Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Here Comes Peter Cottontail is a 1971, American-Japanese, stop-motion, animated, television special and holiday/Easter special that originally aired on ABC. It is based on Here Comes Peter Cottontail authored by Steven Nelson and Jack Rollins, as well as The Easter Bunny That Overslept by Priscilla Friedrich and Otto Friedrich. It is the first in a trilogy of Easter-themed T.V. specials, the others being The First Easter Rabbit and The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town. It was co-produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and Videocraft International, and followed by the sequel, Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie.

Plot
Peter Cottontail is tasked with delivering Easter eggs, not only to become Col. Wellington B. Bunny's successor and win, but also to compete against January Q. Irontail, who only wants to become the ruler of April Valley in revenge for a past mishap. But when Peter doesn't wake up the next day in time to come out the winner, he ends up leaving as a failure and in disgrace. However, he vows to compensate somehow and he eventually does find a way.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The stop-motion looks as good as it often has in the case of many Rankin/Bass specials in that style.
 * 2) The writing is creative, as it blends two stories on which it's based come together and the results are done very well.
 * 3) The character models and designs are typical but good as with those of like-minded Rankin/Bass specials.
 * 4) Many characters have their likability and memorability. Like Peter himself, who decides to become more honest and responsible.
 * 5) Unforgettably, infectious songs that stick well in the mind, like the first that shares the title of the special.
 * 6) Outstanding performances by most of the voice cast, including the late Casey Kasem and late Vincent Price.
 * 7) The parts in which Peter and Antoine the French Caterpillar go time-traveling through the various holidays to deliver eggs make for something interesting and original.
 * 8) Finely written lines of dialogue.
 * 9) Strongly represented morals.
 * 10) A lot of entertaining moments of humor.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) It wasn't nominated nor did it win any awards.
 * 2) Joan Gardner's voice performance as Bonnie Bonnet may be too much on the ears.
 * 3) Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie doesn't quite measure up to this.

Trivia

 * Peter Cottontail first came to the public conscious as a series of books written by Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965).
 * Rankin/Bass's, stop-motion version of Santa Claus has a couple cameos in this.

Videos
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