Voices of Paul Fusco, Lisa Buckley, Rich Schellbach, and Robert Fappiano
Directed by Terry Kyne
Music and Lyrics by Ed Bruter, Michael Solden, and Jeff Cannata
Let's celebrate Easter with a unique blast from my childhood. Fusco is best-known today as the creator and long-time voice of the furry alien ALF. From 1981 to 1983, Fusco made a series of holiday specials for Showtime featuring cuter and more cartoon-like puppets. The Easter special debuted in 1983 as his second-to-last holiday show. It would turn up on Nickelodeon and elsewhere on cable for a few years before disappearing for three decades. Now that Fusco's early work has re-emerged online, how does this one stack up to that better-known visitor from Melmac? Let's begin with the Easter Bunnies at their factory in a cave as they prepare for Easter and find out...
The Story: O'Hare, the Easter Bunny's right-hand rabbit, recalls the year the factory almost had to stop production. The factory was running out of paint, and Miss Fifi and her chickens couldn't produce enough eggs, even when the head Easter Bunny gave them a color TV to watch soaps. His magic-obsessed son tries to help, but his spells keep producing jelly beans instead of eggs. E.B is worried he won't be able to live up to his father's legacy...but when all seems dark, he gets a spark of inspiration from two boys who waited to see the Easter Bunny and suggest that they might be able to color their own eggs to help out.
The Song and Dance: Charmingly goofy story features some nifty puppet work from Fusco, especially down below with all of those rabbits working on the production line. The subplot with E.B's son and his constantly producing jelly beans is actually pretty funny and may be my favorite part of this. That opening and closing "Work, Work, Work" number is kind of catchy, too, despite the synthesizer arrangements.
The Numbers: We open and close with "Work, Work, Work" as the bunnies explain what they do and how they're getting ready for Easter Day. E.B gets a number directly to the camera mid-way through, which is sort of a song/recitation on how E.B wishes he could live up to his father's legacy and what he'll do if the factory closes, "Pressures."
What I Don't Like: First of all, nitpicking, but...Fusco is so recognizable as ALF by now, it's hard to hear him as an Easter Bunny who's concerned about his workers. You keep expecting him to try to eat a cat or something. O'Hare sounds kind of annoying, too. It's also obvious that there was only one female puppeteer, as the two female characters have the same breathy voice. Second, it's pretty obvious all of these specials were low-budget. The rabbits barely move, and until E.B goes above-ground and catches the kids waiting for him, we're mostly in the rather dull-looking factory.
The Big Finale: That said, this is still a fun watch before the Easter egg hunt, especially for fans of ALF, the Muppets, or other similar puppet shows.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming for free, including on Amazon Prime and Tubi.
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