Here Comes Peter Cottontail

First-rate Rankin-Bass production that ranks at the top in terms of Easter/Easter Bunny holiday fare. I grew up with this one and loved it then and love it as much if not more now. It has a nice story with some wonderful lessons laced within, great stop-motion animation the way only Rankin and Bass can do it, the vocal talents of Danny Kaye and Vincent Price, and the beautiful, catchy music of Maury Laws. Peter Cottontail oversleeps from staying out late partying when he is supposed to compete the next morning against the wicked Irontail only to lose the challenge and see Irontail take over April Valley. There Irontail, with magnificent vocal gusto from Mr. Price, makes numerous changes from changing Easter bonnets to Easter galoshes and egg colors only to new concrete and black. Peter, now social pariah, makes his way out of April Valley to find Mr. Sassafras who hooks him up with a machine that can go back in time with French-speaking caterpillar Antoine as his pilot. Peter and Antoine then make their way through all of the holidays of the calendar as Peter learns true lessons about life. The message in this one is universal and fun at the same time. Maury Laws songs are just wonderful from "The Puzzle of Life," "In Spring the Easter Bunny Never Sleeps," "Be Mine Today," and my personal favourite "If You Can't Get It Altogether Improvise." Danny Kaye resoundingly does the voices of three key characters, and it is clear he and Vincent Price are having a lot of fun. The figures are lovely and I always had a soft spot for January "Boom-Boom" Irontail and his cry "Come Montressor! Away!". I wish they could still make them like this today. I wonder - and doubt - if much of the animated junk they churn out will last and have the same impact on it viewers that this still holds on its over 35 years ago. Well, I'm feeling old - if I could only go back to yesterday and get a second chance.

This is the very first Easter special (by Rankin-Bass or otherwise) I ever saw, I believe. One reviewer of this typed that this is actually an adaptation based on a book, which I didn't know. Another mentioned that this is a rare Easter special, which surprises me, because I grew up watching this special and it's the most well-known to me, at least, anyway. I don't even remember ever hearing of nor seeing the two, other, Rankin-Bass Easter specials when I was little at all. Although it hadn't been aired on regular t.v. in years, it aired there again for the first time, in a long time, earlier this month on CW. I don't remember what year regular t.v. aired it last before that. That was unexpected, I know for me anyway, at least.

Still nevertheless, it's one of the most beloved holiday specials of all time. This is the first in the Rankin-Bass Easter special trilogy, followed by The First Easter Rabbit and The Easter Bunny Is Comin' To Town. This and the third special are stop-motion animation, whereas the second is traditionally hand-drawn. I haven't decided which of these is my most favorite yet, as I still have to see the third Easter special. The titular Easter bunny in this is to succeed in Col. Wellington B. Bunny's position in a contest to determine who will become the holiday's next chief Easter rabbit as he's retiring. Peter's competitor/opponent is another rabbit named January Q. Irontail, who is so named for his iron, prosthetic tail, which he uses as a replacement for his real tail after it was broken off when a kid accidentally skated over it. That incident made Irontail very bitter, he's held a grudge against kids ever since. Despite this, he still agreed to partake in the contest anyway, just in vindictiveness and his intention is to ruin the holiday once it arrives again. He comes up with a plan to ensure his chances of winning and Peter ends up oversleeping. After failing to keep his word and losing the contest, Peter is exiled from April Valley and Irontail becomes the new chief Easter bunny. But Peter vows to compensate and take the position that is more rightfully and suitably his. Along the quest, he meets the French caterpillar, Antoine, whose time machine transports them throughout the various holidays as Peter attempts to give away alterations of the eggs; the talking bonnet, Bonnie; and a female rabbit named Donna, among others. Peter's mission isn't quite an easy task as he has some hurtles along the way, but somehow, he manages to get and come through them in the end.

I've always loved this special, the whole thing is great. I loved every minute of it. There's a recurring gag that involves one of Peter's ears flopping over whenever he fibs, among many, other moments. If anyone reading this needs great recommendations for an Easter special, then he or she can never go wrong with this. This is definitely an essential one, so come along for the ride. All of Rankin and Bass' Easter specials should be released as a triple feature DVD pack, which I don't believe ever has. And if that has never occurred, then it should be considered. Even though the second Easter special's running time is shorter than the others.

I'm one of many people who loves Rankin-Bass's Christmas specials, and I used to think they made Christmas specials only. In first grade, my class watched Here Comes Peter Cottontail shortly before Easter, and I enjoyed it very much! You can probably already tell that it was my first exposure to any of RB's other content (minus the Easter Bunny is Coming to Town. I've seen it previously, but I didn't know it was made by RB at the time). A year later, my grandma got me the DVD, and I still have it and watch it every Easter. Like the Christmas specials, it is based on a song (obviously Peter Cottontail in this case), tells the song's story while adding new elements as well, is narrated by a celebrity (in this case, Danny Kaye), and has a lifelike stop motion animation style, which makes the characters look like living toys. The title character is voiced by Casey Kasem, who was also the original voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, and his voice sounds like Shaggy but slightly lower, which makes this even cooler! What else do I like about the special/TV movie?

Another one of the best things about it is the premise. It has a warm, Easter feeling, and has a little bit of all the holidays in it. The evil Irontail wins a contest to become the new Easter Bunny, and Peter Cottontail oversleeps and time travels so he can become the Easter Bunny and stop Irontail from ruining Easter. He accidentally goes to all the other holidays and paints the eggs to look like they're for those respective holidays: Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, the Fourth of July, and New Year's Day. Now that's an original concept! He does give some away, but a lot of people won't take his eggs, and he has trouble keeping them safe from Irontail. To put more bread on the table, the same version of Santa Claus from the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials appears. According to Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, all the Christmas specials are from the same universe, and Peter Cottontail is probably set in the same universe as them. If you're wondering, yes, Peter does win the contest at the end, become the Easter Bunny, and save Easter. Thank goodness for that! Don't get me wrong, I like Irontail, and I find him funny, but he was not a good Easter Bunny. He got rid of all the old Easter traditions, replaced chocolate chickens and bunnies with chocolate octopi and tarantulas (yuck!) and Easter eggs with Easter galoshes, and he tried to get revenge on the children after one of them caused an accident. Peter is a better Easter Bunny!

The songs are catchy, memorable, and have good beats, especially "If I Could Only Get Back to Yesterday" and Antoine's song "When You Can't Get It Altogether, Improvise." The former is my favorite of them all because it tells the importance of second chances, which I can relate to, hence the lyrics "If I could only get back to yesterday, today would be a perfect day" and "I'd be a different man if I had a second chance, yes I would." Second chances give people an opportunity to make up for their mistakes and improve their behavior. Also, there are absolutely beautiful visuals during the song, which consist of a night sky with stars making symbols of all the different holidays, like an Easter Bunny, a Christmas tree, hearts, and more. The latter also has a distinctive, dance-like beat and a timeless message: do something with whatever you have or without being planned at first if you're unprepared (e.g., on Halloween give your girl a Valentine, and who cares if Easter eggs are usually only given away on Easter?).

The special is great for kids and adults alike! Its charm and timeless messages about the importance of responsibility and not giving up hope are sure to appeal to everyone. This is easily the best of the three Rankin-Bass Easter specials and fun to watch, whether it's Easter or not. It's good for any holiday, but mostly for Easter.

This is an excellent stop-motion TV special that originally aired during the early 70's. It features the voices of Danny Kaye, Vincent Price and Casey Kasem and is the first and easily the best of three Easter specials from Rankin/Bass, who also graced our television sets with holiday traditions such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Santa Claus is Coming To Town", "Frosty the Snowman", and the popular cult classic "Mad Monster Party".

This fanciful, pastel-colored Easter special is based on a book titled "The Easter Bunny Who Overslept". Peter Cottontail agrees to a contest against Evil Irontail to see who can deliver the most Easter eggs. But, when Peter oversleeps, leaving Evil Irontail to rule April Valley (the land of Easter bunnies), he must travel back through time making unplanned stops at all the other holidays on his way back to Easter.

This show really has a warm, Easter/Spring feeling, wonderful songs and a chance to catch a glimpse of all the holidays through the enchanted puppet-animated world of Animagic! Once again, Rankin/Bass have taken that fuzzy holiday warmth and turned it into a colorful, fun special.

I must have been six when I saw "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". Now that I know who did some of the voices, that only makes the movie cooler. The plot of course has good rabbit Peter Cottontail (Casey Kasem, aka Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo") trying to become the Easter Bunny after lascivious rabbit Irontail (Vincent Price) wins the contest. Through some mishap, Peter accidentally travels through the whole year, selling eggs for every holiday.

Maybe this does mostly serve as a kids' movie, but it's pretty neat. With Shaggy as the good guy, Dr. Phibes as the bad guy, and Danny Kaye as the narrator, how can you go wrong?