Wednesday, March 28, 2018

'Toon Reviews Shorty: Rankin/Bass Easter Specials Part 1: Here Comes Peter Cottontail


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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