Here Comes Peter Cottontail - Vintage TV Thursday

Do you remember the days when special TV programming for each holiday was eagerly looked forward too?

When I was a kid (which isn’t all THAT long ago folks) we lived in an area that cable TV wasn’t available. Sure, plenty of my friends had it by the time I was in Jr High, but we lived on a stretch of road in rural Maine that the cable company for some reason had decided it wasn’t worth running the cable on. So even if my folks had been the types who would have spent the extra cash on cable (and that wasn’t a guarantee even if it had been available), it wasn’t an option.

That meant we had four TV stations growing up. That was counting PBS. There just wasn’t a lot of kids TV on. So when a cartoon or a claymation special was on during prime time, by golly you were excited and happy to watch it. And as each of the major holidays rolled around, there were always one or two special TV shows you could count on. Here Comes Peter Cottontail was one I always loved, especially because poor Peter, once he had been tricked out of becoming the new Chief Bunny by Irontail (the mean bunny who detests children and wanted to get even with them for accidentally cutting off his tail) had to use a time machine and go through all the holidays of the year.

Of course Easter is first and foremost to me a Christian religious holiday, as a matter of fact the most important religious holiday for the year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a bit of silly Easter Bunny fun.

So for today’s Vintage TV Thursday, here is the full 50 minute claymation movie:

If you are looking for something a bit quicker, I also found this 1962 1 1/2 min short about fashionable Easter Bonnets. Ah, back in the days when things were made by hand (like the ladies sewing in the start of the video) and women wore hats to church.