Here Comes Peter Cottontail

source: Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Thanks God for cigs for more than 1 reasons but it gave ole Vinnie his true voice and evil laugh. I watch it for him. Everyone else is annoying, even Shaggy. But i can stand it once a year to hear Vinnie doing just what he loved; to be evil.

This is the very first Easter special (by Rankin-Bass or otherwise) I ever saw, I believe. One reviewer of this typed that this is actually an adaptation based on a book, which I didn't know. Another mentioned that this is a rare Easter special, which surprises me, because I grew up watching this special and it's the most well-known to me, at least, anyway. I don't even remember ever hearing of nor seeing the two, other, Rankin-Bass Easter specials when I was little at all. Although it hadn't been aired on regular t.v. in years, it aired there again for the first time, in a long time, earlier this month on CW. I don't remember what year regular t.v. aired it last before that. That was unexpected, I know for me anyway, at least. Still nevertheless, it's one of the most beloved holiday specials of all time. This is the first in the Rankin-Bass Easter special trilogy, followed by The First Easter Rabbit and The Easter Bunny Is Comin' To Town. This and the third special are stop-motion animation, whereas the second is traditionally hand-drawn. I haven't decided which of these is my most favorite yet, as I still have to see the third Easter special. The titular Easter bunny in this is to succeed in Col. Wellington B. Bunny's position in a contest to determine who will become the holiday's next chief Easter rabbit as he's retiring. Peter's competitor/opponent is another rabbit named January Q. Irontail, who is so named for his iron, prosthetic tail, which he uses as a replacement for his real tail after it was broken off when a kid accidentally skated over it. That incident made Irontail very bitter, he's held a grudge against kids ever since. Despite this, he still agreed to partake in the contest anyway, just in vindictiveness and his intention is to ruin the holiday once it arrives again. He comes up with a plan to ensure his chances of winning and Peter ends up oversleeping. After failing to keep his word and losing the contest, Peter is exiled from April Valley and Irontail becomes the new chief Easter bunny. But Peter vows to compensate and take the position that is more rightfully and suitably his. Along the quest, he meets the French caterpillar, Antoine, whose time machine transports them throughout the various holidays as Peter attempts to give away alterations of the eggs; the talking bonnet, Bonnie; and a female rabbit named Donna, among others. Peter's mission isn't quite an easy task as he has some hurtles along the way, but somehow, he manages to get and come through them in the end. I've always loved this special, the whole thing is great. I loved every minute of it. There's a recurring gag that involves one of Peter's ears flopping over whenever he fibs, among many, other moments. If anyone reading this needs great recommendations for an Easter special, then he or she can never go wrong with this. This is definitely an essential one, so come along for the ride. All of Rankin and Bass' Easter specials should be released as a triple feature DVD pack, which I don't believe ever has. And if that has never occurred, then it should be considered. Even though the second Easter special's running time is shorter than the others.

Unlike Christmas, Easter doesn't really get that many TV specials made in its honor. It really is a shame, since Here Comes Peter Cottontail is every bit as worthy of TV airtime as the beloved Christmas Rankin-Bass specials. The music is all memorable, my personal favorites being "Be Mine Today," "Hope is There," and most of all, the wistful "If I Could Only Get Back to Yesterday" sung by the multi-talented Danny Kaye, who narrates the story. The characters are fun, save for Bonnie the Bonnet, whose voice is a bit grating. Vincent Price steals the show as the malicious Irontail, out to revenge his maimed tail by ruining Easter for the kids. Casey Kasem is appealing and tons of fun as Peter. The special is great for kids, but its charm and messages about responsibility and hope will appeal to older folks as well. It's good viewing, whether it's Easter or not!

I must have been six when I saw "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". Now that I know who did some of the voices, that only makes the movie cooler. The plot of course has good rabbit Peter Cottontail (Casey Kasem, aka Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo") trying to become the Easter Bunny after lascivious rabbit Irontail (Vincent Price) wins the contest. Through some mishap, Peter accidentally travels through the whole year, selling eggs for every holiday. Maybe this does mostly serve as a kids' movie, but it's pretty neat. With Shaggy as the good guy, Dr. Phibes as the bad guy, and Danny Kaye as the narrator, how can you go wrong?

Came across this curio and decided to watch it for Easter. And now I'm going to be the first negative IMDB user reviewer. Because this is kinda boring. Basically an episodic romp through time, this just has the good guy trying to give away eggs and the bad guy trying to stop him. There's magic and time travel and a talking worm but no sense of momentum. Also it doesn't make any sense. And sure, it's for kids, but this is from the folks behind Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and that had interesting, affecting characters and an actual story and that seems like the minimum one can ask for. There is one good song (for Valentine's day) which could be a great free love anthem, but outside of that it's really pretty unimpressive. So if you have fond memories of this from childhood, enjoy. If you've never seen it, don't bother.

I grew up watching this with my mom and I love it to this day. I find myself singing songs from the movie year round. The stop motion is excellent and Vincent price is great as iron tail. This is a great Easter film to watch with the family and if you're like me you'll watch this year round

I love Rankin'/Bass, their specials and their films are timeless childhood favourites. I had never seen this before and never even heard of it until three days ago, and for many reasons which I will explain later I desperately wanted to see this. Thank goodness for good ol' YouTube, for this was a fun special, that is very ideal for the Easter season. The animation is surprisingly colourful and detailed. My complaint really was the picture quality. As it was on YouTube, the quality of the video was a little fuzzy. Also, while the story is very well done and original, I do think specials like Santa Claus is Comin' To Town has a slightly stronger storyline. That said, the writing is very well done and is constantly entertaining, whether it is the references to Peter's ears drooping when he lies or the lines from IronTail. The songs are very sweet and memorable, especially If Only I Could Get Back To Yesterday and When You Can't Get It Altogether, Improvise. But what made the special was the voice acting. I just wish to add that I admire every member of the cast involved. Paul Frees does strong voice work as usual, and Casey Kasem, who I best know as Shaggy in the Scooby Doo cartoons, is a sheer delight as Peter. The villain IronTail is voiced magnificently by the brilliant Vincent Price, who is superb in everything he's in, particularly in Abominable Dr Phibes, Great Mouse Detective and Theater of Blood. And then there's the underrated and very talented Danny Kaye, who was the perfect choice for the narrator. All in all, I recommend Here Comes Peter CottonTail. It isn't my absolute favourite of the Rankin'/Bass specials, and despite one or two minor flaws, it is pretty darn good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

First-rate Rankin-Bass production that ranks at the top in terms of Easter/Easter Bunny holiday fare. I grew up with this one and loved it then and love it as much if not more now. It has a nice story with some wonderful lessons laced within, great stop-motion animation the way only Rankin and Bass can do it, the vocal talents of Danny Kaye and Vincent Price, and the beautiful, catchy music of Maury Laws. Peter Cottontail oversleeps from staying out late partying when he is supposed to compete the next morning against the wicked Irontail only to lose the challenge and see Irontail take over April Valley. There Irontail, with magnificent vocal gusto from Mr. Price, makes numerous changes from changing Easter bonnets to Easter galoshes and egg colors only to new concrete and black. Peter, now social pariah, makes his way out of April Valley to find Mr. Sassafras who hooks him up with a machine that can go back in time with French-speaking caterpillar Antoine as his pilot. Peter and Antoine then make their way through all of the holidays of the calendar as Peter learns true lessons about life. The message in this one is universal and fun at the same time. Maury Laws songs are just wonderful from "The Puzzle of Life," "In Spring the Easter Bunny Never Sleeps," "Be Mine Today," and my personal favourite "If You Can't Get It Altogether Improvise." Danny Kaye resoundingly does the voices of three key characters, and it is clear he and Vincent Price are having a lot of fun. The figures are lovely and I always had a soft spot for January "Boom-Boom" Irontail and his cry "Come Montressor! Away!". I wish they could still make them like this today. I wonder - and doubt - if much of the animated junk they churn out will last and have the same impact on it viewers that this still holds on its over 35 years ago. Well, I'm feeling old - if I could only go back to yesterday and get a second chance.

What is easily one of the best Rankin and Bass specials, is also the most obscure. The story follows Peter basically traveling to different holidays (because Easter is lame) not unlike "The Nightmare Before Christmas". The most memorable scene is of course, Halloween. The enemy is very cool as well, an iron-tailed rabbit named, er, Irontail. I definitely recommend this for anyone who likes "Rudolph" or "Mad Monster Party".