The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise

The Berenstain Bears Easter Surprise is a 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.

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.

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.

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: ."
The special starred Ron McLarty, Gabriela Glatzer, Jonathan Lewis, and Pat Lysinger as Papa, Sister, Brother, and Mama Bear, respectively. McLarty also doubled as the show's narrator. All four actors were reprising their vocal roles from The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.  Bob Kaliban was the voice of Bigpaw.

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

Premiere
The program premiered on NBC on Tuesday April 14, 1981.

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, 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 does notice that Mama has a noticeably larger stomach). When Brother asks about what Easter is, Papa tells him all about candy and the Easter Bunny, but Mama 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 bringing on spring. However, to their shock, they find out that he has quit. Papa, while initially just as depressed as Brother is bout the loss of Easter, decides to be the Easter Bunny and create his own candy factory, but it ultimately ends in disaster. 

Brother eventually decides to take matters into his own hands and goes to find Boss Bunny on his own. He encounters his friend Bill Bunny, who turns out to be Boss Bunny's son. They find the Easter Factory in a dilapidated state and then Boss Bunny himself, who complains that bring overworked and being in charge of the seasons is too much for him to handle in his old age and he is too tired to continue. Despite Brother's pleading, Boss Bunny refuses to reconsider until he sees a large rainbow and glistening sun that jumpstarts his energy, and he gladly puts his factory back in business.

On Easter morning, Brother finds his Easter candy, but Mama and Papa have an additional Easter surprise for him: a baby sister. When he asks where she came from, Mama reminds him of the miracle of new life. He then asks Papa where the baby came from and Papa is left speechless.

Book adaptation

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." In 1987, the special was made available on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment as part of their Children's Treasures series.   In 1989, the special was distributed on VHS by Kids Klassics. The special was re-released in 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video, in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.  In 2002, the special was released on DVD by GoodTimes, also in a double-feature with The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree.

External links
 
 "Who is Bigpaw" by Mike Berenstain
 Berenstain Bears Official Website
 Berensatin Bears Meet Bigpaw full video

References

Category:Easter films
Category:Animated television specials
Category:NBC television specials
Category:1980 in American television
Category:1980s American animated films
Category:American films
Category:1980 television specials
Category:1980s American television specials
Category:Berenstain Bears
Category:American television programs based on children's books
Category:American animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
Category:NBC network original films