Here Comes Peter Cottontail
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| Here Comes Peter Cottontail | |
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| Directed by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Produced by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Written by | Thornton W. Burgess Romeo Muller |
| Starring | Casey Kasem Danny Kaye Vincent Price Joan Gardner |
| Release date(s) | 1971 |
| Running time | 55 m |
| Language | English |
Here Comes Peter Cottontail is a 1971 Easter television special made by Rankin-Bass, based on the song of the same name; it was originally broadcast on ABC-TV. In 2006, it was followed by a direct to video sequel, Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie. The name "Peter Cottontail" is actually a combination of the names of two Beatrix Potter story characters, Cottontail and Peter Rabbit, from the story "The Tale of Peter Rabbit".
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[edit] Story
Seymour S. Sassafrass, an eccentric peddler and inventor, tells the tale of Peter Cottontail, a young Easter Bunny who lives in April Valley. April Valley is where all that is Easter (colored eggs, chocolate candy, etc.) comes from, all of it overseen by the Chief Easter Bunny.
Colonel Wellington B. Bunny, the retiring Chief Easter Bunny, names young Peter his successor despite Peter's propensity for boasting and telling lies. Peter, who has dreamed of being the Chief Easter Bunny almost his entire life, gladly accepts. But not everyone in April Valley is happy with the Colonel's decision. January Q. Irontail, an evil, reclusive rabbit who lives in a craggy old tree, alone except for his assistant Montresor, who is a bat, wants to be the Chief Easter Bunny... but only so he can ruin it for children everywhere, as revenge for the loss of his tail.
Because the constitution of April Valley says only the rabbit who delivers the most eggs on Easter morning can be Chief Easter Bunny, Irontail demands that Colonel Bunny hold a contest between himself and Peter to see who wins. Peter, being arrogant, accepts Irontail's challenge even as Colonel Bunny is preparing to turn the evil rabbit down. Although Peter promises the Colonel he won't fail, he spends all night partying with his friends and oversleeps. Just for good measure, Irontail also sabotages his alarm clock.
Even though the unfriendly Irontail manages to deliver only one egg, it's still one more egg than Peter delivers and so Irontail is named the new Chief Easter Bunny, as per the constitution. Immediately, Irontail begins to wreck Easter by passing ridiculous new laws that will doubtless make the entire holiday a complete disaster. Meanwhile, Peter, ashamed that his overconfidence and irresponsibility led to this tragedy, leaves April Valley in shame.
He happens upon Seymour S. Sassafrass, who in addition to being the narrator in the present is also the man who supplies April Valley with the dyes it uses to color its Easter eggs. He gets them from his Garden of Surprises, which includes striped tomatoes, red string beans and blue watermelons. Proving to be a very compassionate and understanding man (if a somewhat offbeat one), Sassafrass offers to let Peter use his latest invention, the Yestmorrowmobile, a time machine. With the help of its pilot, a French caterpillar named Antoine, Peter will be able to go back to Easter and retake the contest.
Unfortunately, Irontail finds out about Peter's plan and sends a spider to sabotage the Yestemorrowmobile's controls, thereby allowing Peter and Antoine to go to any holiday but Easter! The rules of the contest don't specifically say the eggs must be delivered on Easter, so Peter begins trying to give his eggs away at other holidays, without success. Along the way he meets Donna, a lovely girl bunny, and keeps persisting in his quest even though no one seems to want eggs on any holiday except Easter... and to make matters worse, Irontail and Montresor the bat are always trying to steal the eggs or otherwise sabotage Peter's efforts, eventually succeeding in turning them a mottled green color.
After many failed efforts, including a dishonest attempt to pitch the eggs as explosive torpedoes on the 4th of July, he finally manages to give the green eggs away on St. Patrick's day, a holiday themed by the appropriate color.
[edit] Cast
| Actor/Actress | Role |
| Casey Kasem | Peter Cottontail |
| Danny Kaye | Seymour S. Sassafrass / Colonel Wellington B. Bunny / Antoine |
| Vincent Price | January Q. Irontail |
| Joan Gardner | Bonnie Bonnet / Madame Esmerelda |
| Iris Rainer | Donna |
