|
|
|---|
Here Comes Peter Cottontail is a Stop Motion puppet animated (called "Animagic") Rankin/Bass Productions holiday special, the first of the studio's Easter specials, broadcast in 1971. It follows the usual Rankin/Bass formula of taking a holiday standard song like "Peter Cottontail", and weaving around it a narrative, in this case adapted by R/B's favorite writer Romeo Muller from Otto and Priscilla Friedrich's book The Easter Bunny That Overslept, and adding original songs with music by Maury Laws and lyrics by co-producer Jules Bass. Danny Kaye serves as the usual R/B Ink Suit Actor Narrator, Seymour K. Sassafrass.
Tropes present:[]
- Alliterative Name: Seymour S. Sassafras
- Big Bad: January Q. Irontail is the main villain of the movie.
- Bittersweet Ending: During the final scene, April Valley is saved and Peter is made Chief Easter Bunny, but he still worries about Antoine's death. However, Antoine survives from Montresor's scratches and returns in butterfly form (at first you thought it was his ghost).
- Buddy Picture: The film focuses on Peter and Antoine's trip in the Yestermorrowbile.
- Dark Reprise: "The Easter Bunny Never Sleeps" begets "The Easter Bunny Always Sleeps" when Irontail takes over April Valley.
- Deuteragonist: Antoine is this in the film.
- Disney Death: At the start of the film's climax, Antoine sacrifices himself to save Peter and the Yestermorrowbile and is killed by Montresor. But he turns up fine and his injuries made him turn into a butterfly.
- Distaff Counterpart: Jackie Frost in the sequel is obviously a female Jack Frost.
- Easter Bunny: Of course.
- Freudian Excuse: Irontail wasn't always a nasty bunny. The entire reason he dislikes children at all is because a kid accidentally squished his tail while rollerskating. Why he couldn't just be an adult about it and accept an apology rather than decide to be a dick to all children is up for grabs.
- Heel Face Turn: At the end of the movie, Irontail becomes punished by Peter as a janitor. But he still joins the parade.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Antoine, during the Christmas Eve segment, gets separated by Peter and gets killed by Montresor.
- Hey, It's That Voice!: Vincent Price as Irontail; Casey Kasem as Peter; Danny Kaye as multiple characters, and Rankin/Bass favorite Paul Frees as various anonymous characters.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Irontail turns the eggs completely green near the end. Naturally, this comes back to bite him when St. Patrick's Day rolls around.
- Ink Suit Actor: Danny Kaye as Seymour K. Sassafras
- Loophole Abuse: Peter wins the egg-delivering contest in the end and saves Easter because the rules did not specify the eggs had to be delivered on Easter. Irontail also got away with it at the beginning: although he only managed to deliver one egg, that was still one more than Peter delivered.
- Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: Probably the only reason why Irontail got away with half the stuff he did in the original special.
- Only Six Faces: The humans Peter encounters during his adventure all tend to look alike.
- Pinocchio Nose: Peter's left ear droops whenever he tells a fib.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Antoine becomes this in the movie.
- Sequel Hook: At the finale, Antoine survived from his death and agrees to becomes Peter's advisor, foreshadowing his return in Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Antoine was not seen since his Disney Death at the end of the Christmas segment during the climax, leaving Peter to deliver the eggs alone without the aid of a Plucky Comic Relief.
- What Measure Is a Non-Cute?