This is the Guy Behind the Iconic "It’s Happy Bunny"
Creator Jim Benton shares the psychology behind his sassy bunny and how he keeps it relevant since its creation two decades ago.
On TikTok, we recently shared a video from Webcomicon of cartoonist Jim Benton (of “Jim Benton Cartoons” here on GoComics) drawing his infamous Happy Bunny, a mischievous and sarcastic character beloved by many.
The video got lots of love and is approaching 50,000 views and counting! Fans—especially millennials who grew up with It’s Happy Bunny—are loving it, leaving comments like “The creator of an entire generation of pure sass” and “watching the Mona Lisa being painted rn.”
Some commenters seem surprised that the creator of a grinning rabbit who says rude things like, “I hate everything,” “Cute but psycho,” and “The less I listen the happier I get” is the unassuming grandpa-esque Benton. But the overwhelming response doesn’t surprise him—he’s watched It’s Happy Bunny maintain its cultural relevance for more than two decades.
What started as a simple doodle tacked to his studio bulletin board has become a multi-generational meme that shows no signs of slowing down. Benton, who worked on other licensing programs before, brought Bunny to licensing shows. “I stuck with it for three years, trying to get people to understand it. And that was because I knew what I had," he says. Hot Topic took a chance on three T-shirt styles and some stickers in the early 2000s, and It’s Happy Bunny was an instant hit.
The crass nature of the toon has been key to its enduring success, but Benton credits another factor: his careful avoidance of any trendy language that dates the jokes. "I would never do a saying that has the word ‘skibidi’ in it," he says. "Instinctively, we know that a word that middle schoolers think is cool now, they will reject in eight or nine months. The words 'you suck' are enduring. They will last for centuries."
After years of Happy Bunny's initial success—which generated three-quarters of a billion dollars in retail sales—Benton was willing to let the brand coast. “I was content to work on other projects and kind of ride off into the sunset,” he says. But a few summers ago, he found that there was still interest in this sarcastic bunny. A friend who owns a resale shop in New York City asked him to do a pop-up event. Benton provided boxes of It’s Happy Bunny merchandise, and when he visited the sale, the line wrapped around the block. The overwhelming response inspired him to “get the band back together again,” leading to Happy Bunny’s return to Hot Topic and a Threadless shop.
Along with It’s Happy Bunny, Benton has a slew of cartooning achievements under his belt, including children's book series Dear Dumb Diary (which was adapted into a Netflix show) and Franny K Stein. His artistic style varies from piece to piece, something he attributes to experimenting with different materials and techniques. “I really love messing around with art supplies, and I tend to execute with whatever object is closest,” he says. You’ll find when browsing his GoComics strip, “Jim Benton Cartoons,” that this experimental approach creates such unique work that you’d think multiple artists are involved.