''Here Comes Peter Cottontail'' is a 1971 Japanese-American

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

produced by

Rankin/Bass Productions Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

, currently distributed by

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

and based on the 1957 novel, ''The Easter Bunny That Overslept'', by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich. The special is narrated by

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

, and stars

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

Joan Gardner Joan Gardner may refer to: * Joan Gardner (British actress) (1914–1999), British actress * Joan Gardner (voice actress) (1926–1992), American actress * Joan Gardner (Broadway actress) (1903–?), Broadway actress and chorus girl * Joan Gard ...

and

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986), better known as Paul Frees, was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass and Walt Disney the ...

. The special also features Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins's Easter song, "

Here Comes Peter Cottontail ''Here Comes Peter Cottontail'' is a 1971 Japanese-American Easter stop-motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, currently distributed by Universal Television and based on the 1957 novel, ''The Easter Bunny That Ove ...

". It was originally broadcast in the United States on April 4, 1971, on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television network. Subsequent airings have appeared on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Fox Family Fox Family or Fox family may refer to: Genealogy * Fox family (English aristocracy), a noble family * Robin Fox family, an extended family of actors * Fox sisters, three 19th century sisters involved in the creation of the religious movement Spirit ...

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

and

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

. In 2005, it was followed by a

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern c ...

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

''Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie''.

Plot

Peter Cottontail is a young Easter Bunny who lives in April Valley, where all Easter bunnies live and work, making Easter candy, sewing bonnets, and decorating and delivering

Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are Egg decorating, decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter ...

. Colonel Wellington B. Bunny, the retiring Chief Easter Bunny, names Peter as his successor. Peter, who has always dreamed of being the Chief Easter Bunny, accepts. Meanwhile, a villainous rabbit named January Q. Irontail plots to become Chief Easter Bunny so that he can ruin Easter for children as revenge for a child who once accidentally roller-skated over his tail, forcing him to wear a

prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...

tail made of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

. Irontail demands that Colonel Bunny hold a contest to see who delivers the most eggs, according to April Valley's Constitution. Peter accepts the challenge, but stays up all night, partying with friends. Although he tells his rooster to wake him up at 5:30 a.m., Irontail sneaks into his house and feeds the rooster magic bubblegum, sealing his beak. Peter sleeps all day, not hearing the crows from the popping bubbles. Although Irontail tries all day to deliver his Easter eggs, he manages to deliver only one. However, because Peter delivered none, Irontail becomes the new Chief Easter Bunny, passing laws to make Easter a disaster, such as painting eggs brown and gray, ordering the candy sculptors to make chocolate tarantulas and octopuses instead of bunnies and chicks, and having Easter galoshes instead of bonnets. Ashamed that his bragging and irresponsibility led to this tragedy, Peter leaves April Valley. He eventually meets Seymour S. Sassafras, an eccentric peddler and inventor who supplies the colors for April Valley’s egg painters from the colored vegetables from his Garden of Surprises. Sassafras lets Peter use his Yestermorrowbile, a time machine piloted by a French caterpillar named Antoine, who will take Peter back to Easter to deliver his eggs, win the contest, and defeat Irontail. Irontail learns about Peter's plan, and continues his cheating by sending his spider to sabotage the Yestermorrowbile, allowing Peter and Antoine to go to any holiday but Easter. Since the contest's rules do not specifically say the eggs must be delivered on Easter, Peter tries to give them away at other holidays, to no avail. On the 4th of July, Peter paints the eggs red, white and blue, and lies to two boys by passing them off as firecrackers, which ultimately fails. On

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, Peter meets Madame Esmeralda, a witch, and gives her a Halloween egg as a gift, tying the score. When she calls the other Halloween inhabitants, Irontail sends Montresor, his bat, out to steal Peter's eggs. Peter gets the eggs back and wants to return to Halloween and deliver the eggs to Esmeralda's friends. But Antoine still cannot run the Yestermorrowbile backwards and has to land the craft to fix it. After failing to give away any of his eggs on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, Peter and Antoine go to

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

, at which Peter, dressed as

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, tries to give eggs on the streets, which are deserted. Peter hears sobbing from a hat shop, and meets Bonnie, an Easter bonnet who left April Valley years ago. Bonnie is sad that nobody wants to buy her, so Peter tells the shopkeeper that he will trade his Christmas eggs for Bonnie. However, Irontail steals them again. Peter and Bonnie go after him, accidentally leaving Antoine behind. During the chase, Irontail and Montresor crash into Santa's sleigh. Santa returns the eggs to Peter, who cannot stop the Yestermorrowbile and is too sad to thank him since leaving Antoine behind. After missing

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

, Peter and Bonnie find the stop button and land on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

. There, Peter meets a bunny named Donna, and gives her a Valentine egg. However, Irontail finds the eggs again and casts a spell on them, turning them all green, inside and out. After failing to give away the green eggs on

Presidents' Day Presidents' Day, officially Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United S ...

, Peter vows to be more honest and responsible. He and Bonnie land on

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

, which gives Peter another chance to give away his eggs. In the end, Peter is successful and wins the contest, becoming the Chief Easter Bunny, Antoine returns as a butterfly, and Irontail works as the janitor of April Valley while Peter leads a parade.

Cast

The special featured the following cast members:

Soundtrack

Although not commercially released, a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

for the special was released for demonstration and promotional purposes by ABC. # Here Comes Peter Cottontail – Seymour S. Sassafrass # The Easter Bunny Never Sleeps – Colonel Wellington B. Bunny, Chorus # The Easter Bunny Always Sleeps (Irontail's reprise; the diabolical version of The Easter Bunny Never Sleeps) – Irontail # If I Could Only Get Back to Yesterday – Seymour S. Sassafrass, Chorus # When You Can't Get It All Together, Improvise – Antoine, Peter Cottontail, Chorus # Be Mine Today – Peter Cottontail, Donna, Chorus # In The Puzzle of Life – Seymour S. Sassafrass, Chorus # Here Comes Peter Cottontail (reprise) – Seymour S. Sassafrass, Chorus

Crew

* Producers/Directors –

Jules Bass Julius Caesar Bass (; September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft ...

Arthur Rankin, Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and screenwriter, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion and ...

* Teleplay –

Romeo Muller Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', ''The Little Drumm ...

* Music and Lyrics –

Maury Laws Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from Burlington, North Carolina. Biography In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home s ...

* Based on "

" – Steve Nelson/ Jack Rollins © 1949 Hill & Range Songs, Inc. * Based on "The Easter Bunny That Overslept" – Priscilla and Otto Friedrich © 1957 Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company ** Illustration – Adrienne Adams * Character Design –

Paul Coker, Jr. Paul Coker Jr. (March 5, 1929 – July 23, 2022) was an American illustrator. He worked in many media, including '' Mad'', character design for Rankin-Bass TV specials, greeting cards, and advertising. Career Coker was born in Lawrence, Kansa ...

* Continuity Design – Steve Nakagawa * Editorial Supervisor – Irwin Goldress * Sound and Effects Recording – John Boyd, Jim Harris * "Animagic" Supervision – Kizo Nagashima * Character Model Sculptor – Ichiro Komuro (uncredited) * Animators – Yutaka Mikome (uncredited), Takeo Nakamura, Hiroshi Tabata * Musical Director –

Home media

Despite the acclaim, such as ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'''s comment that the special had "one of the best scores in children's special history", no original soundtrack album was ever released commercially. ABC and Rankin/Bass did produce a private promotional vinyl LP of the entire soundtrack recording in 1971, but no record company has released an official, legitimate audio version to date. On video, the special has seen multiple releases in various formats. In 1990, 1992, 1993, 1998 and 2002, it was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was found ...

and

Sony Wonder Sony Pictures Kids Zone is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directly related to the fo ...

. It has also seen the following releases on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

: *February 12, 2002 (

) *February 15, 2005 (Sony Wonder) *February 10, 2009 (

Genius Products Genius Products (formerly known as Genius Entertainment) was a home entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States. The ''Baby Genius'' line was one of a number of "smart toys" that came out in response to a study book ab ...

) *February 18, 2014 (

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

)

Sequel

The 2014 release is the first to include the sequel, ''Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie''. A

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

was released by

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

on February 22, 2019, as a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

exclusive, containing an edited version that runs nearly ten minutes shorter. In 2020, the same release with the same edited version was extended beyond Walmart to all media retailers. The film stars

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

as Peter Cottontail and Peter Cottontail Jr.,

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

as Seymour S. Sassafras,

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

as January Q. Irontail,

Miranda Cosgrove Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and producer. A teen idol of the 2000s and early 2010s, she was listed as the highest-paid child actor of 2012 by Guinness World Records and appeared on ''Forbes " 30 ...

as Munch the Mouse,

Molly Shannon Molly Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for playing Joanne ...

as Jackie Frost, and

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...

as Flutter.

References

External links

* {{Easter American Broadcasting Company television specials 1970s animated television specials 1971 television specials 1970s American television specials Rankin/Bass Productions television specials Stop-motion animated television shows DreamWorks Classics franchises Television shows directed by Jules Bass Television shows directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Easter television specials Television shows written by Romeo Muller Musical theatre television specials Easter Bunny in television