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twistedtummies2 · 1 year

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Top 6 Easter Bunnies from Movies & TV

Happy Easter, everybody! In honor of this special day, here’s a list that I’ve been sitting on for a good long time. It’s time to talk about Easter’s favorite mascot, the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny is sort of an odd duck when it comes to the mythical icons of various holidays. On the one hand, I think you could argue he’s the most popular after Santa; unless you count Jack Skellington or the Great Pumpkin (and I don’t), Halloween doesn’t have any one wrote mascot to speak of, and I’m not sure if Leprechauns count when it comes to Saint Patrick’s Day. And there are dozens of other holidays that don’t really have mascots, either: essentially, it’s always been Santa and the Easter Bunny, at least in American culture. The weird part of this is that, between the two, you’ll find the Easter Bunny tends to get the short end of the stick. There are dozens of books featuring the character or about him, but none are as popular as the Christmas books, and when it comes to movies and television, the Easter Bunny has precious few cinematic outings, and most of his TV specials are less successful than the ones released at Christmastime featuring Jolly Old Saint Nick. Why this has occurred is likely a discussion better suited for smarter folks than I, but with that in mind, I think it’s high time everyone’s favorite rabbit got at least a little time in the spotlight. Finding good Easter specials and great takes on the Bunny was more difficult than I thought, but I think I’ve managed to narrow down my personal favorites nicely. So with that in mind, sit back and enjoy some chocolate eggs, whilst I present My Top 6 Favorite Easter Bunnies from Movies and Television!

6. Rabbit, from Winnie-the-Pooh.

Confused? Then you probably haven’t seen the special “Springtime With Roo.” I don’t know the special is called that, incidentally, since the main character of the film is actually Rabbit; Roo is really just a supporting player. But I guess Roo was just more marketable. (shrugs) Anyway, “Springtime With Roo” is, weirdly enough, an adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” but with an Easter theme and featuring the characters from Winnie-the-Pooh. The story features Rabbit as our Scrooge surrogate, as it’s revealed Rabbit is actually THE Easter Bunny…but because of past events, he’s decided to call the holiday off. In Dickensian fashion, adventures through the past, present, and the future all give him a chance to change his ways and bring Easter back to the 100 Acre Wood. This is a surprisingly clever, sweet reimagining of the Carol story, and the idea of Rabbit BEING the Easter Bunny is kind of cute to me. I felt it would have been cheating, though, to place Rabbit in the Top 5, hence why this only gets an Honorable Mention.

5. Todd Tolces, from Claymation Easter.

“Claymation Easter” is a somewhat forgotten special nowadays, created by the mighty Will Vinton: a legendary animator most famous for his work with stop-motion, and the creator of various animated mascots for advertising products, including the California Raisins, the Noid for Domino’s Pizza, and the M&Ms (no, I’m serious, he made the M&Ms, too, look it up). In 1992, Vinton directed and co-produced an Easter Special made in his signature style, which featured Todd Tolces as the Easter Bunny. The plot tells the story of a villainous pig, Wilshire, who plans to take over Easter as part of an elaborate money-making scheme. Simple enough, but what makes the special so…well…special is its style of comedy and its animation credit. The special has a very absurd, bonkers sense of humor, riding a fine line between playfully whimsical and satirically mean-spirited, which gives it a unique identity among specials for this holiday. There’s also an underlying current of a theme of tradition vs. expansion: the Easter Bunny in the story is an upholder of old standards and ideals, while Wilshire is a villainous cad who uses massive machines to get what he desires, and speaks with a lot of modernized lingo and subtle innuendos and jokes. In the middle of all this Spike Rabbit, a psychologist who becomes the true hero of the story, and essentially plays the role of the middle ground: he’s got more modern sensibilities than the Easter Bunny, but he’s nowhere near as diabolical as Wilshire. Whether you see it as just a silly romp or something more, “Claymation Easter” is a hidden gem, and it’s Easter Bunny one of the more interesting and integral parts of its story.

4. Bob McFadden, from The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Surprise.

This is one of three Easter specials I used to watch all the time as a kid (the other two will come later), and it’s still got a special place in my heart. Featuring the classic Berenstain Bear Family, the story of this special focuses on Boss Bunny - the Easter Bunny himself, voiced by Bob McFadden - deciding to retire, and calling off Easter for good. This is a problem, because in this universe, Easter is also the beginning of Spring: if Boss Bunny doesn’t do his job, winter will go on forever. When Papa Bear’s plans to replace the Bunny and save the holiday fail most spectacularly, Brother Bear takes it upon himself to try and convince Boss Bunny to go out once more. What’s interesting about Boss Bunny’s role in the story is that he’s the only Easter Bunny I’ve encountered who’s outright an antagonistic presence: he’s grown tired and bitter, and wants to call off Easter not so much because of any philosophical issues, but simply because he feels overworked. He feels he’s doing a thankless job, being taken for granted, and he’s so old and worn out he’s not sure he has it in him to continue doing the job. Of course, in the end, good sense prevails for the old timer, and he gets back to his regular duties…and it turns out chocolates and colored eggs aren’t the only surprises Brother Bear has to look forward to on Easter Morning…but I mustn’t say more, or I shall spoil the rest of the story.

3. Hugh Jackman, from Rise of the Guardians.

I don’t know what crazy person came up with the idea of the Easter Bunny as a fluffy boomerang-toting Crocodile Dundee action hero voiced by freaking Wolverine…but whoever decided that was an awesome idea deserves ALL of the candies this year. (pauses) That’s it. I’ve…I’ve got nothing else. This one speaks for itself. Moving on.

2. Skip Hinnant, from The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town! Both of my top two choices are the creation of Rankin/Bass; they’re the other two specials I used to watch every year as a kid, and these two I actually make a point of STILL watching every year. Easter just wouldn’t feel complete without them. The first up is the sequel to the popular Christmas Special “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” and in many ways, this Easter-themed follow-up is sort of the same basic story. It chronicles the origins of the Easter Bunny - voiced by Skip Hinnant, and named Sunny - from his birth to his role as the icon of the holiday, explaining how many of the Easter traditions were born in the process. While it follows a lot of the same beats from the previous special, it changes things up enough to still have its own identity, and Sunny is a wonderfully fun, sweet, smart character. It’s just as good as its Yuletide predecessor, in my opinion; if you haven’t seen it before, take a peek.

As much as I love sweet little Sunny, however, there’s one Easter Special - one Easter Bunny - I like even more…

1. Casey Kasem, from Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

Rankin/Bass actually made three Easter specials, and of the three, this one is the most popular, and my personal favorite. In this story, we don’t just focus on ONE Easter Bunny, however…we essentially have a story of SEVERAL. The tale takes place in April Valley, which is basically to Easter what the North Pole is to Santa Claus. Here there lives an entire species of talking rabbits, who all work to make Easter run smoothly; the Chief Easter Bunny is the leader of them all, and the one responsible for delivering all the goodies on the big day. One year, the old Chief - Colonel Bunny - decides it’s time to retire, and chooses a young upstart, Peter Cottontail (voiced by Shaggy himself, of all people, Casey Kasem) to be his successor. Peter is a boastful, rash, and occasionally prone-to-fib bunny, so others doubt he’s suitable for the job, but the Colonel sees himself in Peter, and it becomes clear that, for all his faults, Peter does have his heart in the right place. Unfortunately, his main rival does not: the villainous Irontail (voiced by Our Lord and Savior of Villainy, Vincent Price) decides to challenge Peter to a contest…which Peter, thanks to his laziness and Irontail’s scheming, loses. With help from a time machine (yes, a time machine, just run with it) Peter decides to go back and try to find a way to fix things, and in the process, learns to shape up his act and become a responsible Rabbit. All three of the main bunnies in the story are wonderful (especially Irontail, mostly because this is Vincent Price at his absolute hammiest; he is to Price what Dr. Mystico is to Tim Curry, in my opinion), but Peter is the main character and obviously our Easter Bunny Prime for the purposes of the tale. It’s a very fun special, one of Rankin/Bass’ best productions, in my opinion, with great music, charming characters, and glorious voice acting. While I’d be lying if I said Peter is my ideal Easter Bunny (that honor actually belongs to a book, and that’s rather a different story), this is, without a doubt, my favorite Easter Special, and Peter, by extension, my favorite take on the Bunny from onscreen outings. He is more than deserving of my number one spot.

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