Are you sure it was early 2000s? Maybe it was 'Little Bear'? It had several animal friends, including a rabbit named Emily.

Could it be **Koudelka**? It's an RPG with a unique art style, but I'm not sure if it fits the whole village setting you're describing.

Wow, this sounds cool. Public television aired so many weird gems back then. Have you tried reaching out to local PBS stations? They might have archives or even old employees who remember it.