This is a different variation to the “MC Toon Reviews”
format. It’s a short break from the
currently scheduled look at a season or DVD volume of a show and a set of specials
relating to a certain decade or holiday.
Instead, we’ll be devoting time to a single special or a very short set
of specials fitting for a certain time of year or mood. This way, our animation horizons will be
expanded by exploring animated works that are relatively hard to group. I always believe that the sky’s the limit
when it comes to animated storytelling, and the occasional short looks at obscure
specials are sure to prove my point. Like
with the main sets, we’ll look at specials I know very well, ones I’m only a
little familiar with and want to know more about, or ones that are completely
new to me.
This shorty is on a set of only three specials fitting for
the season of spring:
The Rankin/Bass Easter Specials
Most people mainly know Rankin/Bass for their many Christmas
specials, but that’s not all the company did.
They’ve also produced obscure TV series serving as adaptations for
stories like Pinocchio or The Wizard of Oz, a whole
anthology of fairy tale and legend adaptations called Festival of Family Classics and original action serials like Thundercats. There are also a few steps into the feature
film area with some films gathering a notable following like Mad Monster Party, The Last Unicorn, and their version of The Hobbit. Many are works I got to make a note of to check out.
As for other specials, they’ve made quite a
few that aren’t Christmas-related. Some
are complete standalone specials that can be watched all year round, many of
which are pretty hard to find, but there are some that connect with other
holidays. As it turns out, Easter is the
second most focused holiday in their specials, but even that can’t
compare to their haul of 19 Christmas specials since they only made 3
Easter specials. For this reason, I’m
looking at their Easter specials as a shorty instead of the full set their
Christmas specials got. I’m fond of and fascinated by the company’s
work that I want to keep looking into it. Plus it’s somewhat interesting to see how their care for other holidays
compares to the biggest one of all. Above all else, it’s nice to give Easter some attention since you don’t see the
general public make a big deal over it as much as other holidays these
days. It doesn’t have a lot of TV specials to it,
thus making a look at some of the few specials that do cover the holiday
insightful and enlightening for me and anyone reading.
So, let’s spring into animated action to review Easter as interpreted by good old Rankin/Bass starting today with:
Here Comes
Peter Cottontail
Told and
Sung by Danny Kaye
Original
Airdate: April 4, 1971
Widely
Available on DVD
While the Rankin/Bass specials that aren’t Christmas-related
are not very well-known, this is a special that comes
the closest to the popularity of their offerings for the other holiday. In
fact, it’s the special I have the strongest childhood memories of out of the
three we’ll be covering, and for good reasons.
Airing around the time when the company’s creative spirits were at their
highest with some of their best works, this
special is big on charm, imagination, and timeless storytelling.
The premise follows the well-known Easter Bunny mythos while expanding on how they work. We see where
the Easter magic is created, April Valley, and how the role of Easter Bunny is
earned by a bunny who's deemed worthy. It’s a very colorful and sunny setup , and it’s all told to us by the perfect
character for the job, Seymour S. Sassafras.
The eccentric talents of Danny Kaye combined with his tricks and
surprises make him one of the absolute best
narrators for these specials.
It’s not just the imaginative
Easter Bunny world and great narration that make the special grand as it
is. Peter Cottontail himself has the
makings of a solid protagonist to follow.
He has big ambitions in life of becoming the next Easter Bunny, but has
noticeable yet relatable flaws to get through as the story progresses. He thinks he’s the best at everything without getting all key details and constantly tells fibs,
indicated by his left ear drooping. Peter’s named Easter Bunny despite his shortcomings, but immediately has to test
his skills when the villainous Irontail challenges him to a
contest to see who can deliver the most eggs.
It’s Peter’s overconfidence that becomes his downfall when he
parties all night and goes to bed very late, which isn’t helped by Irontail
jamming his alarm clock.
So, Peter
oversleeps on Easter morning and Irontail, delivering one more egg than Peter,
is named Easter Bunny. His dark deeds for the holiday and April Valley
itself are felt through his new murky and bleak customs. Honestly, him simply changing everything from
colorful and cute to messy and creepy really isn’t harmful at all. Then again,
considering what Easter stands for, they don’t fit the proper mood, so their
problem is apparent enough. From here,
Peter shows great commendable traits for taking it upon himself to make up for
his mistakes.
The plan is for him to get back to
Easter to deliver his eggs with Sassafras’ time machine called the Yestermorrow
mobile. However, when Irontail reprograms it to go to every holiday except
Easter, Peter works around the issue by delivering them on different
holidays. It turns out that the contest rules don’t say the eggs can only be delivered on
Easter. This is what takes up most of
the special from here, and it’s mined for all memorable sequences imaginable.
The whole journey of self-redemption Peter has to go on is
one of the most imaginative and high-spirited events from a Rankin/Bass
special abounding with many standout moments.
Some of them come from the wide assortment of side characters he comes
across. We’ve already covered how
Sassafras provides the time machine, and that unfolds in another great
show of his strengths and trade.
Then you have Peter’s travel companions.
There’s a little caterpillar named Antoine assigned to operate the
Yestermorrow mobile who also works as a solid foil to Peter’s antics and bad
habits. He also has his own style from class, even if they mostly stem from him being
French. During the journey through
holidays, they meet a sentient Easter bonnet named Bonnie stuck in a hat
shop on Christmas Eve. While she doesn’t have much of a personality, her
flamboyant show of feelings for her condition make her both enjoyable and
sympathetic at once. On another note, Peter wanting to find a home for her demonstrates his
own likability. That said, it’s pretty
confusing as to how Easter bonnets are sentient in this world. Would people
really want what they wear to talk?
Anyway, the most entertaining supporting character is the villain,
Irontail. This is a threatening-looking
antagonist with the only dark fur out of all the rabbits we see, Hitler innuendos, and reasons for his villainy right at the start. He’s after
the position for Easter Bunny to ruin the holiday for children everywhere after
one ran over his tail, resulting in him getting stuck with an artificial iron
one. You can’t justify his actions, but
you can understand them as he pulls out all the stops to ensure that Peter
doesn’t deliver more eggs than him nor make it to Easter to do his job. Not only that, but with the talents of the
famous horror actor, Vincent Price, it’s always a riot to watch him plot
something as simple as stealing a basket of eggs. Every time Irontail gets close to stealing
the eggs, he responds with an over-the-top maniacal laugh as if he’s happily
committing mass destruction on a civil area.
For joyfully acting so nasty for even the pettiest of felonies, Irontail
is easily a great type of villain you both enjoy and get scared of at once.
In addition to the characters, there’s several memorable
moments of Peter and company travelling to different holidays to deliver eggs
in general. Even if we see different holidays
occur for most of the runtime, Easter’s
customs remain the focus of the story. In a way, this
whole aspect of the special can be seen as a commentary for how Easter isn’t
treated as a major holiday compared to others.
There’s a clever visualization of the Yestermorrow mobile ripping
through a calendar in the sky to get to a holiday thus leading to other
noteworthy moments. They include Peter
trying to scam two kids into thinking the eggs are 4th of July
firecrackers, Peter having humorous interactions with a Halloween witch, Peter
setting up a wager for Bonnie at the hat shop, and a nice scene of
Peter joining a girl rabbit for a Valentine’s skating party.
It also helps that the journey has a lot of
great songs to back it up, which is fitting since music and songs have been
known to bring all the strengths of Rankin/Bass specials. Some serve as a backdrop for certain stages
of the trip like an upbeat travel song with a determined tone for Peter to fix
his mistakes at the start of the journey. High-spirited ballads are also enhance the appeal of
detours like the skating party. Other songs
exist to teach Peter the lessons he needs to get over his faults. They include
improvising when delivering Easter eggs on different holidays or finding the
missing piece of hope in “the puzzle of life.”
These songs are particularly strong with as much emphasis on being
catchy and memorable as teaching morals so not to be too preachy.
On the subject of Peter’s flaws though, it
should be noted that there are many instances where they can get overbearing. It’s fine that they’re the catalyst for the
whole journey, but Peter seriously fibs and gets careless with the eggs too
many times in a row. It throws a wrench
in his appeal for how slowly he improves himself. At least he fully redeems himself at the end
after Irontail finally gets hold of the eggs by turning them green (though he
really could just smash them and be done with them). Peter finds a way around this when St.
Patrick’s Day comes, and gives them all away by being truthful, and it’s a really
rewarding payoff after so many slipups.
Then everything is capped off nicely with a performance of the title
song with all the special's aspects coming together as something great.
In spite of a few flaws with story decisions and character
growth, this special has all the spirit and care of Rankin/Bass’ most memorable
works. We have a relatable
lead, fun side characters and songs, and an interesting look on how Easter is
viewed amongst all other holidays. This is a special worth making a part of your traditions.
Highly Recommended
The Rankin/Bass Easter Specials shorty will continue for the next two days. Tomorrow, check out the review of the company's second Easter special, the traditionally-animated tale to give context and meaning to the Easter Bunny and holiday symbols in general, The First Easter Rabbit.
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