There’s still time to rush to the store and pick up some essential Easter holiday viewing starring everyone’s favorite cartoon beagle and a certain cotton-tailed sugar delivery system. Warner Home Video recently released re-mastered, deluxe editions of the animated Peanuts special It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and the Rankin & Bass stop-motion classic The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town.
In It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, the beloved Peanuts characters prepare for Easter morning when, according to Linus, the ‘Easter Beagle’ will arrive and hand out Easter eggs. Lucy schemes to find all the eggs in the annual Easter Egg Hunt, while Peppermint Patty and Marcie have some trouble making colored eggs. The disc includes the bonus special It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, as well as a documentary featurette titled In Full Bloom: The Peanuts at Easter. The doc explores the part that faith plays in the comic strips and animated specials of Charles M. Schulz.
The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town was produced by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass in 1977. Featuring narration by the legendary Fred Astaire, the fully re-mastered, 50-minute stop-motion special tells an Easter story with an uplifting message that teaches kids about the origins of such Easter traditions such as Easter egg hunts, egg rolling contests and easter bonnets. Included is the never-before-seen featurette The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town: The Magic of Stop Motion. Other extras include a collection of stop-motion animated short films for children’Breakfast of Magicians, Floating Through Daydream Garden and Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town: The Easter Express.
See our contest link on the homepage and enter to win copies of It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town.
