The First Easter Rabbit (TV Short 1976)

The First Easter Rabbit: Directed by Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.. With Burl Ives, Robert Morse, Stan Freberg, Paul Frees. A beloved toy stuffed rabbit is rescued by a fairy to be the first Easter Rabbit.

“This mustu0026#39;ve been one of the lesser aired Easter specials, because I donu0026#39;t remember ever seeing this on t.v. when I was little/younger. So Iu0026#39;m not as familiar with it as I am with another Rankin-Bass Easter special, Here Comes Peter Cottontail. I donu0026#39;t even recall seeing any copy of the VHS cover of this and another reviewer on here mentioned this also aired on the Disney channel, about which I had no idea either. But catching it on Youtube earlier this month makes up for it. This is another well-done Rankin-Bass Easter special thatu0026#39;s just as great as Peter Cottontail. I like how everything came together. Although the Easter bunny may not be what Easter truly is all about, this still makes for one of the nice ways of explaining another aspect of how this particular rabbit came to be. What make me love this the most are the moments that grab and keep me engaged, ranging from the tender (Glinda receiving Stuffy as a Christmas present) to the poignant (Glinda no longer being allowed to keep Stuffy, to whom she was attached, due to him being a health hazard) to the funny (the three rabbits Stuffy comes across after being brought to life, thanks to the sprite, Calliope), to the triumphant (Stuffy managing to retrieve the Golden Lilly, preventing the valley from being completely frozen by Zero, and reuniting with Glinda on Easter Day). I wonder how exactly (possibly magic again aside) the plush Stuffy was still able to talk before becoming a live rabbit, despite originally being a stuffed doll. Both the older Stuffy and Sam the Snowman from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are not only voiced by folk artist Burl Ives, but are also drawn in his likeness as a reference. Thereu0026#39;s a third Rankin-Bass Easter special I have yet to see, The Easter Bunny Is Cominu0026#39; To Town, but I will see it soon too. Iu0026#39;m sure it ought to be just as great as the other two comprising the Rankin-Bass Easter special trilogy. I enjoyed it and anyone who hasnu0026#39;t seen this but still enjoys watching a great holiday special will and should too. Itu0026#39;s another in a line of the best holiday specials of all time.”