Rankin Bass' Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed came across a village to promote the joys of apples after 25 years of planting them in the country side. The villagers have their promotion with medicine from a crooked Doctor Staywell. The village kids and Johnny Appleseed make Apple Cider to prove apple rather they better than the medicine or not.

I partly knew the story of John “Appleseed” Chapman from a live-action version I’ve seen in elementary school, the Simpsons did their short version with Lisa Simpsons as Connie Appleseed as Homer was Buffekill, and the obvious animated version that was part of a package film.

Johnny Appleseed is upset with apples, to the point I question if he ever ate anything else in his life. Surely he has every other apple beside red delicious such as Honey Crisp, Envy, Pink Lady, etc. Any other food would be blasphemy. It’s an interesting angle to see Johnny interact with the people who bare his fruits. Could be worst, he could open the church of Apple.

*NYU professor considers Apple Store as a Church in 2015*

 Wrong Macintosh!

The villain is Doctor Staywell. OK, why do we need a villain in this one? Yes, it’s to show natural medicine is better than paying medicine with the moral of “An apple a day keeps a doctor away”. (Though Lil Lulu took that moral too literal.) Sure he looks like an anorexic Professor Hinkle, but he’s obviously the villain and obviously defeated, but not by Johnny Appleseed himself, but his woodland critters. Sound embarrassing! Granted in the end, Staywell doesn’t get killed or jailed, but Johnny has Staywell plant apple seeds in the west side of the United States. Rather he plants the seeds or sell them is debatable barely worth doing. If he was removed from the story, the episode will last for about 3-5 minutes.

Strange that we have all the other folklore, with most of them being defeated by the realistic competition such as Paul Bunyan with Virgil with his chainsaw that chops more trees and wear high heels, or John Henry with the Inky Poo that can hammer nails on track quicker. If you’ve heard the realistic version of Johnny Appleseed, you wouldn’t see an animated kid’s film, adult film less likely. Johnny planted the seeds for money and ownership of the land he planted. He did made apple cider, but it was made from spitter apples, and it was the safer drink than water at that time, even if it was Hard Cider. Special thanks to Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything on TruTV, the only good show I can get out of the channel than Practical Jokers.

Though with that fact, the story would be different, especially when Johnny made the cider with kids, and tell them to drink it, even when two or three of those kids are voiced by Billie Mae Richard. The reasons I haven’t talked about the voice actors in the series so far is mainly majority of them aren’t distinct to tell who’s voicing who, except for Billie Mae Richard with her Rudolph voice. The credits don’t tell who voices who, and neither does IMDB with the exception of Jack O’Lantern.

As for the story as its own, it’s passable at best. Can’t recommend it as much as Simpsons’ version for a good laugh. Now the next episode of Festival of Family Classic is Around the World in 80 Days. OK, this time the original film isn’t a Disney version.

*Disney’s Around the World in 80 Days start to fly in their balloon, but I shot the balloon down with my boomstick.*

Dang it, I was aiming for its head! Oh well. Join me in the next episode!

Rankin Bass' 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Well we got a two-parters for some reason with the next episode of Festival of Family Classics, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

A bunch of ships near Australia were being destroyed by a “sea monster”, as a crew were set to hunt for the “sea monster” only to have their ship being destroyed with three known survivors. The three survivors are. The sea monster reveals to be the first unofficial submarine named Nautilus, powered by Captain Nemo and his possibly cloned crew. Nemo hated humanity in the surface world, so he lives the rest of his life in the seas with the survivors as guest than slaves.

Thankfully I don’t have nostalgia connection with the Disney version, and known them from Captain Nemo bursting out, “You’re calling it murder?” and Michael Douglas singing “Whale of a Tale” to the point my music teacher sings that in high school. I’ve seen the Nautilus in two version of Mysterious Island (Journey 2 counts, sadly), and part of the squid was seen in The Pagemaster as it came from the book of 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas.

It’s strange that two of the characters, Ned Land and Nemo look very close in design to Kirk Douglas and James Mason in the Disney version. Despite this is the abridged version of story, the performances are not going to be as the obvious popular version. The minor difference is they trade Esmeralda the Seal for Fifi the Blue Dolphin, which is kind of an improvement that Fifi is actually more useful than Esmeralda, somehow. What’s a downgrade is trading Peter Lorre’s character for Professor Aronnax’s son, who I’ll describe him as proto-Spike Witwicky, yet as useful as Sam Witwicky. Pick your own brunette everyman to compare!

This is probably the first dynamic design for Rankin Bass. As much as I like Paul Coker’s round design, it is a different take. The downside of being dynamic here is that it’s so detailed it’ll stiffen the animation, as it won’t be as energetic as their other animation, and would almost be on par with The Red Baron in energy level. It’s not too stiff as those crappy cut-out animations that uses live action mouths instead, or never moving their lips at all. It might be what would be used later in Thundercats. It’s not entirely aims for kids under 12, as there’s a scene where they Nemo throws a harpoon at a hammerhead shark. The shark got stabbed, bleeds, and swam away with the harpoon still intact. You know, for Family, Festival of Family Classics! Now why is this story need to be a 2-parter is beyond me.

This is simple an OK episode. I can’t recommend this animated version to everyone, yet I haven’t seen an animated version that’s on par or better than the Disney, despite it’s impossible to be better than a groundbreaking film. Think of this as shorter lived Sealab. If you’re interested, give it a cannonball….

(A viewer pulled out cannon to aim at the animated film.)

Of A Dive to watch the film! Geez, I’m trying to some variety from diving without going literal. At least aim the cannon at the Dic version. Oh right, what’s the next episode for Festival of Family Classics? Jack O’Lantern, finally, but I’ll save that for October. What’s after that? Johnny Appleseed! Dammit, I’m going to need Ziegler’s Apple Cider for this!

Rankin Bass' Cinderella

This is the third episode of Rankin Bass’ Festival of Family Classic that ran on TV in 1973. Every episode is a different story, and some are two parter if they ran more than the runtime of 22 minutes; the stories are bare bone with a limit. Now we’re approaching to Cinderella. *sigh* I barely like this story that may echo in my life in two ways.

The story is about as you basically know it. Cinderella lives with an evil step-mother with two ugly lazy step-sisters as their servant. (One of them is male. Maybe that’s where Shrek 2 got it from.) Cinderella remains at home while her step family goes to the royal ball, until her fairy godmother comfort her by making her in transportation, a pretty dress, and glass slippers to go to the ball to meet her Prince Charming (Derek from Swan Princess or Prince David from Gulliver’s Travels?).

This is one of the stories I couldn’t like, partly because of the famous Disney version I sadly grew up with. The most annoyance I’ve got from that film was the mice, and they were usefully annoying as much more or less as the gargoyles from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and they got half of the focus. Thankfully Disney didn’t have the mice after Cinderella to sound high pitch as they gave them normal yet less irritating voice, as heard in Ben and Me, Rescuers, Robin Hood, etc. Despite the high pitch voice kind of makes sense given their size. The mice in the Rankin Bass version are tone down, as it focuses on the title character. Obviously people mostly prefer that version with the evil fearing step mother than a useless bitch, the Mary Blair background, most of the music, and less likely the recent remake would capture those  elements.  There have been many versions, before and after. It’s kind of similar to Betty Boop’s version of Cinderella, including with a living jack-o-lantern apparently, and that’s about it for the similarity. Cinderella in this version is just there. She’s pretty, and maybe sneaky with the mousetrap to not set it up, but best to sum her with a funny version of Derek than the less interesting prince they got.

“You’re just so beautiful and nothing else!”

-Derek from Swan Princess, dubbed by Doug Walker/ Nostalgia Critic in his review of Swan Princess.

I think the only character that does stand out is the knight, who is an enjoyable doofus to get the message from the kingdom with snarky comment such as comparing the “beautiful madams” in the scroll to the step sisters, or his routine by trying to stay on his horse.

When people think of the best Cinderella, usually Ever After came to mind, yet I haven’t watched that yet. Otherwise, I’ve haven’t heard the best yet. The Rankin Bass version isn’t awful, but not good either, as it doesn’t stand out than a style. We’ll see Cinderella and Prince later in Rudolph Shiny New Year. Many can agree at least it’s better than Cinderella 2.

OK, let’s see what’s the next episode for the series? I hope it’s not another version from a popular Disney film.

*I looked up the episode guide, and the next one is the 2-parter of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. I end the review with a Peter Lorre impression.*

Oh no, master! 

Red Baron

Now we get to Rankin Bass and Filmation’s Red Baron. 

Sorry it took a long time since April to do these reviews. I was busy with other better work, and my feeling about this film, as you can tell with the criticism.

A radio announced that troubles happening, as the Red Baron prepares for action.

The fighter jets get defeated by the villains in a literal dogfight. The good king of Pretzel is simply furious. So the Red Baron slowly gets his plane ready to fight with the enemies to smoke them out. This makes the lead of the villain simply furious.

One of the general of the villain has a girlfriend, who is a princess, of course. The evil made a princess double to dispose of the Red Baron. The Princess Double trap Red Baron in a Shark Blimp, but she last as long as Vanessa (Austin Powers 2) and broke down. Now he deals with this bulldog lady, who’s in charge of the blimp. Red Baron gets free with the Bulldog lady, and get to the princess with a chase and stuff.

The meh news is I’ve found the video on youtube, the bad news is in Swedish, but that won’t stop me in reviewing it since I’ve reviewed Chinese films earlier, and youtube does have a subtitle setting (at least part 1 does.), but the translation isn’t accurate. So I’ll write it with what I’m visually watching, then I’ll pinpoint the story with an edit.

The good news is this is the only time Rankin Bass team up with Filmation. Filmation is one of the worst animated companies I’ve seen. Filmation’s pro is unique designs, basic coloring, and sometimes the villain with Skeletor, Malice, and the princess in this film is cute dog princess I got to admit. Filmation’s con is their characters themselves, recycle animations, focus away from the titled character(s) to the cartoony useless sidekick (as Red Baron’s cat and the princess sort of prove that point.), and spend too much on dialogue that it’s impossible to be invested to the characters as much as politics, reality TV, and soap operas.

The conversations and music drag on too long, very similar to how Filmation does the direction in the Star Trek Animated Series. I can see how Haim Saban and Shuki Levy would make better music for He-man. For odd reason when we get to the climax, they reuse the music that was playing in Cricket and the Hearth, and most in Festival of Family Classic. Yet that’s the better music than their slow Victorian music. Everything can be said and done simply under few seconds. Not Filmation, most of their films moments take more than minutes to say or do a thing. What Rankin Bass and Filmation do in common with their cons is they don’t animate planes well in animation or stop-motion. This is kind of proven in Mad Monster Party and He-man. We had better plane animation in the past, and yet one better stop-motion plane in Puppetoons. The difference is Rankin Bass can pull Flying Reindeers, Hot Air Balloon, and Reinsnake (?). Now some of you suddenly wonder, “Why review this, but not animated King and I?” King and I has design of a Richard Rich film, as Red Baron has a Rankin Bass design than Filmation's design, as proven that general designer Paul Coker Jr. did this film.

I definitely choose Mushi Company over Filmation, namely their animation is more active, alive, and has better coloring. The only reason in theory why Rankin Bass team up with Filmation is Mushi Company has their limit of films, and they prices with out of country payment. Filmation’s production is mainly American, and is against outsourcing, at least that’s what Cartoon Hero said when he reviewed Robin & The Dreamweavers to quote.

“…Filmation is one of the very last companies to animate Animerican content in America. Nowadays, like everything else in America, animation has been outsourced. I’m not complaining, it looks good, but it’s not hard to think bull****. Especially because there are animators here, who would gladly take the job, but for the most part, they can’t.”

-Eli Stone/ Cartoon Hero, review of Robin & The Dreamweavers. 10/3/2016.

This is probably the dullest of the Rankin Bass so far. It’s pretty bad when Snoopy vs the Red Baron, who speaks less, fly more, and has more of a personality than this film, and that made 7 years earlier with 5 years earlier for the music by The Royal Guardsmen. So it’s best to pass this film.

Now what’s next on my agenda for Rankin Bass Review should I do that isn’t a series.

*Going through the list of Rankin Bass films, and That Girl In Wonderland.*

That’s lazy, they want to avoid copyright of the public domain story, or they don’t like the name Alice.

*Look through the clip and IMDB information*

Oh, it’s That Girl the series. OK, I guess they want to have a replacement for…

*Look up Alice In Wonderland in Rankin Bass’ Festival of Family Classic.*

OK, there are two versions. What are my other options after that?

*Rankin Bass’ Hobbit appeared with the music of Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, and the calendar appeared as August with October, a little November, and a big December.*

Yeeesh! I might as well go through episodes of Festival of Family Classics, as I promise I would in order. So let’s start with Hiawatha or Yankee Doodle…

*No English video existed. Up to episode 3:Cinderella*

OK, join me next time for my review of Festival of Family Classics’ episode of Cinderella. Ooh, cruel fate!  

The Emperor's New Clothes

Let’s wrap up the Easter series of films with the Emperor’s New Clothes.

You might be asking, “Didn’t I review Emperor’s New Clothes earlier, and what does this have to do with Easter?” Yes I reviewed the condense version as part of my Daydreamer review, but this is an extended remake. As for the Easter part, it’s not particularly an Easter film, but it’s a spin-off film with Peter Cottontail’s host, Danny Kaye in the same performance and model, just like Fred Astaire in Easter Bunny Is Comin’ To Town, so I’m counting this as an April Fool film. So this film is a remake and a spin-off, and yet tells it different than the other remake and spin-off.

Danny Kaye is the host and the main tailor of the story named Marmaduke…..

(OK, for the sake of the story. I’m not calling him that. While I’m not calling Peter Cottontail Jr. as he’s just a weaker copy. I hear the name “Marmaduke”, and I see a Parade Comic Dog that Daria’s Dad wish he was dead. 

So for the start of the review, I’m referring him as Mr. Sassafras, since he’s the same likable character. No one can capture that, not even Christopher Lloyd. Let’s back to the story!)

Mr. Sassafras and his partner, Mufti is a traveling tailors. They went to Bibbentucker to win One Million Grinklens from the vain Emperor Klockenlocher (voiced by Cyril Ritchard). Mr. Sassafras gains a connection with the emperor’s daughter, Princess Jane. She tells the animated backstory (very well animated) of how the Emperor was advised by Jasper the Jestor of he was best for the pretty clothing, as the budget was spent on the clothing and Jasper.

Sassafras and Mufti was thrown by the guard Ivan to the Boulevard of Rogue with an orphan he adopted as he became an uncle, Mufti the grandpa, and the orphan as his apprentice. They manage to escape to get to the emperor to show them their new clothes. As the visible cloth failed the emperor’s standards, the invisible clothes enchanted to the emperor’s surprise. Only the cloth is seen to though who isn’t stupid and unfit to the office. This leads the emperor doubting himself as he has enlightenment through a trippy depth of a sequence assuming with snuff (yes that exist in this film.) as throughout the film he’s studying books to be smarter.

Mr. Sassafras gets closer with Princess Jane with more detail with Jasper reason to be of royalty, even if she unintentionally kills him.

If you see the Daydreamer review and the story before, then there’s no point putting up the suspense.

Once again, Danny Kaye is perfect as the host and the main tailor, even better than Victor Bory. He’s a lot quicker to be convincing to be a fine tailor than using a violin to be charming. His music is just as good as his music in Peter Cottontail. They’re not as memorable, but it sound nice. The slapstick and his reaction to the princess’ action through sports are funny. Princess Jane is pretty cute, funny, and strong. Not entirely strong will for being married within three days as standards for Hans Christian Anderson story, though not a complete sucker, but strong enough to lift heavy weights and a bowling ball, despite it would be useful for the story.

 

I like how the straight man and the funnyman from the originals in Daydreamer are reversed. Instead of the tailors being the straight men, one is the funnyman, and the emperor went from funnyman (I think, given it is Ed Wynn.) to a straight man. Emperor Klockenlocher is dignified and boastful. The emperor’s reaction when he realizes the truth on the clothes is priceless.

The downside is Jasper the Jestor. How can you have a clown to be an advisor and take him seriously? Unless you’re Batman’s Joker, you’re not convincing enough that only an idiot will fall for him. Oh wait, that’s the ideal with the Emperor! He’s not even funny clown, so he’s unfit for either jobs. The only jobs he can do are to make the tailors less villainous by comparison and to pad out this short story.

Mufti and the orphan aren’t memorable either. Mufti couldn’t top Terry- Thomas as a tailor, but then again, Terry – Thomas is one of many original actors who were in the earlier version hard to beat playing better. Yet the orphan has more of the personality of being cheerful, purpose, and expression than Chris in Daydreamer.

This film is a funny one that I don’t mind popping once in a while. This is one of many Rankin Bass that was released in DVD recently in 2005, and has never reaired on TV, mainly range from nudity in stop-motion as part of the reason that Daydreamer wasn’t on TV either, to the fact it’s not a holiday special. If there’s a channel or collection in DVD that can show every single Rankin Bass films in TV shows, Holiday special, and non-holiday, then that would be worth the effort for either Dreamworks Animation or Shout Factory to sell to the market. This is one of the better non-holiday specials that deserved to be viewed more.

Thus conclude the Easter Special for the Rankin Bass review. Join me next time as hoping the next one isn’t a dud. Oh look, the Red Baron is next! Though who else is producing this film?

*looking through IMDB, (What you do instead of things!) and spotted Filmation as the producer*

Oh geez, what have I done? Time to get some frozen pizza!

The Easter Bunny is Comin' To Town

Now we get to the third and last of the Easter Trilogy, The Easter Bunny Is Comin’ To Town.

The host is Fred Astaire one last time, playing the same mailman from Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town. Instead of traveling by snowmobile, he travels by train with Chugs the Yellow Train That Could.

A town of Kidsville found a baby bunny they named Sunny. He grew up into a one year old full grown rabbit (Rabbit ages is different from people, of course. He’s voiced by Skip Hinnant of Fritz the Cat.). Kidsville plan to deliver eggs from the Hendrew Sisters. (Andrew Sisters. Get it, people over 45!) Sunny goes to a nearby town(s), but there was an interference with Kidsville’s threat, a bear named Gazooks (Smokey the Bear’s Dad?), but he got to the nearby town of Town. (I heard they got great Wine wine at good Tavern tavern.)

Town is ruled by mostly Duren of Dutch, Lilly Longtooth, and the king Bruce the frail, who was too young to rule due to being 7 years old and is miserable.

Sunny brings the first colored easter eggs to Town thanks to a hobo named Hallelujah. King Bruce knight Sunny as the official Easter Bunny. Similar to Burgermeister, Lilly bans the eggs of any shell. Sonny created Jelly Beans and more Easter Eggs, but Gazooks threw away 1/3^rd of the baskets far away. (Yet somehow counts as threw away all of them, or Gazooks threw away the rest off-screen as we don’t see the teacher kid and baker kid holding them the next scene. I don’t get it either.) Suddenly, kids started the Egg Hunt from the result of Gazooks, and the jellybeans were never seen again as Jellybeans Hunt wouldn’t last long. Sunny created the first Easter Outfit for Gazooks as he appreciates the gift as his heart grew few sizes bigger.

As the people of Town grow to celebrate Easter with the kids, Lilly finds this most unorthodox as she sends the guards to as they chant without mixing them up, “Get the children! Get the rabbit!”

The following week, Sunny created a chocolate bunny for the guard, stuff animals for King Bruce, an Easter Parade in Somberto…I mean Town. Sunny was going to rely on Gazooks to carry the load of Easter stuff, but was tripped by Lilly’s guards and was out of the film until the end. So Hallelujah brought up his old co-workers to build a railroad at Big Rock Candy Mountain for a train. (Association with Candy Apple Island filled with medium size Ape.) 

Will Lily foil their plan? Does anyone aside from Irontail ever stop a holiday in a film lately other than Pitch?

The stop-motion animation has improved slightly. The characters design has gotten softer, the pupils for the most have some color (mostly blue), and the lower lips stood out more. I kind of miss the designs of how simple the facials of earlier films, but evolution of the design is essential as long it harm the ideal and film, unlike that “sequel” where their style doesn’t fit into any films. I forgot how striking the color blue is in this film as it helps to focus on the character with it or the background. Sunny is pretty much the stop-motion version of Stuffy, even wearing a similar vest that Peter Cottontail wore. No, this is not another prequel to Peter Cottontail, even if they said Sunny is now the first Easter Bunny. Just like my theory earlier, Sunny is the first bunny, but at Town as part of the territory. Though with Fred Astaire, it just raises more questions with the continuity, especially with the same Santa Claus.

The main issue is this Easter Bunny is Comin’ To Town is a remake of the First Easter Bunny, and a spin-off with the same story as Santa Claus Comin’ To Town. A holiday figure (shot in a nice sunrise scene) discovered by kid size forgotten side character, he wants to spread joy into a gray town (say what you want for New Jersey, we kept our plants while both Sombertown and Town didn’t) lead by a stick in a mud. They have a giant scary figure, but have kindness won him over. They have ways to get around with unlikely transportation, and Fred Astaire is involved.

It has some charm, but not as much as Peter Cottontail. It has a relaxing pace with music and Fred Astaire helps, but not as much as Santa Claus Comin’ To Town. Hallelujah, Chugs the train, and the guards are nice side characters, but the kids don’t stand out.

Lilly is mainly Burgermeister, minus the pain or reason why these colorful things are bad, thus making her as she is a bitch. Though now that I think of it, is she the inspiration for Kyle’s mom from South Park?

“Times have change, our kids are getting worst. They won’t obey their parents, they just want to fart and curse…”

-                                                                           Sheila Broflaski from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

If you want an Easter film that tells the origin different without relying on earlier film, then there’s Easter Fever. The Easter Fever I’ve found recently, and placed in the #3 of my favorite Easter film (#4 if you count Greatest Story Ever Told.). It tells their story different and shows the impact what the Easter Bunny made as he’s about to retire, and the rarest moment when we have a female Easter bunny that isn’t the Cadbury Mascot.

I did watch it a lot when I was young as it was recorded on a VHS I still mostly own with G1 My Little Ponies’ second episode, Frosty’s Winter Wonderland, Leprechaun’s Christmas Gold, and The Year Without Santa Claus. I had nostalgia some the film and still have some soft spot for the film. However, as I watch it in release order with the other Easter films before, it seems less special. So for me, this will be #4 or #5 for my Easter book, unless there are better Easter films out there to have Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town to be rank lower.  

The First Easter Rabbit

Now we go into the second of the Easter Trilogy of Rankin Bass, The First Easter Rabbit.

Burl Ive reprise himself as narrator as an olde white hare as tells a tale of the First Easter Rabbit. The Rabbit named Stuffy (voiced by Robert Morse) was a stuff doll for a little girl named Glenda (maybe Robotic, yet remind me of the same girl in Frosty’s Winter Wonderland), but she got sick, as the doctor recommend burning all of her fabrics away.

“Fire, and lots of it!”

-Dr. Hibbert.

“That’s you answer to everything!”

-Marge Simpsons.

A fairy named Calipee saves the Rabbit by bringing him to life as the Easter Rabbit for a symbol and to go Easter Valley. He meets with a real rabbit trio of Spats, Whiskers, and Flop.

The villain is Zero the Snow Wizard (one of four Paul Frees voices) and Brrruuuuuce the snowball. Their plan is to spread snow to everywhere including Apri…I mean Easter Valley, and get the golden lilly.

Our bunny friends got to Easter Valley through a caverns from a hallow tree, where they meet Santa Claus (once again voiced by Paul Frees.) as he suggest to start Easter at a nearby town.   

This is the weakest of the trilogy, but naturally better than the sequel. Unlike the first and third of the Easter films, I didn’t have any long nostalgia for this film. It’s not the worst, but it’s less magical and most rushed of the films. I had a little theory that ABC either wanted another Easter film only shorter, or ABC like Peter Cottontail, but hated the length of the film, and results in negative that they wanted a longer one while not as long as Cottontail. It’s very similar with the music choice in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer that they like “We’re A Couple of Misfits, but hated the length, as they hated “Fame and Fortune”, but like the length, and made worst for CBS when put the “We’re A Couple of Misfit” audio rushed through the “Fame and Fortune” footage. Thus we have Easter Bunny Is Comin’ To Town, which I’ll be hopping towards later.  

Best time to bring up Robert Morse. This is his first out of three of the Rankin Bass along with young Scrooge and “slightly young” Jack Frost. He does OK as much as everyone except for Glenda here. He’s not as good and active as Casey Kasem as Peter Cottontail (what bunny can aside from Bugs Bunny or Hugh Jackman) He still voice act today for better (the governor in Legend of Korra) and for worst (Santa Claus in Teen Titans Go).

This is the last film Joan Gardner voiced for Rankin Bass after six earlier films, as she moved on to voice in mostly Hanna Barbera TV shows. I do miss the voice as sort of wished they used her more often.

While one of rabbit is Paul Frees (this isn’t the Paul Frees heaviest of the films), the others is Whiskers voiced by Don Messick of then Scooby Doo but in voice range of Ratchet of G1 Transformers, and Flops is voiced by Stan Freberg of Junior (Looney Tunes).

I almost thought Stuffy was a young Colonel Bunniton, but that’s less likely the case, as it is its own Easter film to set in their own town, an unnamed town that I could assume is New York, but it’s not that big and every state has their 6^th Avenue, and yes, they used the Easter Parade song here. I’m better off watching most of the Easter Parade with the host in the next review, Fred Astaire.

As for the film itself, it’s pretty filler with some nice Mushi Studios animation, but this wasn’t fully stuffed for me.