The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

If your kids want to see an Easter special, Here comes Peter Cottontail is better. But this Easter special from the late 1970s isn't too bad. Songs and score are harmless and the villain, an ornery bear, won't scare younger kids. The winter warlock from Santa Claus is coming to Town is very scary in comparison. Having seen this show and Peter Cottontail when they first aired, I saw them both again this past Easter. I didn't remember any details from this one even though it was released six years after Peter C.

For the longest, I've been trying to find the Rankin-Bass special that featured and included a town called Kidville, where all its inhabitants are children and hadn't been successful. I remember catching those scenes of this special some years back on cable. It's no wonder I didn't know that they were part of this special, which I found out after watching it over a week ago on Youtube. I must've missed the title when I first saw those scenes evidently and I don't even remember ever seeing the special in full before then.

My thoughts about this special. I was going to give it the highest rating possible until I read the review by the member who gave it three stars. She made some, I guess, sensible points on why it isn't as great as most reviewers of this, and some others outside of this site, may make it out to be. The amount of stars I give it are between the lowest that have been given (or given so far) by the aforementioned female reviewer (my amount a little higher that hers) and the highest that have been given (my amount a little lower than the others). One reason I chose to give no less stars than six is because I like the Kidville concept. Another is it's great to see the mailman, S.D. Kluger, make a recurring appearance here, but there are several, other similarities that will remind viewers who have already seen the Christmas special, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, even right down to the title. There may be even more similarities than differences that would've set it apart more from that X-mas special. I just found out it's supposed to be a semi-sequel. In that case, I could overlook that, but then again, more sequels to originals should have more distinctions and be better. There still may be some flaws in this that I may have missed and probably never would've thought much of had the more negative reviewer not pointed them out, like how the villains attempted to stop the yellow train from reaching town and that another, better way could've been made for the villains to attempt. I presume I just have mixed feelings about it. However, I've now decided that the previous two, Rankin-Bass Easter specials are much better than this one, considering this is a semi-sequel. I don't really, completely dislike it, but simultaneously, I don't like it as much as the other two Easter specials and find them more superior. It's still nice and alright. One other thing I'll say is the religious references were a surprise.

Super religious and no substance. Nothing really makes sense in it! Also feels like a rip off of Santa Claus is coming to town. Also a rip off of Thomas the tank engine. No wonder I've never heard of it til now. One of their worst productions.

As with Santa Clause is Coming to Town this is a cute follow up on how to tell origins of traditions in connection to a traditional holiday. It touched my heart ever since it came out as The First Easter Rabbit did when it came out one year prior to this one.The kids make a cute rendition in Kidville and Lily Supplies a good Villainess more or less equivalent to The Burger Meister,Meister Burger with her soldiers and all.I agree that this Easter special brings out the kid in all of us as do both "Here comes Peter Cottontail" and "The First Easter Rabbit" do. Sunny Bunny is very cute both as a baby bunny as well as a big bunny.Gad Zooks the bear is equivalent to both The Abominal Snowman in Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer and the winter warlock in Santa Clause is Coming to town of which brings to mind in part how the late Fred Astaire did come back to narrate this special. Truthfully, Stephen "Steve" G. Baer a.k.a."Ste" of Framingham,Ma.USA.

Rankin/Bass have been responsible for some of my favourite childhood memories and I am very fond of a vast majority of their stuff now. The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town is not one of their best, but at least it is not another Cricket on the Hearth. The ending is very rushed and abrupt, maybe a longer length may have helped. But much more than makes up for that. The visuals are bright, colourful and highly accomplished, while the sweet and whimsical score and songs also appeal. The writing has many funny and heartfelt moments, and I equally loved the cute, zippily paced and well-meaning story. There are some good values and even some religious elements that don't feel out of place or heavy-handed. The characters are highly likable and engaging, and while I did miss Paul Frees the voice acting especially from Fred Astaire as the warm and loving narrator is terrific.

In conclusion, well worth the look and charming. 8/10 Bethany Cox