Happy Easter! - The Tale of the Bunny Picnic

HBO, 1986

Voices of Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Jim Henson, and Louise Gold

Directed by Jim Henson and David G Hiller

Music by Philip Balsam; Lyrics by Dennis Lee

This cable special is the closest Jim Henson got to doing something for Easter. He wanted to make another holiday program with realistic animals after the success of Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas on HBO in 1977. While that one was a bit gritty and bittersweet, he went with something a little more aimed at children here. This special also introduced Bean Bunny, who would later appear on the 80's version of Muppet Babies and still occasionally turns up in Muppet media to this day. How does this charming story of rabbits who learn compassion when they find out the dog who ruins their picnic isn't as bad as he seems look now? Let's begin with the bunnies singing about the beginning of spring and find out...

The Story: Bean Bunny (Whitmire) is known for his wild imagination and his goofy attempts to dream he's something else. He wants to help set up for the big spring Bunny Picnic, but his older brother Lugsy (Hunt) keeps telling him he's too little. He wanders off into the lettuce patch to daydream when he's chased out by the farmer's dog (Henson). Horrified, Bean tries to tell everyone what he saw, but they think it's just another imaginative story. 

It isn't until the dog attacks the Picnic that the bunnies finally admit Bean wasn't just imagining things. The rabbits try everything they can think of to shake him, until Bean comes up with an idea based on a puppet show put on by the Storyteller Bunny (Ron Mueck). That seems to do the trick, at least until the dog catches on. Bean escapes and saves his brother...but when they see the dog being abused by the mean farmer who owns him (Martin P. Robinson), they realize who the real villain is and decide to teach the bullying farmer a lesson.

The Song and Dance: Considering the sugary reputation this special in general and Bean Bunny in particular have, this was a lot better than I thought it would be. The songs are catchy, and Bean is a lot of fun, especially some of his wilder daydreams! I also like that the bad guy isn't who you think it's going to be. The dog is set up to be the villain until mid-way through, when you realize he's as scared as the rabbits and is just following orders. The ending with how they help him actually ends up being rather sweet. 

The Numbers: We open with the bunnies enthusiastically greeting the warmer weather in "Hello Sunshine." Poor Bean laments that no one will let people do anything special "When You're Little." The dog tells the bunnies "Run, Bunny, Run," because he's coming after them. The Storyteller encourages the bunnies to "Follow Me" as he sets up his puppet show. Bean's parents sing "The Bunny's Lullaby" to put their frightened children to sleep that night. The bunnies empower each other to help the dog and attack the farmer with "Drum of Time." "Hello Sunshine" reappears during the credits after we find out who the narrator was.

Trivia: The special originally opened with a live-action segment as Jim Henson explained what inspired the story. That has been cut from most current copies available, including the ones on video and YouTube. 

What I Don't Like: While it's not quite as cutesy as it's reputation would have it, it's still a lot more child-oriented and sweet than the gritty Emmett Otter or the slightly darker and wackier Muppet fairy tales. Those adorable bunnies may be just a little too precious, with their huge black button eyes, chubby cheeks, and breathless speeches. It's notable that, though this did well enough on cable and has turned up sporadically thereafter on HBO and video, it's not one of the better-known specials. Only Bean is even mildly remembered today.

The Big Finale: Charming and adorable springtime viewing for you and your younger children; older kids and teens may find it a tad too sugary. 

Home Media: As mentioned, the only place you can find this at press time is YouTube. 

YouTube

Musicals on TV - Bessie (2015)

HBO, 2015

Starring Queen Latifa, Michael K. Williams, Mo'Nique, and Khandi Alexander

Directed by Dee Rees

Music and Lyrics by various

I enjoyed the two biographies of black female singers I watched last year as a transition from Black History Month to Women's History Month so much, I decided to do it again. This time, instead of rock and R&B singers, we're covering the lives of seminal blues and jazz singers. We start with "The Empress of the Blues" Smith, in this HBO original movie that was the most popular film ever made for the network. How does the story of how the blues singer went from rags to riches to rags again...and rediscovered love in the process...look today? Let's start onstage with Bessie (Queen Latifa) as she recalls her life and her recent troubles during a performance and find out...

The Story: Smith started out working for pennies on the black vaudeville circuit, but what she really wants is to appear in a big stage show. At the time, even black stage managers refused to hire darker-skinned women for their shows. She befriends "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey (Mo'Nique) after sneaking onto her private train. Ma helps her develop her style, but when Bessie becomes more popular, they have a falling-out and Bessie leaves with her brother Clarence (Tory Kittles) to start her own act. One of the people she hires starting out is Jack Gee (Williams), a security guard who becomes her manager, and later marries her. 

Jack tries to get Bessie a contract with the newly formed African-American record label Black Swan. When they turn her down, he gets her one with Columbia. Bessie's now one of the most popular black recording artists in the US, but her success does come with major drawbacks. She's stabbed after a performance in her home town and has to drive the Klu Klux Klan off from another show. Wealthy whites treat her condescendingly. Despite buying a huge mansion for her and her family and adopting a son she names Jack Jr. (Sylvester Ambrose James II), Bessie continues her affairs with both Lucille (Tika Sumpter) and bootlegger Richard Morgan (Mike Epps). 

She eventually turns to alcohol, which proves to be a problem as the 20's roll into the 30's. Jack finally gets fed up with her affairs after they have a huge fight and not only leaves her, but kidnaps their son as well. The Depression destroys her savings, and she and Morgan move into a small apartment. Bessie does reconcile with Ma Rainey, and with her encouragement and the inspiration of a racy record by blues singer Lucille Bogan, she finally gets back on her feet and reminds audiences that she still has what it takes to be the "Empress of the Blues."

The Song and Dance: Wow. No wonder this is the most-watched HBO original film to date and won an Emmy for best TV movie in 2015. Powerhouse performances bring Smith's tumultuous story to searing life, with Queen Latifa and Williams the stand-outs as the big loving, big feeling Bessie and her hot-headed husband. Mo'Nique steals the few scenes she appears in as Smith's mentor and predecessor as queen of the blues. The costumes and sets detailing Smith's up-and-down descent from struggling singer to lavishly living celebrity and back again are historically accurate and absolutely gorgeous.  

Favorite Number: Singer Pat Bass dubs Mo'Nique, performing Ma Rainey's own "Weepin' Woman Blues" when Bessie watches her perform for the first time. Carmen Twille performs her "Prove It On Me." Bessie tries to audition with "I Got What It Takes, But It Breaks My Heart to Give It Away," but the producers turn her down. She and Bass duet on "Weepin' Woman Blues"...which is when Rainey realizes that her protege is outshining her. 

Bessie's first song on her own - and her first hit - is "Lost Your Head Blues." She gets her biggest hit, "Downhearted Blues," literally as she's walking from the hospital after her stabbing onto the stage. "Preachin' the Blues" is the number that gets cut off when the Klu Klux Klan tries to burn the tent where she's performing...with her, her band, and the entire audience in it. "Till the Cows Come Home" is the real recording by Lucille Bogan that inspires Bessie to start performing again. She sings about that "Long Old Road" to an appreciative crowd. 

Trivia: Sadly, Bessie's comeback proved to be short-lived. She died in a tragic and controversial car crash in 1937. 

Mo'Nique was originally offered Viola, but asked for Ma Rainey instead, since she'd played types like Viola before. 

Was in development for 20 years, including originally being planned for a theatrical release, before it finally went to HBO. 

What I Don't Like: While the raw subject matter makes this more interesting and honest than most biographies, it still hits all the standard beats of the genre. For all the gorgeous details and terrific performances, I wish the movie had gone a little more outside the box and had explored other parts of Bessie's colorful life, like her connection with audiences or her lesbian lovers, even further. Not to mention, some characters have been fudged or combined. Lucille, for instance, is a combination of Smith's many female lovers. Bessie also met Ma Rainey as a teenager, and they never had a falling out. They also gloss over a lot of Bessie's life in the early Depression, including how she lost her money. There's too many characters, and not enough time to deepen them all. 

The Big Finale: If you love the blues, Smith, Queen Latifa, or the music of the early 20th century, you'll want to learn more about Bessie Smith and her world of gin and sin, too. 

Home Media: As a fairly recent and very popular movie, it's easily found on disc and streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Idlewild

Universal/HBO Films, 2006

Starring Andre 3000, Big Boi, Paula Patton, and Terrence Howard

Directed by Bryan Barber

Music and Lyrics by various

Cotton Club wasn't the last recent musical to depict the African American experience in the 1930's. Members of the hip hop duo Outkast wrote the music and starred in the lead roles of this tale of two best friends who have close encounters with gangsters and shady dames while running a nightclub in a southern town in 1935. The difference here is, this one goes the Moulin Rouge route of using music that reflects more 2006 than 1936 - in this case, hip-hop, R&B, and soul - along with a music video director known for his flashy editing techniques. How does it hold up today? Let's take a trip through time to Idlewild, Georgia, as best friends Rooster (Big Boi) and Percival (Andre 3000) grow up together and find out...

The Story: Rooster and Percival are best friends literally all their lives, ever since they started out hanging around at the funeral parlor Percy's dad (Ben Vereen) owns. Rooster eventually marries Zora (Malinda Williams) and having five children with her, while Percy continues to work at the funeral home. Their lives intersect again when Rooster becomes a singer and Percy a piano player at The Church Club. Percy's content to play behind Rooster, until he's late on a night when local gangsters Spats (Ving Rhames) and Trumpy (Howard) are in residence. Also arriving that night is Angel Davenport (Patton), a singer who claims to be a star from St. Louis who has a contract with the club.

After Trumpy kills Spats and Church manager Ace (Faizon Love) in a shoot-out, Rooster becomes the new manager of the Church. Turns out Rooster inherited Ace's debts and has to sell the booze from Trumpy's suppliers at the Church whether he likes it or not. He's so desperate, he eventual gets Angel onstage. She's nervous at first, until Percival suggests they sing a song he wrote for her. It turns them into a sensation. Even after Percy finds out who she really is, he still considers going to Chicago with her to cut a record. 

Rooster, however, is still having trouble with Trumpy. He hooks up with another bootlegger, GW (William Nunn), to see his hooch from Percy's hearse, even as his wife takes their children to her mother's house. It all comes down to an explosive confrontation at the Church that reminds Rooster of what's really important to him...and Percival of what he has to lose.

The Song and Dance: Evocative and violent look at two friends whose lives intersect in a web of music, romance, and gangland violence. It's the supporting cast that really shines here, with Howard appropriately menacing as Trumpy, Vereen stoic in his few appearances as Percival Senior, and Patton simply glowing as the beauty with the angelic voice who isn't what she claims to be. I love the gorgeous, period-accurate costumes and the wild editing that brings vitality and vigor to the amazing dance routines and gives the film the right sepia-and-dust look of a faded movie print from this time.

Favorite Number: We open with Macy Gray as the Church's lead singer Taffy shimmying and shaking to "The Greatest Show On Earth," as a wild assortment of tap dancing, jitterbugging, and chorus dances go on around her. Rooster sings about his snappy "Bowtie" with the chorus when he does finally arrive to appease the gangsters. Joi Gilliam, who dubbed Patton, joins Andre 3000 for the montage "Movin' Cool (The After Party)" as Angel and Percy go from desperately thrown-on-stage replacements to the stand-out stars of the Church. 

"Church" is the big chorus number with Rooster that becomes a bloodbath when it's invaded by Trumpy, his henchmen, and their guns. "She Lives In My Lap" is the touching and rather creepy song Percy performs when he has to prepare Angel for her casket. The film ends on a high note showing how Percy becomes a star with two big choral routines, "When I Look In Your Eyes" and "PJ & Rooster" over the credits.

What I Don't Like: The plot pretty much cobbles together the best parts of everything from The Cotton Club to The Public Enemy and tosses them in a blender. Like The Cotton Club, the whole gangster plot is confusing, annoying, violent, overlong, and ultimately besides the point. The only real reason to see this is the dancing. The two lead performances can sometimes be a bit stiff as well, and the dynamic editing often takes us into the audience or away from what we really want to see, those dynamic dance routines. 

And did I mention the violence? While not at the level of The Cotton Club, there is blood, shootings, several sex scenes (including one that's a musical number), and at least one woman is seen full-on topless briefly. It's absolutely not for children or those who can't handle the violence level. 

The Big Finale: The wild numbers alone makes this worth checking out at least once for fans of gangster movies, elaborate Moulin Rouge-style musicals, or Outkast and other rap and hip-hop stars of the 2000's. 

Home Media: Easy to find on all major formats; currently streaming on Amazon Prime and HBO Max.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime