14 Iconic Easter Movies and Cartoons You Might’ve Forgotten
Over the years, Easter has subtly produced its own collection of seasonal classics, while Christmas continues to dominate the holiday entertainment scene with its innumerable beloved specials and movies. Heartwarming words, vibrant animation, and the occasional enormous rabbit are common features of these spring-themed jewels. However, despite their allure and cultural significance in their prime, many have vanished from the public consciousness.
Here’s a look back at 14 Easter-themed films and animated series that may have become less popular in recent years.
Here Comes Peter Cottontail
This Rankin-Bass stop-motion special followed Peter Cottontail competing against the evil January Q. Irontail for the position of Chief Easter Bunny. The special featured the voice talents of Vincent Price and Danny Kaye alongside memorable songs like the catchy title tune.
Despite being from the same producers as Christmas classics like “Rudolph,” this Easter gem receives far less annual airplay today, causing many to forget its delightful time-traveling plot and distinctive animation style.
The Easter Bunny Is Comin’ to Town
Another Rankin-Bass production, this special explained Easter traditions through the story of Sunny, an orphan rabbit adopted by a childless couple who eventually becomes the Easter Bunny. Fred Astaire narrated this charming origin story, explaining everything from decorated eggs to chocolate bunnies through imaginative scenarios.
The special created a complete Easter mythology similar to what “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” did for Christmas. However, it hasn’t maintained the same cultural foothold as its December counterpart.
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It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
The Peanuts gang tackled Easter with their characteristic charm as Linus insisted the “Easter Beagle” would handle all holiday preparations despite everyone’s skepticism. While not as famous as the gang’s Christmas or Halloween specials, this springtime entry featured classic elements including Peppermint Patty’s failed egg-coloring attempts and Snoopy’s joyful dancing.
The special’s gentle humor and distinctive animation style captured the season’s spirit perfectly, even if it’s often overshadowed by its more frequently aired holiday siblings.
The First Easter Rabbit
Burl Ives voiced Stuffy, a beloved toy rabbit who magically comes to life and becomes the Easter Bunny in this lesser-known Rankin-Bass special. The storyline borrowed elements from “The Velveteen Rabbit” while creating its own mythology about Easter Valley and the zero-visibility fog that threatens the holiday.
Despite featuring the same narrator as the iconic “Rudolph,” this special vanished from regular rotation decades ago, leaving many to forget its existence entirely despite its sweet premise and memorable villain.
Yogi the Easter Bear
Hanna-Barbera’s picnic-basket-stealing bear starred in this Easter adventure involving a missing Easter Bunny, a candy factory, and a flying Easter basket. While not as artistically significant as older specials, this cartoon captured the attention of 90s kids with its typical Yogi hijinks applied to springtime themes.
The special aired annually for several years before disappearing from schedules, making it a nostalgic memory for millennials while remaining largely unknown to younger generations who missed its brief broadcast run.
The Passion of the Christ
After its theatrical success, Mel Gibson’s controversial biblical drama became an unexpected Easter viewing tradition for many religious households. Despite its R-rating and graphic content, the film’s unflinching depiction of Jesus’s final hours generated massive box office returns and cultural discourse.
While certainly not forgotten like other entries on this list, its status as Easter viewing has diminished over time, with many forgetting how commonly churches organized viewing events around the spring holiday during its initial release.
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Easter Parade
The unforgettable Irving Berlin tunes in this iconic musical, which starred Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, were based on the well-known Easter procession custom in New York. The plot of the movie, which served as the basis for the amazing musical numbers and holiday scenery, centers on a dancer training a replacement after his partner dumps him.
Younger generations are gradually ignoring this technicolor masterpiece that previously embodied the luxurious aspect of Easter, even though it is one of the most popular movies ever made about the occasion.
The Easter Bunny Adventure
This live-action and puppet combination film featured a human child helping the Easter Bunny save Easter from the evil Gargomean, who hated happiness and sought to destroy the holiday. The low-budget production gained a following through video rentals and cable TV replays throughout the 1990s.
While never considered a cinematic masterpiece, its earnest storytelling and practical effects created nostalgic memories for viewers who caught it during its brief window of popularity before disappearing into obscurity.
The Flying House Easter Special
This animated Christian series produced in Japan featured children traveling through biblical times in a time-traveling house, with their Easter episode focusing on witnessing the Crucifixion and Resurrection firsthand. The distinctive anime-influenced style made complex biblical stories accessible to young viewers while maintaining religious accuracy.
The series aired primarily on Christian television networks, giving it a devoted but limited audience that has largely forgotten this unique approach to Easter storytelling as the show faded from broadcast.
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A Family Circus Easter
The popular newspaper comic strip came to life in this animated special featuring the familiar round-faced children preparing for Easter while learning about its spiritual significance. The special balanced secular traditions like egg hunts with religious themes in the gentle, wholesome manner characteristic of the comic.
Despite the comic strip’s longtime popularity, this special and its Christmas counterpart have become increasingly difficult to find, causing even fans of the comic to forget their existence.
The Greatest Story Ever Told
This biblical epic boasted the crème de la crème, with Max von Sydow as Jesus and Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, and cameos by John Wayne and Sidney Poitier. The grand cinematography and ambitious vision of the film attempted to give the ultimate on-screen account of Jesus’s life, leading up to the Easter Resurrection story.
A one-time TV tradition at Easter time, this almost four-hour film slowly fell off broadcast schedules as viewing habits shifted, despite having high production values and historical importance.
Hop
This live-action/animated hybrid starred Russell Brand as the voice of E.B., a rebellious young rabbit who abandons his Easter Bunny duties to become a drummer in Los Angeles. While more recent than most entries on this list, the film failed to establish itself as a perennial favorite despite substantial marketing and recognizable stars.
Its forgettable plot and mixed reviews caused it to fade quickly from memory, though it occasionally resurfaces on streaming platforms during the spring season.
Red Riding Hood’s Easter Celebration
This unusual special combination of the Red Riding Hood fairy tale and Easter themes, as the character helps the Easter Bunny deliver treats while avoiding the still-hungry wolf. Part of the “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” VHS series that created holiday specials for familiar characters, this bizarre mashup found its audience through budget video bins throughout the 1990s.
The strange combination of unrelated elements made it memorable to those who encountered it while remaining virtually unknown to the broader public.
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Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
While not explicitly an Easter film, this stop-motion masterpiece centered around a village vegetable competition threatened by a giant rabbit has become associated with the spring holiday due to its bunny themes. The Academy Award-winning feature combined British humor, ingenious animation, and vegetable puns into a family-friendly adventure.
Despite critical acclaim, this Aardman classic sometimes gets forgotten in holiday viewing lineups despite its rabbit protagonist and themes that perfectly complement Easter weekend viewing.
Seasonal Treasures Worth Rediscovering
These Easter entertainments reflect changing tastes, production approaches, and holiday traditions across decades of film and television history. From religious epics to animated specials, each offered its own perspective on spring’s renewal themes while creating memories for their contemporary audiences.
While streaming services occasionally resurface these forgotten gems during springtime, many remain difficult to find compared to their Christmas counterparts. Perhaps the temporary nature of these Easter classics—appearing briefly then fading away like spring flowers—makes rediscovering them all the more satisfying for those who remember their original magic and charm.
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