The First Easter Rabbitis ananimatedEastertelevision special that premiered April 9, 1976, onNBCand later aired onCBS.[1]Created byRankin/Bass Productions,it tells the story of theEaster Bunny's origin.[2]The special is loosely based on the 1922 children's bookThe Velveteen RabbitbyMargery Williams.Burl Ivesnarrates the special, which also features theIrving Berlinsong "Easter Parade".It marked Ives's return to a Rankin/Bass special for the first time since the company's 1964 stop motion television specialRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeertwelve years prior.
Plot
editG.B., a rabbit, tells the story of Stuffy, who began as a stuffed rabbit given as a Christmas present to a little girl named Glinda. Soon afterward, Stuffy encounters Spats, Flops, and Whiskers, a trio of scheming live rabbits who mock Stuffy for not being real. One day, when Glinda becomes sick after contractingscarlet fever,her clothes and old toys, including Stuffy, are thrown away to be burned in order to disinfect the playroom.
Stuffy is rescued by a sprite named Calliope, who brings him to life and sends him to Easter Valley at theNorth Pole.Along the way, he again encounters Spats, Flops, and Whiskers, who join him, expecting profit. The four meetSanta Claus,who shows the way to Easter Valley and convinces Stuffy’s companions to give up their selfish ways and help him with the Easter traditions.
Meanwhile, an ice being named Zero, aided by his reluctant henchman, a sapient snowball named Bruce, discovers the secret passage to Easter Valley and manages to freeze the valley by stealing the Golden Easter Lily, which has hitherto kept the valley in eternal springtime. Due to the theft, Stuffy and the other rabbits, who have been preparing Easter eggs and other presents for Glinda’s hometown, are snowed in and consequently unable to make their Easter delivery.
However, Bruce, remorseful about his role in the theft, confesses to Santa, who rescues the rabbits, allowing them to make the Easter delivery. Stuffy’s delivery to Glinda, who has by now recovered from her illness, is a new Easter bonnet and an invitation to the local Easter parade. Due to the timely gift of a new Easter outfit from her doctor, Jonathan (who is implied to be pursuing Glinda’s mother romantically), Glinda is able to attend the parade. There, she and Stuffy again meet, and the two singEaster Parade.
After the parade, Santa forces Zero to return the Golden Easter Lily to the valley. As Zero does so, he meets Stuffy for the first and only time. Stuffy’s rabbit companions then give Stuffy a new name, G.B., revealing that it is his older self who has been narrating the story all along.
Cast
edit- Burl Ivesas G.B.
- Robert Morseas Stuffy
- Stan Frebergas Flops
- Paul Freesas Santa Claus, Zero, Spats
- Joan Gardneras Elizabeth, Calliope
- Dina Lynn as Glinda
- Don Messickas Jonathan, Whiskers, Bruce the Snowball
- Christine Winter as Vocalist
Crew
edit
- Producers/Directors -Jules Bass,Arthur Rankin, Jr.
- Writer -Julian P. Gardner
- Songs - There's That Rabbit,Easter Parade
- Music and Lyrics -Jules Bass,Irving Berlin,Maury Laws
- Sound - John Curcio,Don Hahn,Dave Iveland, Tom Clack
- Post Production Editing - Irwin Goldress
- Overseas Animation Production -Topcraft(uncredited)
- Animation - Toru Hara, Tsuguyuki Kubo
- Animation Directors - Kazuyuki Kobayashi, Hidemi Kubo (uncredited)
- Backgrounds - Minoru Nishida (uncredited)
- Key Animation - Yoshiko Sasaki, Tadakatsu Yoshida (uncredited)
- Design -Paul Coker, Jr.
- Music Arranger and Conductor -Maury Laws
Home media
editThe First Easter Rabbitwas first released onVHSbyABC Video EnterprisesandGolden Book Videoin 1986. The second release, byWarner Home Video,to VHS occurred in 1993, and a remastered "Deluxe Edition" was issued onDVDin 2010.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Woolery, George W. (1989).Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987.Scarecrow Press. pp. 146–147.ISBN0-8108-2198-2.Retrieved27 March2020.
- ^Lenburg, Jeff (1999).The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons.Checkmark Books. p. 259.ISBN0-8160-3831-7.Retrieved6 June2020.
Notes
edit- ^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced byBillie Mae Richards), Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis), and Mrs. Claus (voiced byPeg Dixon) in this special. Various actors portray the other reindeer.
- ^Recurring characters include Frosty the Snowman (voiced byJackie Vernon), Santa (voiced byPaul Frees), and Professor Hinkle Tinkerton (voiced byBilly De Wolfe) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
- ^Recurring characters include Santa (voiced byMickey Rooney), Mrs. Jessica Claus (voiced byRobie Lester), and S.D. Kluger (voiced byFred Astaire) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^Recurring characters include the Easter Bunny (voiced byCasey Kasem), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
- ^Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced byAllen Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
- ^Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced byShirley Booth), Snow Miser (voiced byDick Shawn), Heat Miser (voiced byGeorge S. Irving), and Mother Nature (voiced by Rhoda Mann) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced byRobert MorseandBurl Ives), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
- ^Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Mrs. Crystal Frosty (voiced byShelley Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special.
- ^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards) and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced bySkip Hinnant), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Astaire) in this special.
- ^Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Frees), alongside Rudolph and his other featured reindeer.
- ^Recurring characters in this special include Santa Claus during a scene which compares the Ghost of Christmas Present to him (both characters were voiced by Frees).
- ^The recurring character is Jack Frost (voiced byRobert Morse) in this special.
- ^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards), Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced byDarlene Conley), Crystal (voiced by Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^The recurring characters in the special include Santa (voiced by Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
- ^The recurring character is Frosty (voiced byJohn Goodman) in this special. Mother Nature is also referenced in the short.
- ^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced byKathleen Barr), Santa (voiced byGarry Chalk), and Mrs. Claus (also voiced by Barr) in this film. Santa's other reindeer, and various other characters from the 1964 original also feature.
- ^Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced byBill Fagerbakke), and Professor Tinkerton (voiced byKath Soucie) in this special.
- ^Recurring characters include Snow Miser (voiced byJuan Chioran), Heat Miser (voiced by Irving), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced byCatherine Disher), and Mother Earth (voiced byPatricia Hamilton) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.