Taika Waititi stars as a Ralph the rabbit in new short aiming to end animal testing

Taika Waititi voices Ralph the rabbit. Photo / The Humane Society of the United States

Taika Waititi voices a stop-motion bunny in a new short called Save Ralph.

The Māori actor and film-maker, who played an imaginary Adolf Hitler in his movie Jojo Rabbit, has now lent his voice to the role of an actual rabbit. The star-studded campaign seeking to end animal testing for The Humane Society.

The film features other big names, including Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn, Pom Klementieff, Rodrigo Santoro, and Tricia Helfer.

Waititi, who won an Oscar in 2020 for best-adapted screenplay for Jojo Rabbit, plays Ralph the bunny who is blind in one eye and has difficulty hearing in one ear. His character aims to raise awareness about the cruel impact of cosmetic testing on animals.

According to Deadline, the documentary-style short is part of the #SaveRalph campaign, a global effort that hopes to put the end to testing on animals.

In the teaser, Ralph the rabbit clicks a film clapboard and introduces himself.

Taika Waititi voices Ralph the rabbit. Photo / The Humane Society of the United States

"Alright so, my name's Ralph," the bunny explains, and viewers hear Waititi's unmistakable New Zealand accent.

"I'm a rabbit as you can see. I'm blind in one eye," he explains. Gesturing to his bandaged ear, he adds "and this ear, can't hear nothing but ringing now!"

From Jojo Rabbit to Ralph the rabbit: Waititi recently won a Grammy award for his Oscar-winning film's soundtrack. Photo / Supplied

Ralph demonstrates the sound of ringing in his ear for the rest of the teaser: "It's annoying isn't it?"

The full short written and directed by Spencer Susser will be released on April 6.

One of Waititi's next big project is the film Next Goal Wins, which will tell the story of the American Samoa football team who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history in 2001. He is also directing Thor: Love and Thunder, and production is underway now.

Recently he added a Grammy award to his shelf after winning the award for best soundtrack compilation for Jojo Rabbit.

He appeared to be shocked by the win, writing on his Twitter: "Lol wtfffff." He added in a follow-up tweet: "I am happy today."