AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 4-18-2025

Heat. Heat. Hello everybody. This is Skip Alzheimer. Welcome to the Age Geeks Lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 millimeter films. And I just got a text from Lowe's that they're going to drop off some more appliances at the archive, so I have to go. Um, so, uh, I was going to show this at the end of the show, but I'm going to show it now. So, this is uh the first Easter rabbit brought to us by the fine folks at Rankin and Bass and Rank and Bass. And um it's not stop motion puppet animation. Unfortunately, this is later where they were um doing just traditional cell animation, but uh I think Burl lives in this and there's some singing. So, enjoy. [Music] surprised to see me here instead of Santa Claus? Well, I can't say that I blame you since it is Christmas year. Me? Just call me GB for now. Yep. I'm back in time many Christmases ago. And right there in that very house is where our story begins. The story of the first Easter rabbit. And you know, we came within a hair's breath, if you'll excuse the pun, of never having an Easter rabbit at all. Don't remember, do you? You know all about Christmas and Christmasy things, like how Santa came to be, Frosty and Rudolph who guided the sleigh. But how about that rabbit who comes every Easter day? There's that rabbit taking some blue from the sky. There's that rabbit mixing up [Music] butter. There's that rabbit painting his green everywhere. A magical hair. That rabbit. There's that rabbit. He's just his garden to our cotton friend. That rabbit. That rabbit. That rabbit. [Music] See that little guy with the sprig of holly in his stuffed paws? That's one special rabbit. Though I admit he may not look like it right now. He was a Christmas present for a little girl named Glenda. Oh, mommy. I love him. Thank you. I love him. I'm glad, dear. You'll have to think of a name for him. I will, but for now I'll call him Stuffy. Oh, look. It snowed last night. Can I go outside now, please? Yes, dear. But be sure to bundle up. Meanwhile, in the nearby woods, a trio of real live rabbits were hatching a ridiculous caper. Now, let me get this straight. We're going to dig a long tunnel under all the carrot patches in the neighborhood while nobody's around. And when spring comes, we're going to come back and steal the carrots from underneath. Totally undetected. We come not friends to steal your hearts, but your carrots. You've now met spats, whiskers, and flops. Three of the slickest con bunnies around. Alas, my men, behold that silly looking rabbit sitting over there. Hey, look. He's strange. He hasn't got any hind legs. His odor is unsnifable. Undetectable. He ain't a rabbit at all. He isn't real. But I am real. I am. I am. Poor Stuffy. He knew he wasn't real like the other rabbits. and that made him very unhappy. But he was Linda's favorite toy. And as the months passed, so did his sadness because he was loved. But one day, something happened that was to affect everybody's life. Little Glinda took ill. I'm afraid it's scarlet fever. Oh dear, my poor little girl. What can I do? Well, the first thing is to burn all of the bedclo. And oh yes, that old stuffed rabbit. Burn it all at once. Now, taking away a child's favorite toy is no easy matter. And how would she ever explain to little Blinda that Stuffy had to be? Even I hate to say it. Oh dear, it's getting late. I think I'll leave all this for burning tomorrow. Our rabbit friend thought to himself, "What's the use of being loved if it all ends like this?" [Music] Who Who are you? My name is Collapy. I take care of all the play things that the children have loved. And when they're old or worn out, then I come and take them away with me and turn them into real. Why wasn't I real before? You were real to the little girl who loved you. And now you should be real to everyone. Stuffy was mystified, but he hadn't heard the most important part. Now that you are real, I have a special mission for you. You have been chosen to be the first Easter rabbit. But why me? I'm nobody. And why do we need an Easter rabbit? A good question, wouldn't you say? But Collia had a good answer. She explained to Stuffy why all the holidays of the year needed symbols to help people remember them. Springtime needs someone to remind all the children of her special holiday. They could form the lovely habit of saying Easter's here cuz there's that rabbit. There's that rabbit taking some blue from the sky. There's that rabbit mixing up buttercup dye. There's that rabbit painting his green everywhere. A magical hair. That rabbit There's that rabbit that rabbit helping the spring do her tricks. There's that rabbit rabbit chiseling chocolate chicks. There's that rabbit. Far from your typical jacket. Each year he'll be back. Easter that bunny like Christmas tree. It's a fact. I'm sure you'll agree. Easter needs a little old meat. There's that rabbit. There's that rabbit playing his egg rolling game. There's that rabbit. That rabbit. Everyone's calling his name. There's that rabbit. That rabbit. Easter's his garden to tell. Our cotton tail friend. That rabbit. That rabbit. That rabbit. And to begin, you must go to Easter Valley where the golden Easter lily blooms. And it's always springtime. It's over the hills to the west of the sun and beyond the third mountain. Someone will show you the way. Easter is only two weeks away. So hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry. But beware beware of zero. But who? How? Wait. Don't don't go. I have so many questions. Think I'll begin with a hop. [Music] He's coming around. Just a nasty bump on the noggin. What's your handle, kid? My name? It's uh it's Gee, I almost forgot. I'm the new Easter rabbit. Boy, he's a doo, isn't he? And uh where were you hopping to so madly? I'm off to find Easter valley where the golden Easter lily is and h golden Easter lilier. Excuse us for a moment. Since you're obviously not in the best of health, my companions and I feel it our duty to accompany you on your journey. Gee, that's great. Let's get started. of Zero. Zero. But beware of Zero. What was that? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. But it was something indeed, for the Easter rabbit had remembered Collaby's warning about Zero. Bruce, Bruce, I'm coming. Zero. [Music] Bruce, what have you found out about the road into Easter Valley? Did the elves know anything? Not a thing. Not a thing. I give up. You see, Zero and Bruce were in charge of keeping the North Pole nice and white. Everything was all lovely and covered with snow. Except Zero had never been able to find the secret road into Easter Valley. And so it stayed green all the year long. We can't give up, Bruce. We just can't. There has to be a way. Well, by the time our friends had reached the third mountain, they were totally exhausted and ready to turn back. [Music] I say, "It seems that bird is indicating a direction to follow. What have we got to lose?" Someone will show you the way. She's leading us away from the wall. If you ask me, we're barking up the wrong tree. What do you think, Flops? I'd say we were barking up the wrong tree. [Music] The tree. It must be hollow. Why doesn't one of us give it a try? I shall be as expeditious as possible. Okay. And be quick about it, [Music] too. H. If my calculations are correct, he should reach the other side just about now. I am calling you. Hang in there, Flops. We're coming over. Everything you could imagine was there. And one person who seemed downright out of place. Santa Claus. Just trying to be neighborly. You see, I'm all finished with my job. and I had a little spare time, so I thought I might be able to help you get started. But we'll never be able to do the job in time. There are so many boys and girls all over the world, and we only have a few weeks. Well, why not pick just one small town for a test? Then next year, you can tackle them all. That's what I did first time out. Great idea, Santa. And I know just the town. Excuse me for getting into the festivities, Santa, but what's in it for us? Giving presents is a talent, one that the three of you have obviously never had a chance to explore. Why not try it just once? You can start by giving just a little gift of love to a child. You'll be surprised at how much you'll get back in return. You won't regret helping me, fellas. Uh, just one thing, Santa, sir. Is he really the first Easter rabbit? Well, indeed he is, Spats. Now I must be our Good luck. Good luck. There they've gone and done it, Bruce. Somehow they've managed to get into Easter Valley, and they're bound to find the golden lily. We've got to find a way in. Crafty old Zero knew one thing, that no one had bothered to tell the new Easter rabbit that the golden Easter lily kept the valley warm and green all year long. If it were to disappear, springtime would disappear with it. [Music] Why so glum, chum? Oh, it's nothing. It's just that I've been thinking about little Glenda again. How is she, doctor? She's sleeping now. She's going to be just fine. Oh, thank you, doctor. That's that's the best thing I could hear. Oh, I forgot. She seems to be mumbling something about somebody called Stuff or Stuffy or something. Oh, he was her favorite toy. A silly old stuffed rabbit. Oh, well, I'm sure she'll forget about it in a few days. Now, you spend a little time looking after yourself for a change. Goodbye, doctor. And thank you, [Music] Stuffy. Oh, Stuffy, you've come back. You've come back, Linda. What are you doing out of bed? And what was that noise I heard in here? Oh, mother, it was Stuffy. He came back. He came back and he was really real. And there's going to be a parade and everything on Easter Sunday. Come now, dear. Let's get back into bed. And I'm going to wear my new pink dress and my new straw bonnet that you got me. Mother, all of my clothes. Where are they? Glenda's mother had no choice but to tell her the truth. Don't cry, mother. Who needs silly old parades anyway? Oh, [Music] darling. It's that tree down there. It must be hollow. That's the way in the Easter Valley. I'm sure of it. Excellent, Bruce. Excellent. Tomorrow, Bruce, tomorrow will be the end. The end of Easter Valley. Well, the next day was Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. I think we shall have a white Easter, if my eyes do not deceive thee. A white what? Hey, look. It's beginning to snow. Yeah, it's really coming [Music] down. Now, now I've got it all. The valley and the golden lily are mine. Gee, hero, are you just going to leave them snowed in like that? They may never get out. Bruce, who cares? Let them all freeze for all I care. Bruce was beginning to have second thoughts about what they had done. Bruce decided there was only one thing left for him to do. So, he rolled, getting fatter by the minute. It's as if someone out there doesn't like her. Oh, it's stuck. The snow must be up to the roof. I can't budge it an inch. [Music] Santa. Santa, I got to speak to you. Bruce told Santa the situation, and Santa knew what he had to do. Ahoy down there. Come on up. It's me, Santa Claus. Santa Claus, I know what's happened. Bring everything up the chimney and begin loading the sleigh. They loaded all the eggs and baskets and bonnets onto the sleigh. And just as it was getting dark, they had finished and were on their way. He came. Stuffy was here. Mother. Mother, look. And there's a note with mine. It says, "Don't forget our date. Main Street and Fifth Avenue at 12 noon sharp." Well, morning, Elizabeth. Well, good morning, doctor. We didn't expect you today being Easter Sunday and all. Jonathan, please. And this is not a professional call. I brought these for you and Glenda. Uh Jonathan, you shouldn't have. [Music] Oh, it's beautiful. Can I try it on, mother? Oh, of course. Now, now hurry. The parade starts at noon. The news is all over town. But how did you know we needed? A little bird told me. [Music] Stuffy. Oh, Stuffy, you're [Music] here. Never saw you look quite so pretty before. Never saw you dressed quite so lovely. What's more, I could hardly wait to keep our date this lovely Easter morning. And my heart beat fast as you came through the door far in my Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it. I'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade. I'll be all in clover. And when they look you over, I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade. in your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it. You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade. I'll be all in clover. And when they look you over, I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade. On the avenue, on the avenue, Fifth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us and you'll find that you're in the road. Oh, I could write a sonet about your Easter B and all the girl I'm taking to the Easter parade. Bruce, you miserable roly pololy snitcher. When I get my hands on you, I will melt you down to a tennis ball. You will do nothing. I'm warning you, Zero. Either you put the golden easterly back in the valley so that springtime can come back or I'm moving out of the pole. I've got a good offer from the South Pole, you know, and I've been considering it. You ready? You'd leave me all alone here. No elves, no Sunday night dinner with Mrs. Claus's home cooking and those little noodles. No midnight rides with the reindeer. Just me all alone here by myself. What good is all of this? What good is anything without friends to share it? I'd even miss Bruce. Oh, hey, who's that? Me? I'm Zero. Sorry to drip and run, but this weather is bad for my health. Bye. And oh, yes. Happy Easter. Gee, doesn't seem like such a bad guy. I wonder what all the fuss was about. Well, at least this time we've got a year start whiskers like you are, GP. So, you found me out at the very end. That's right. I was stuffy many, many years ago. That is. And so, the Easter lily brought eternal spring with it. The chickens could lay their eggs and the world would know that next year and every year I'd be back again. Happy Easter. [Music] The timing of all that was horrible. Absolutely horrible. If I had gotten that message just before, like I could have timed it differently. I could have started the brought the laptop to the archive and I could have streamed from there, but no. And then he showed up just as we're getting to the Easter Bonnet uh thing. It's insane. Anyways, I'm back. Thanks for holding on. [Music] Enjoy. Well, the ladies have something in their future to chase the doldrums of winter. A preview of hats for the Easter parade features turbons like this skillfully draped chiffon and a raja turban that fairly breathes of the mysterious east. Shantung drapes easily into another Raja creation. Take heart ladies, they're not all severe. Flossy flowered fantasies are forecast. White daisies tell plenty in this ja fedora. And another horicultural highlight is a lacy apple blossom pattern. You can let spring flowers go to your head by dawning this snood. Hats for every mood. Head huggers from tailored spring ensembles. Rough straw left and a straw roller. Back brim straw to frame a pretty face in flattery. Wide brim for romantic interludes. From turbons to cartwheels, something for every Easter parader. [Applause] [Music] Well, I had something else set up, but h okay. Uh, so this is interesting. This is, uh, you know, I've been working with a lot of the National Archives materials, and I found this. It's silent, but it's awesome. Uh, this is Reagan era uh, Easter egg roll on the White House lawn, and it features some celebrities. Enjoy. [Music] One day in class, We all gathered around to hear a story. Everyone was eager to hear it because it was a story about a little bunny. Once there was a little bunny. He lived in the woods right here in this tree. His name was Hoppy. "My, what a beautiful morning," he said. Of course, we all know that bunnies don't really talk, but it's fun to pretend. Yes, it was a beautiful morning. Such a beautiful morning that Hoppy felt happy. From the tip of his long ears to his funny, wiggly nose, right on down to his powderpuff tail. He was going to have fun today, so off he went to see what he could find. Singing hop, hop, hop. I'm a funny little bunny and it's so much fun to hop hop hop through the woods all day. It was nice to have such big strong legs for hopping. Then he saw his neighbor, Mr. Raccoon. Good morning, Mr. Raccoon, said Hoppy. Good morning to you, said Mr. Raccoon, would you like to share my breakfast with me? No, thank you, said Hoppy. I'm busy. Busy doing what? I'm going to look for places I've never seen before. You'd better be careful. You might get lost. No, I won't, said Hoppy. Yes, you will. No, I won't. Well, we'll see, said Mr. Raccoon. And off he went. Hoppy hopped on through the woods. Then way up in an oak tree, he saw Mr. Owl. Of course, Mr. Owl was sleeping. Owls sleep during the day and hunt their food during the night. Hoppy was glad Mr. Owl was asleep. You see, sometimes owls aren't friendly to bunnies. So off hoppy went. Soon he came to his favorite little brook. Today it was laughing and splashing in the sunlight. This is so good, thought Hoppy. It made him feel even happier than he had felt before on this beautiful morning. And off he hopped, singing hop hop hop. I'm a funny little bunny and it's so much fun to hop hop hop through the woods all day. But then he stopped. Do you know what he had done? He had found a place he had never seen before. He had hopped himself right out of the woods. Everything looked so strange. He had never been out of the woods before. But he smelled something good and decided to hop through the fence and see what it was. Now Hoppy didn't know it, but he was going to visit a farm. What a day. What a day. So, that file was corrupt and I'm not exactly sure how it got corrupt, but it's very frustrating. The only person that can make these feel better about this is Tom Jones of your neighbors if you buy Easter Seals. You help make it possible for the National Easter Seal Society to help children and adults. Their handicaps can be overcome with your contributions. Won't you keep that in mind when you're asked? Thank you. I don't even know if that was in sync. It didn't look like it was in sync and I so I apologize. Um everything's a mess, but uh maybe I can offer this as some sort of uh solace. Um, here's me in college uh with the Easter Bunny. Um, I had a history of sitting on Santa's lap every year for I don't know, eight years. And once I decided to sit on the the Easter Bunny's lap and he asked me if I'd been good that year and I told him that was not his job. Uh then years later, uh my uh stepfather and step-brother had given me a bunny suit for my birthday. And uh it just happened that they were somebody was doing road construction on our road and they left a steamroller in front of my house. So, I dressed as the Easter Bunny and um had pictures taken on a steamroller. So, hopefully that will make up for a a mess of a day. Um I appreciate you tuning in and watching in spite of all the technical and logistical uh barriers. Um, I hope you have a good weekend. If you have today off, enjoy it. Give yourself a break. Spend it with people that you like or by yourself. Um, and uh, you know, reach out. Reach out to the folks. Uh, because there's a lot of us that are struggling. And so, uh, if you're struggling, please know that we are all here for you and we enjoy your company. And um we love you. Yeah. As much as we can via YouTube comments. We love you. But uh everybody have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday and uh I don't think there will be any appliances delivered on Monday. So I think that everything will run smoother, but who knows? Every day is different. Everybody take care and we'll see you soon. Uh, Nathan, thank you for the uh the donation via the superth thanks button. You can donate via the super thanks button. Um, and I love black jelly beans, so that's what I'm going to be eating. Take care.