hesitating.
Because of the fact he's young and slightly obese, he's the slowest rabbit and has the tendency to fall behind and also be seen panting heavily, out of breath when done traveling for a long distance.
In the TV series, Pipkin at first is the worst member of the Owsla, he's slow and fails the lessons. But by season three, he manages to make his own Junior Owsla and leads it, managing to train it better than Bigwig's own Owsla. Bigwig praises him for his good work with his Junior Owsla.
Pipkin can't keep secrets, when he's pushed enough by Blackberry to reveal the truth, Pipkin reveals Campion is alive. Pipkin is also very friendly in the TV series, managing to make friends with Woundwort himself. Pipkin can also make friends with any animal, making friends with birds, mice and bats. But like his book and film counterparts, he is a bit timid in season 1 and season 2.
Books[]
Watership Down[]
In the book, Pipkin is a very small rabbit who is very timid. He is quite attached to Hazel and trusts him. He was originally a friend of Fiver. Perhaps as a result of his shy nature, he is quite perceptive about the behaviour of other rabbits; he is the first to identify that the rabbits of Cowslip's Warren appear sad and that they seem to be very poor fighters.
Tales from Watership Down[]
Pipkin is hardly mentioned in the book. It is said he assisted Bluebell with digging burrows before winter.
Film[]
Pipkin is one of the rabbits who escaped from the doomed Warren. He made it to Watership Down with Hazel and the rest, and also survived the last battle against General Woundwort. Pipkin is seen as innocent, cowardly and also rather cute. He shows a great fear of dogs, cats and anything dangerous. When Hazel asked Pipkin to go with him to look around the farm for hutch rabbits, Pipkin was hesitant. He also seems to walk sideways when scared and trying to back out.
Pipkin’s climactic moment occurs at the end of the first third of the film. He correctly expresses his suspicion of the rabbits in Cowslip's Warren. When Bigwig is captured by the snare outside Cowslips Warren, Pipkin nearly frees him from the snare before the slightly smaller Fiver finishes chewing through the small peg. Immediately After this scene, Hazel calls on Pipkin to accompany him on a sortie into the farm where they meet the farmer's does, including Clover, and easily escape the farmer's cat.
When the rabbits talked of going to Efrafa, Pipkin was seen hiding behind Silver. Despite his timid nature, he seemed interested in Kehaar flying. Pipkin stayed at the Warren during the final battle with Woundwort, he even made Woundwort chase him down a tunnel to Bigwig, but later seemed to stay hidden protected by Bigwig.
TV series[]
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Pipkin in seasons 1-2 of the TV series.
Pipkin's fate and character remains the same along with his position, however he is changed to being a young rabbit in the series. Pipkin is less cowardly in the series and a bit more on the brave side although his slow part remains. In the series, Pipkin seems to really look up to Bigwig. Pipkin also does things in the series that contrasts his portrayal in other media, such as successfully lie to the other rabbits and beat others in combat.
Near the end of Season 1, Pipkin is abducted by Woundwort and held hostage. He even was brave enough to ask Woundwort questions about his life and even protect General Woundwort. In the same episode Pipkin tells General Woundwort that he lost both of his parents to a weasel. He is eventually rescued by the Watership Down rabbits.
He's one of the worst students in Bigwig's class in the first two seasons until season 3, when the Junior Owsla is established, with the members being Pipkin, Snowdrop, Mallow, Gilia and later Hickory and Marigold's kits, and Pipkin becomes more skilled, which even Bigwig praises. Pipkin also keeps a huge secret from the warren, which was that he had been nursing an injured Campion back to health, which was revealed when he told Blackberry of it.
Season 1[]
In Home on the Down,
Pipkin points at Hawkbit and Dandelion.
In The Easy Life, when Blackberry asks who'd like to dig first, Pipkin, Hawkbit and Dandelion point at each other. Blackberry decides Hawkbit can go first.
In Strawberry Fayre, during Hazel's meeting, Pipkin joins the other bucks and yells "No digging!". When getting chased by Efrafans, Pipkin runs across the tunnel Bigwig, Hawkbit and Dandelion are stuck in. Bigwig later saves Pipkin from Campion, Vervain and their Wide Patrol.
In The Raid,
In The Vision,
In Tales of a Mouse,
In Lost,
In Kidnapped, Pipkin goes into the stream in the caverns that lead to the middle of Efrafa while Primrose isn't watching and gets swept into the stream. Pipkin is then found by an Efrafan Wide Patrol and taken into Efrafa as prisoner by Woundwort.
Season 2[]
In The Roundabout,
In The Market,
In The Great Water, Pipkin tries talking to the seagulls in the Big Water while they're fighting for food, but he gets chased away. Pipkin next tries talking to puffins, but he gets startled by seagulls starting to attack the puffins. Later, Pipkin tries to swim in the water but fails and gets pulled out by Hazel.
In The Orchard, Pipkin leaves Fiver behind after Fiver is captured by Bark. Suspecting Fiver may be dead, Pipkin becomes quite distraught. Pipkin learns a lesson about the importance of not withholding important upsetting information.
In The Great Game,
In Winter on Watership Down, Part 1,
In Winter on Watership Down, Part 2,
In The Mysterious Visitors, Raincloud and Bluesky tell a curious Pipkin he can fly by using a spell and a series of objects. Pipkin almost tries jumping off a high cliff, and this causes Bluesky to reveal their guise. Pipkin is nearly killed by a stoat, but the stoat is kept busy by Kehaar and Pipkin is saved by jumping on a pile of leaves. At the end of the episode, Pipkin tells his story about flying to four kits.
In The Invasion, Pipkin makes friends with a young sheep named Frost and the two play until Frost's herd is being lead away by a sheep dog Hazel, Bigwig, Dandelion and Hawkbit lead to the Down, but Frost promises she'll stop listening to her mom and talk to different animals.
In Bigwig's Way,
In The Homecoming,
Pipkin in season 3 of the TV series.
Season 3[]
in The Last Battle,
In A New World, three former Owslafa members that survived the collapsing of Efrafa try to bully Pipkin into giving them his carrot that he and Bigwig are sharing, but Bigwig protects Pipkin and tells the young buck to leave. Pipkin complains and talks to Drumlin. Drumlin tells the young buck that crows are waiting for someone to die, Pipkin runs off and discovers a tired Campion. Pipkin helps Campion but Campion makes him promise to keep his survival a secret.
In The Wanderers, Pipkin and his Junior Owsla find Campion while looking around the Down. Despite his members being scared, Pipkin goes to find Campion. Campion asks Pipkin why he didn't tell him what he looks like, but Pipkin replies that it's the rabbit that's inside Campion that matters, not his appearance.
In The Nestling, Pipkin decides to rescue a young hawk named Skree while searching for perfect pebbles for his test if he and his Junior Owsla can go on a patrol, Pipkin manages to make Hazel believe he and his Junior Owsla can go on a patrol. Later on the patrol, Pipkin manages to convince Bigwig to let Kehaar teach the hawk to fly. When a hawk starts flying over the rabbits, Hazel jumps on Pipkin and Snowdrop to protect the two kits, but the hawk is revealed to be Skree, who says that he is friends to all 'long-ears'.
In The Secret of Redstone, Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Pipkin and Blackberry are chased by a poacher on their way to Redstone Warren. Pipkin and Blackberry hide together in a bush from a fox after escaping the poacher. Pipkin later confesses to Blackberry that Campion is alive and how he was trying to nurse him back to health, which makes the doe spend all night and almost the entire next morning attempting to find the former captain.
In My Fair Gull,
In The Spy, when Spartina falls from a ledge, Pipkin says they need to take her back to Watership Down Warren, but Holly tells him to hold on and that they don't know who she is, saying that for all they know, she's from Darkhaven. Later, Dandelion and Hawkbit try to ask Bigwig, Fiver, Holly and Pipkin about who the doe is, but they pretend to not hear the two bucks.
In The Beginning of the End, Pipkin comes to the down riding on Bark, saying she'll assist in the final battle against Woundwort and his Darkhaven army.
In The Magic,
Trivia[]
- Pipkin is absent in the 2018 miniseries, though the character of Bluebell fulfills Pipkin's capacity as the small, somewhat timid member with an innocent personality.
- Pipkin's voice actor, Roy Kinnear, had a son, Rory Kinnear, who voiced Cowslip in the 2018 miniseries.
- Pipkin’s primary fur color is similar to Benny the Rabbit from Golden Films’ New Adventures of Peter Rabbit.
Gallery[]
Main page: Pipkin/Image Gallery