| Easter Fever | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
Ken Stephenson ("Jack Saves the Day") |
| Produced by | Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Larry Mollin (associate) |
| Screenplay by | Larry Mollin |
| Starring | Garrett Morris Maurice LaMarche Catherine O'Hara Larry Mollin Jeri Craden Jim Henshaw |
| Music by | Patricia Cullen |
| Studio | Nelvana Limited |
| Distributed by | CBC (1980, TV) Warner Home Video (VHS, 1980s) |
| Release date(s) | March 25, 1980 |
| Running time | 25 min |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Easter Fever (also known by its on-screen title, The Jack Rabbit Story) is the fifth television special from the Canadian animation company, Nelvana. It was released in 1980.
Jack (Garrett Morris), a jive talking Easter Rabbit decides to retire and is the subject of a Friar's Club celebrity roast. His life story is told in a series of three flashbacks.
In "Jack as Santa", a young Jack, abandoned at birth and adopted by chickens, receives a painted egg as a Christmas gift from his poor foster parents and loves it so much he decides to give all his friends painted eggs for Easter.
The second story, "Jack in Love", has a lovesick Jack unable to carry out his Easter duties prompting a competition for a new animal to replace him. His unrequited love, Scarlett O'Hare (Catherine O'Hara), accidentally enters and wins the contest. While delivering Easter eggs, she is attacked by jealous Ratso Rat (Larry Mollin) and his gang and is saved by Jack with whom she falls in love.
The third story, "Jack Saves the Day", features Madame Melegg (Jeri Craden), a mad TV chef kidnapping all the chickens so that she can cook a two million egg ommlette. Jack pretends to be Antoine, a famous French chef in order to free the chickens and save their eggs.
Back at the roast, a young aardvark (Jim Henshaw) attempts to convince Jack not to retire.
This special was paired with Take Me Up to the Ball Game on the VHS videocassette Nelvanamation 2 (1990); this tape is currently out of print.