The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
Trailer
Synopsis
A small, imaginative rabbit named Bean wants nothing more than to help with his community's annual picnic — but his older brothers Lugsy and Twitch keep pushing him aside. Wandering into the lettuce patch alone, he comes face to face with the dog of a farmer who has plans for rabbit stew. Bean rushes back to warn everyone, but his reputation as a dreamer works against him. Puppets bring the entire rabbit community and the menacing dog to life in this special filmed at BBC Elstree Centre.
Context & Trivia
This Jim Henson television special, aired on HBO in the United States and BBC in the UK in 1986, marked the first appearance of the character Bean Bunny, performed by Steve Whitmire. The idea for the story originated when Jim Henson and his daughter Cheryl observed a group of rabbits quickly scattering when a dog appeared in a park. From this anecdote, they decided to create a story about bunnies being afraid of dogs. The special was taped in Studio D at England's BBC Elstree Centre, the same studio where The Muppet Show was filmed. The original HBO broadcast included a live-action introduction by Jim Henson explaining the story's inspiration, which was later removed from VHS releases. Bean Bunny went on to become a recurring character in other Muppet productions, including The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet*Vision 3D. The bunny puppets were designed by Diane Dawson Hearn and Bonnie Erickson, and built by Diane Dawson Hearn, Rollie Krewson, and Cheryl Henson. Applause produced a set of plush hand puppets based on the characters from this special, including Bean Bunny, Twitch, Father Bunny, and Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Bunny.
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Puppeteers
Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Camille Bonora, Ron Mueck, Karen Prell, Kevin Clash, Louise Gold, Martin P. Robinson, Mike Quinn, David Rudman, Jim Henson, Robbie Barnett, Simon Buckley, David Bulbeck, Richard Coombs, Geoff Felix, Alistair Fullarton, Nigel Plaskitt, Judy Preece
Voices
Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Camille Bonora, Ron Mueck, Karen Prell, Kevin Clash, Louise Gold, Martin P. Robinson, Mike Quinn, David Rudman, Jim Henson
Puppet design
Diane Dawson Hearn, Bonnie Erickson
Puppet companies
Henson Associates · The Jim Henson Company
Puppet building
Diane Dawson Hearn · Rollie Krewson · Cheryl Henson
Direction
Jim Henson, David G. Hillier
Writing
Jocelyn Stevenson
Cast
Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Camille Bonora, Ron Mueck, Karen Prell, Kevin Clash, Louise Gold, Martin P. Robinson, Mike Quinn, David Rudman
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