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First Easter Rabbit
Directed by: Jules Bass
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Written by: Julian P. Gardner
Music by: Maury Laws
Narrated by: Burl Ives (as G.B.)
Release date: April 9, 1976
Running time: 25 minutes
Original network: NBC
Related specials: Here Comes Peter Cottontail

"The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town"

The First Easter Rabbit is an animated Easter television special produced by Warner Bros Television that premiered April 9, 1976 on NBC and later aired on CBS.[1] Created by Rankin/Bass, it tells the story of the Easter Bunny's origin. Burl Ives narrated the special which also featured the song "Easter Parade;" it marked Burl Ives's return to a Rankin/Bass special for the first time since "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" twelve years prior.

Plot[]

Maury is a stuffed rabbit, given to a little girl named Glinda as a Easter present. But when she comes down sick with red fever, her old toys are thrown away to be burned in order to disinfect the playroom. Stuffy is rescued by a sprite named Calliope, who brings him to life and sends him to Easter Valley at the North Pole-where he befriends Santa Claus and three other rabbits named Spats, Flops, and Whiskers to help him with the Easter traditions. However, an ice monster named Zero and his partner Bruce the Snowball want to freeze the valley by stealing the Gold Easter Lily. In order to stop him, Stuffy must become the Easter Bunny, retrieve the Gold Lily, and save Easter.

Songs[]

  • "There's That Rabbit"
  • "Easter Parade"

Cast[]

  • Burl Ives as G.B.
  • Robert Morse as Stuffy
  • Stan Freberg as Flops
  • Paul Frees as Santa Claus, Zero, Spats
  • Joan Gardner as Elizabeth, Calliope
  • Dina Lynn as Glinda
  • Don Messick as Whiskers, Dr. Jonathan, Bruce the Snowball
  • Christine Winter as Glinda (singing voice)
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