If you're like me, you've grown up with the Berenstain Bears, and let's get out of the way right now that the third syllable of the name is pronounced "stain" and not "steen," and you're not remembering it incorrectly, it was always spelled "Berenstain", with an A. Now with that settled, let's look back on a time many years ago when Easter almost wasn't. This happened right before Sister Bear was born, a time when the seasons for some reason or another became stuck. Spring never arrived and Bear Country experienced a prolonged winter. Maybe the groundhog missed his cue? Maybe Bill Murray won't have to repeat a single day forever. Around this time, Brother Bear was an only-cub and while living in Bear Country was a lot of fun and adventurous, it could get lonely, and Brother is a child just loaded with questions, which he was always bugging Papa Bear with, and he is a self-proclaimed expert on everything, yet always finds a way to dodge his son's questions, but he knows the answers, sure as his name is Papa Q. Bear. I've always wondered what the Q stood for, but maybe it doesn't stand for anything and he's like Q from James Bond. So as winter carried on and on, Papa and Mama Bear start to worry about spring and Easter, which apparently Brother never heard of. When asking his parents, Papa tells him it's all about candy, eggs, and jellybeans, while Mama informs him that it's more about a time of new life and rebirth. Well, can't it be both? She also informs Brother that he's going to get a big Easter surprise, at the same time he discovered that Mama's lap was suddenly too small to sit in. Something tells me it won't be such a surprise for long. Just as Brother starts asking about Mama's shrinking lap, they whisk him away to see none other than Boss Bunny. Who is he, you ask? The one who welcomes spring by twitching his ears. I see, so in Bear Country they don't have a groundhog who sees its shadow, they have a bunny who wiggles his ears. Hmm, creative. Bear Murray in Bunny's Day. Okay, that's my last Groundhog Day reference, I promise. When the Bear family arrived outside Boss Bunny's abode, a crowd of other bears had formed, and were all looking at the great, big "I Quit" sign posted above the door. I guess being the sire of seasons doesn't pay well. The bears all wonder about Easter, while Brother is sad that he may not get his Easter surprise. Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you'll still get that, Boss Bunny doesn't control whether bears get born... or does he? Trying to think of a solution to their dilemma, Papa suddenly hit upon a brilliant idea: he would become the Easter Bunny! Tying two carrots to his head and gluing whiskers to his face, he builds an automated assembly line to paint and dye eggs, and it works great, until Papa gets caught in the machine and it all comes tumbling down. I like how throughout the whole sequence, Mama keeps bracing herself for when it would inevitably fall apart.
After that, Brother goes for a walk and runs into his old pal, Bill Bunny. After informing him of his intent on finding Boss Bunny, Bill says no problem, as Boss is his father. How convenient. They enter his lair via a secret trap door and wind up in Boss Bunny's enormous, underground candy factory, except now it was abandoned, covered in cobwebs and looking very spooky. They find the old man fast asleep in a back room, and he's none too happy to be awakened out of a sound sleep by an intruder. Boss Bunny complains about having done the job for so long, he's gotten plumb sick of it, saying it's undignified to wiggle his ears and twitch his whiskers once every year, and he goes on to gripe about labor issues, his workers wanting too many breaks and vacation days. Hey, blame those dang unions, don't make the bears suffer. Needless to say, Boss Bunny is a wreck, and despite Brother's constant pleasing and trying to reason with the old curmudgeon, Boss Bunny once again states, or rather sings, that spring is a bore and he doesn't care about Easter. Well, I guess the old man has made up his mind. I mean, he does have a point as doing the same repetitive task over and over, year after year, can get rather tedious, and eventually, we all get old, and if there's no one to truly help us, we just want to give up the ship. Nice metaphor for the working class they snuck in there. So BB opens his door to shoo out Brother and Bill... funny, he never once acknowledged his son in this scene, nor did Bill address his father. Are you sure they're father and son? Just because they're the only two bunnies in this special doesn't mean they have to be related. If ever there was a time for a miracle, this was it, and you know what? It happened. A big, colorful rainbow spread across the sky, which literally made Boss Bunny see the light, and it has the same effect on him as the spirit of Christmas did for the Grinch. He felt young again, his muscle and back aches were instantly cured. Happy and overjoyed, he started up his machinery again. Huh, so all he needed to do was go outside? Guess he spent so much time in that underground factory that he probably hadn't seen the light of day in years. That would make anyone cranky. His workers appear out of thin air and happily get to work, and I guess Boss Bunny will gladly give them breaks and vacation time now. So Easter was saved and winter finally ended. Hallelujah! Come Easter morning, Brother found a plethora of sweets delivered by the Easter Bunny, but best of all, was his long-awaited surprise: a new baby sister. Brother must be a sound sleeper, or Mama must go into labor very quietly. It was a happy holiday for everybody, except Brother had one last question: where did the baby come from? Ha ha, kids.
There you have it: The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise, a cute, fun special to watch around Easter, or any time really. We watched in my elementary school a few times, and my favorite part was Papa building the egg assembly line. The story has a good moral too: at times we can become jaded by holidays, times of the year, and even our jobs. We may lose our passion for it, become apathetic, and lose all joy in life itself, but that's when you've got to let the sunshine in and remember why you loved them in the first place. Boss Bunny's redemption was very metaphoric for how we humans go about our humdrum lives. So this Easter, or any day of the year, I recommend The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise, it has decent animation, good songs, good voice acting, and a great message. This special was produced in a series of one-off Berenstain Bears specials from 1979 to 1983, which predated their 1985 TV series, and that of course predated the one in 2003 on PBS. If I had to choose a favorite, I'd choose the 1985 series as that's the one I grew up with. So I recommend you check them all out, along with the books. Great memories and great times are waiting to be had.
After that, Brother goes for a walk and runs into his old pal, Bill Bunny. After informing him of his intent on finding Boss Bunny, Bill says no problem, as Boss is his father. How convenient. They enter his lair via a secret trap door and wind up in Boss Bunny's enormous, underground candy factory, except now it was abandoned, covered in cobwebs and looking very spooky. They find the old man fast asleep in a back room, and he's none too happy to be awakened out of a sound sleep by an intruder. Boss Bunny complains about having done the job for so long, he's gotten plumb sick of it, saying it's undignified to wiggle his ears and twitch his whiskers once every year, and he goes on to gripe about labor issues, his workers wanting too many breaks and vacation days. Hey, blame those dang unions, don't make the bears suffer. Needless to say, Boss Bunny is a wreck, and despite Brother's constant pleasing and trying to reason with the old curmudgeon, Boss Bunny once again states, or rather sings, that spring is a bore and he doesn't care about Easter. Well, I guess the old man has made up his mind. I mean, he does have a point as doing the same repetitive task over and over, year after year, can get rather tedious, and eventually, we all get old, and if there's no one to truly help us, we just want to give up the ship. Nice metaphor for the working class they snuck in there. So BB opens his door to shoo out Brother and Bill... funny, he never once acknowledged his son in this scene, nor did Bill address his father. Are you sure they're father and son? Just because they're the only two bunnies in this special doesn't mean they have to be related. If ever there was a time for a miracle, this was it, and you know what? It happened. A big, colorful rainbow spread across the sky, which literally made Boss Bunny see the light, and it has the same effect on him as the spirit of Christmas did for the Grinch. He felt young again, his muscle and back aches were instantly cured. Happy and overjoyed, he started up his machinery again. Huh, so all he needed to do was go outside? Guess he spent so much time in that underground factory that he probably hadn't seen the light of day in years. That would make anyone cranky. His workers appear out of thin air and happily get to work, and I guess Boss Bunny will gladly give them breaks and vacation time now. So Easter was saved and winter finally ended. Hallelujah! Come Easter morning, Brother found a plethora of sweets delivered by the Easter Bunny, but best of all, was his long-awaited surprise: a new baby sister. Brother must be a sound sleeper, or Mama must go into labor very quietly. It was a happy holiday for everybody, except Brother had one last question: where did the baby come from? Ha ha, kids.
There you have it: The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise, a cute, fun special to watch around Easter, or any time really. We watched in my elementary school a few times, and my favorite part was Papa building the egg assembly line. The story has a good moral too: at times we can become jaded by holidays, times of the year, and even our jobs. We may lose our passion for it, become apathetic, and lose all joy in life itself, but that's when you've got to let the sunshine in and remember why you loved them in the first place. Boss Bunny's redemption was very metaphoric for how we humans go about our humdrum lives. So this Easter, or any day of the year, I recommend The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise, it has decent animation, good songs, good voice acting, and a great message. This special was produced in a series of one-off Berenstain Bears specials from 1979 to 1983, which predated their 1985 TV series, and that of course predated the one in 2003 on PBS. If I had to choose a favorite, I'd choose the 1985 series as that's the one I grew up with. So I recommend you check them all out, along with the books. Great memories and great times are waiting to be had.
