Product Details

• Actors: Danny Kaye, Paul Frees, Joan Gardner, Casey Kasem, Iris Rainer
• Directors: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
• Writers: Romeo Muller
• Producers: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
• Format: Animated, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony
• VHS Release Date: February 24, 1998
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1556583486
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,156 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Have you ever wished for a classic Easter special to show your kids? Here Comes Peter Cottontail is a Rankin & Bass production that bears a marked similarity to the beloved Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Narrator Seymour S. Sassafrass, voiced and sung by Danny Kaye, takes young viewers on a tour of the mythical April Valley and relates the story of how Peter Cottontail almost failed in his quest to become Chief Easter Bunny. Sassafrass peers into his magic egg, and viewers are introduced to Peter Cottontail--a spunky, ingenious young rabbit who is boastful, is prone to fibbing, and lacks a sense of responsibility. In order to become Chief Easter Bunny, Peter Cottontail must defeat the evil Irontail in a contest to deliver the most eggs on Easter Sunday. Through his trials, Peter Cottontail discovers the value of ingenuity, the importance of placing duty before pleasure, and the folly of self-conceit.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail features catchy songs, great 1970s stop-motion animation, and a fun Easter tale. Parents will find themselves reminiscing over holidays gone by or wondering how they missed this show in their own childhood. The 2 and up crowd will be begging for another showing long after the Easter candy is a distant memory. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hippity Hoppity goodness, March 5, 2002

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Here Comes Peter Cottontail (DVD)

"Here Comes Peter Cottontail" is another great Animagic treat from Rankin/Bass. The picture on the DVD is great, and does full justice to this classic.

Vincent Price's Irontail is one of the best villains in any holiday special. There is a special evil flair to the character, a dark bunny who rides on a giant bat and only wants to deliver mud-colored eggs. I love Danny Kaye, who does a great job as the narrator Seymour S. Sassafras.

The best scenes are Peter trying to deliver holiday-themed eggs during competing holidays. 4th of July eggs, Valentine's Day eggs, Christmas eggs and green St. Patrick's Day eggs spring from his basket. Our plucky little hero tries his best, and overcomes his self-inflicted follies in true holiday style.

Sadly, the accompanying feature "Puss in Boots" is very low-quality Rankin/Bass. It is a cheaply animated feature and does not fit well with "Here Comes Peter Cottontail." There is no Easter theme to the cartoon, and I cannot see myself watching it more than once. A better fit would have been "The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town" or "The First Easter Rabbit." This tacked-on extra keeps the DVD from getting 5 stars.

Other than that, great DVD! More please.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPER STOP-MOTION "ANIMAGIC" FROM RANKIN/BASS, January 30, 2000

By 

Joseph Brando (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here Comes Peter Cottontail [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is an excellent stop-motion TV special that originally aired during the early 70's. It features the voices of Danny Kaye, Vincent Price and Casey Kasem. It is produced by the wonderful animation team of Rankin/Bass who also graced our television sets with holiday traditions such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Santa Claus is Coming To Town", "Frosty the Snowman", and the popular cult classic "Mad Monster Party".

This fanciful, pastel-colored Easter special is based on a book titled "The Easter Bunny Who Overslept". Peter agrees to a contest against Evil Irontail to see who can deliver the most Easter eggs. But, when Peter oversleeps, leaving Evil Irontail to rule April Valley (the land of Easter bunnys), he must travel back through time making unplanned stops at all the other holidays on his way back to Easter.

This show really has a warm, Easter/Spring-feeling that makes you feel like a kid again! Once again, Rankin/Bass have been able to incorporate a wonderful holiday feel into a colorful, fun special. There are also some great songs.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Join Peter on his bunny trail, September 26, 2003

By 

D. Earp (Wyoming, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Here Comes Peter Cottontail (DVD)

First of all, it's a Rankin/Bass animagic special, so I think I could just stop there, because that says it all!
This is a great Easter movie, with Peter Cottontail learning about responsibility in order to be the head bunny. The Characters are wonderful as usual, An evil bunny, french caterpillar, and a talking Easter bonnet joining Peter in his journey back in time. It is Set in the beautiful April Valley and narrated by Sassafras(Danny Kaye), with, as always, great songs. My faves being "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" and "If I could Only Get Back to Yesterday".
Also, as extra value for money, you get one of R/Bs cartoon features, "Puss In Boots". I don't know how many of you would remember these cartoons, but the introductions starts with a book spiralling into the centre of the screen. It then opens up and says Rankin Bass presents.......whatever cartoon it is, then all the different characters walk over a rainbow. When I started watching it, all these memories started flooding back to me from when I was little, it was such good fun to watch. Definitely worth having.
I am in my twenties and still enjoy watching R/B productions, true, that is because I grew up with them, but anybody who hasn't tried some Rankin/Bass, please do, you will be pleasantly suprised!