Time for an Easter Classic--3: The Animated Film

As we explore Easter-themed films, it’s interesting to note that after religious-themed Easter films, the most common type of Easter film is the animated film.

I think animation is sometimes overlooked by screenwriters. You might think that, hey, I’m not an artist, I can’t write that kind of film. But the fact is, you don’t have to have an artistic bone in your body to write an animated film. In the early days of animation, lots of animators also wrote the stories for the films. But it’s just the opposite today. There are animators and there are writers, and rarely does one person do both of those jobs.

Rise of the Guardians [2008] by David Lindsay-Abaire is about storybook heroes who are actually real and whose job it is to protect the children of the world. And the Easter bunny is among those heroes. Take a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=aPLiBxhoug0

This is a terrific premise. Why? Because when we think of the Easter bunny we think of this furry character who hands out baskets filled with chocolate eggs. Or we think of the chocolate bunny itself which, as a child [OK, maybe sometimes as an adult, too] we devour at Easter. But take that leap and imagine Santa and the Easter bunny and others as superheroes. How fun, right? These superheroes then have to join forces to save the world from evil.

That’s what you want to do as a writer—find a new way, a new venue, in which to make the Easter bunny come alive.

The Easter Egg Adventure [2004] by John Michael Williams does that as well. In this animated tale, we’re introduced to a town where bunnies and chickens live together. Oh, and there’s one grasshopper thrown in for good measure. The town produces all the Easter eggs in the world that will be delivered on Easter. But people outside of town, The Take-Its, decide to steal all the eggs—and succeed. So the town has to track down the thieves, without knowing exactly who the thieves are. Take a look at a scene from the end of the film where awards are being given out to those who played a part in getting the eggs back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afS6HccMkXY

So we have a bit of a caper movie here—who stole the eggs and how can we get them back. And we also have the imagining of this world where one town of chickens and rabbits produces all the eggs for Easter.

With both The Rise of the Guardians and The Easter Egg Adventure, the writers thought about Easter and the bunny just a bit differently than previous stories may have.

Ask yourself if you could do the same. What if the Easter bunny was tired of his job and decided to quit? What if the Easter bunny didn’t like chocolate? What if the Easter bunny had two jealous siblings who wanted to take over the job?

What if you wrote an animated Easter bunny film?

Copyright © Diane Lake

21Mar21

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