The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise

The Berenstain Bears Easter Surprise is an Easter-themed animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein and Al Kouzel, the program made its debut on NBC on April 14, 1981.[1][2][3]

The Berenstain Bears Easter Surprise
Created byStan and Jan Berenstain
Written byStan and Jan Berenstain
Directed byMordicai Gerstein
Al Kouzel
Theme music composerElliot Lawrence
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerBuzz Potamkin
Running time25 minutes
Production companiesPerpetual Motion Pictures
The Joseph Cates Company
DistributorNBC
Embassy Home Entertainment
Release
Original networkNBC
Original release
  • April 14, 1981 (1981-04-14)
Chronology
Preceded byThe Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (1980)
Followed byThe Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine (1982)

Development

Stan and Jan Berenstain's first animated holiday special aired on NBC in December 1979. The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree was the first of five annual animated specials that would air on NBC, produced by Joe Cates and the Joseph Cates Production Company. The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw was the second in this series.[4]

The Berenstains utilized rhyming couplets in the script - for both the narrator and the character dialogue. This element had also been used in the Christmas Tree special and was familiar to audiences since a similar type of writing was used in the Berenstain Bears Beginner Books series.[5]

Plot

The story takes place before Sister Bear was born and Brother Bear was the only cub on the block. During fall, when he isn't playing with his friends down by the bog, he enjoys asking Papa different questions about life. Papa Bear, although he has no idea how to answer most of his son's questions, plays along anyway.

During the long cold winter, no one has any explanation for why it doesn't seem (to want) to end. Both Mama and Papa Bear are especially anxious for Spring, as they had a special Easter Surprise planned, which neither of them want to disclose (although Brother Bear does notice that he can't sit on Mama's lap anymore, and it's not because he's getting bigger or taller). When Brother Bear asks "What's Easter, Papa?" Papa Bear tells him all about candy and the Easter Bunny, but Mama Bear sings about new life and miracles.

The family decides to pay Boss Bunny a visit. Boss Bunny is bear Country's official Easter bunny and the one responsible for the beginning of Spring. However, to their shock, they find out that he has quit. Papa Bear, while initially just as depressed as Brother is about the loss of Easter, decides to be "the Easter Bunny" ("I'll Be the Easter Bunny/If You Want Something Done, Then Do it Yourself") and create his own candy and egg factory, but it ultimately ends in disaster.

Brother Bear eventually decides to take matters into his own hands and begins a search to find Boss Bunny on his own. He encounters his friend Bill Bunny, who turns out to be Boss Bunny's son. Bill takes him to a factory no bear has ever been before. The two then enter the (abandoned, and in a dilapidated state) Easter Factory and find Boss Bunny who is asleep, and later complains that the workload, and being in charge of the seasons has become too much for him to handle in his old age and he is simply too burnt out to continue. Despite Brother's pleading, Boss Bunny refuses to reconsider until he sees the Great Spring Rainbow, which revives him and puts his factory back in business.

On Easter morning, Brother finds his Easter candy, but Mama Bear has an additional Easter surprise for him: ("Brother, Meet your new baby Sister.") When Brother asks where she came from, Papa Bear is left speechless, but Mama reminds Brother about the miracle of new life (and Brother quickly notices that he can sit on Mama's lap again).


Production and casting

The 25-minute special was created and written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and featured original music composed and conducted by Emmy-winning musician Elliot Lawrence, with lyrics provided by Stan Berenstain. The score included three original songs.[6] The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise starred Ron McLarty, Jonathan Lewis, and Pat Lysinger as Papa, Brother, and Mama Bear, respectively. McLarty also voiced the show's narrator. Three of the four actors reprised their vocal roles from The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree. This is the first (and only) of the five specials that Sister Bear's voice actress Gabriela Glatzer does not voice Sister Bear. (However, this special featured the debut of Sister Bear in a silent cameo as a baby towards the conclusion of the film.)

It was the third of five Berenstain Bears animated specials that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1983.[7]

Home media releases

In 1984, Embassy Home Entertainment released the special on LaserDisc as a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree, called "A Berenstain Bears Celebration."[8] In 1987, the special was made available on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment as part of their Children's Treasures series.[9] In 1989, the special was distributed on VHS by Kids Klassics.[10] The special was re-released in 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video, in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.[11] In 2002, the special was released on DVD by GoodTimes, also in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.[6] In 2008, Sony Wonder also released the special on DVD. In this edition, it was bundled with few bonus episodes from the 1980s cartoon series.

References
  1. Shaw, Jane. "Christmas tree is focus of Berenstain Bears' newest adventure." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1980-12-02, p. 32.
  2. Mariska, Bradley (2015). "Berenstain Bears Bibliography". Berenstain Bears Complete Bibliography & Blog. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. "The Berenstain Bears' Thanksgiving". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 29–34. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. Berenstain, Stan and Jan (2002). Down a Sunny Dirt Road: An Autobiography. Random House. ISBN 978-0375814037.
  6. The Berenstain Bears Double Feature (DVD). GoodTimes. 2002.
  7. Berenstain Bears History, The Berenstain Bears, Inc., 2015, retrieved 11 October 2015
  8. A Berenstain Bears Celebration (LaserDisc). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1984.
  9. The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (VHS). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1987.
  10. The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (VHS). Kids Klassics. 1989.
  11. The Berenstain Bears Double Feature (VHS). GoodTimes. 1992.
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