By finally providing the backstory for Louise’s iconic pink bunny hat, The Bob’s Burgers Movie also gives fans insight into a conspicuously absent figure: Bob’s mother. Before the film’s release, Bob’s Burgers never openly discussed the significance of Louise’s hat, and it only offered brief mentions of her paternal grandmother. Within a single scene, the movie answers two major questions fans have had for years.
Throughout Bob’s Burgers’ 12 seasons, Louise rarely spends a moment without her hat. She wears it to the beach, tugs on it in moments of heightened emotion, and even refers to its ears as their own entities. Other than her Kuchi Kopi nightlight, this is Louise’s dearest possession. The only time she’s seen without the hat is in the season 3 premiere “Ears-y Rider,” where a high school bully steals it. (Even then, Louise hides under a hoodie for the remainder of the episode until she’s reunited with her ears.) While clearly a huge part of her identity, Bob’s Burgers never explains why Louise has the hat in the first place. As a result, The Bob’s Burgers Movie movie delights longtime fans with this origin story.
Another one of the show’s great mysteries—aside from whether it’ll ever show Ginger, Linda’s best friend—is about Bob’s mom. The few hints the show provides about her tell fans she died when Bob was young and that he was very close with her. However, the show focuses on Bob’s troubled relationship with his father, never showing his mother (or even saying her name). When The Bob’s Burgers Movie actually brings the original Mrs. Belcher on screen and reveals that she’s the inspiration behind Louise’s bunny hat, it truly surprises viewers in the know—or, more accurately, out of it.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie accomplishes this double reveal in a single scene: when the Belchers are trapped in a car that’s been completely buried by dirt. Louise blames herself, saying that if it weren’t for her desire to seem brave, they wouldn’t have gotten wrapped up in the murder mystery that landed them there. She brings up how her parents gave her the pink bunny hat so she’d feel brave enough to make it through her first day of preschool. Bob and Linda tell her she’s remembering the story incorrectly: they gave it to her on her second day as a reward for her bravery. Bob reveals it’s also an homage to his mother, who always wore a pink beanie. A flashback shows a young Bob walking in a park with his mother, making this the very first time she’s ever seen. In just a few minutes, The Bob’s Burgers Movie sweetly connects Louise to someone that neither she nor the viewers ever met.
This reveal is even more meaningful for viewers who remember Bob’s Burgers season 3 episode “Mother Daughter Laser Razor.” In one scene, Linda laments that Louise has always been a daddy’s girl. She thinks back to a time when she tried to get baby Louise to say, “Mama.” While Louise doesn’t have her telltale ears, she’s wearing a tiny pink cap—one that’s strikingly similar to Bob’s mom’s beanie. Whether this was an intentional hint from the creators or not, the scene is now much more impactful thanks to the movie.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie gives fans so many things they wanted: the show’s classic humor, the Belcher family’s delightful dysfunction, and several musical numbers. However, it also gives them a backstory association they never expected. The combined stories of Louise’s pink bunny hat and her grandmother is the surprisingly perfect way to solve these longstanding mysteries.