Creator / Rabbit Ears Productions

Rabbit Ears Productions was an animation company that was founded by creators Mark Sottnick and Doris Wilhousky in 1985 with their first production, The Velveteen Rabbit, which was narrated by Meryl Streep. The company was located in Palace Production Center in South Norwalk, Connecticut, where they started creating their productions. Rabbit Ears Productions was well known for having celebrity guest stars, such as Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Danny Glover, Jodie Foster, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams narrating the stories, along with famous musicians and illustrators complementing the stories.

Throughout the mid-1980's and the mid-1990's, Rabbit Ears Productions had created over 63 titles and four series that composed the titles: Storybook Classics (which consisted of re-tellings of classic children’s stories), We All Have Tales (which consisted of international tales), American Heroes and Legends (which consisted of stories that involve tall tale heroes and historical figures) and Greatest Stories Ever Told (which consisted of popular Biblical stories).

In the mid-1990's, however, Rabbit Ears had changed hands and the company stopped producing more stories. It wasn’t until 2000, when Chris Campbell, one of the company’s original partners, bought the rights to the company and, along with Mark Sottnick and Doris Wilhousky, restored the company and renamed it Rabbit Ears Entertainment, LLC. Rabbit Ears Entertainment, LLC is now re-releasing former stories on DVD and audio books and are planning on creating new titles, the first being "Tom Thumb", narrated by John Cleese in 2008.

The company’s website can be found here.

Stories Created by Rabbit Ears Productions

Storybook Classics ( 1985 - 1990):

• The Velveteen Rabbit (1985), narrated by Meryl Streep
• The Ugly Duckling (1985), narrated by Cher
• The Elephant's Child (1986), narrated by Jack Nicholson
• The Steadfast Tin Soldier (1986), narrated by Jeremy Irons
• The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher/The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1987), narrated by Meryl Streep
• The Emperor and the Nightingale (1987), narrated by Glenn Close
• How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump (1987), narrated by Jack Nicholson
• Pecos Bill (1988), narrated by Robin Williams
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1988), narrated by Glenn Close
• The Tailor of Gloucester, (1988) narrated by Meryl Streep
• The Fisherman and His Wife (1989), narrated by Jodie Foster
• Thumbelina (1989), narrated by Kelly McGillis
• How the Leopard Got His Spots (1989), narrated by Danny Glover
• Three Billy Goats Gruff/The Three Little Pigs (1989), narrated by Holly Hunter
• The Emperor's New Clothes (1990), narrated by John Gielgud
• Paul Bunyan (1990), narrated by Jonathan Winters
• Little Red Riding Hood/Goldilocks (1990), narrated by Meg Ryan
• Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby (1990), narrated by Danny Glover
• The Talking Eggs (1991), narrated by Sissy Spacek

We All Have Tales ( 1991 - 1994):

• Jack and the Beanstalk (1991), narrated by Michael Palin (England)
• Anansi (1991), narrated by Denzel Washington (Jamaica)
• East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1991), narrated by Max von Sydow (Norway)
• The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991), narrated by Robin Williams (Russia/Ukraine)
• The Monkey People (1991), narrated by Raúl Juliá (Colombia)
• King Midas and the Golden Touch (1991), narrated by Michael Caine (Greece)
• The Boy Who Drew Cats (1991), narrated by William Hurt (Japan)
• Koi and the Kola Nuts (1991), narrated by Whoopi Goldberg (Nigeria)
• The Tiger and the Brahmin (1991), narrated by Ben Kingsley (India)
• Rumpelstiltskin (1991), narrated by Kathleen Turner (Germany)
• Finn McCoul (1991), narrated by Catherine O'Hara (Ireland)
• Puss in Boots (1991), narrated by Tracey Ullman (France)
• The Bremen Town Musicians (1991), narrated by Bob Hoskins (Germany)
• Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (1991), narrated by John Hurt (Iran)
• Pinocchio (1992), narrated by Danny Aiello (Italy)
• Peachboy (1993), narrated by Sigourney Weaver (Japan)
• The Five Chinese Brothers (1994), narrated by John Lone (China)
• The Firebird (1994), narrated by Susan Sarandon (Russia)
• The White Cat (1994), narrated by Emma Thompson (France)

Greatest Stories Ever Told ( 1991 - 1993):

• The Creation (1991), narrated by Amy Grant
• Joseph and his Brothers (1991), narrated by Rubén Blades
• Jonah and the Whale (1992), narrated by Jason Robards
• David and Goliath (1992), narrated by Mel Gibson
• The Savior is Born (1992), narrated by Morgan Freeman
• Noah and the Ark (1992), narrated by Kelly McGillis
• Moses in Egypt (1993), narrated by Danny Glover
• Moses the Lawgiver (1993), narrated by Ben Kingsley
• Parables that Jesus Told (1994), narrated by Garrison Keillor

American Heroes and Legends ( 1992 - 1994):

• Rip Van Winkle (1992), narrated by Anjelica Huston
• Annie Oakley (1992), narrated by Keith Carradine
• Follow the Drinking Gourd (1992), narrated by Morgan Freeman
• Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion (1992), narrated by Danny Glover
• Stormalong (1992), narrated by John Candy
• Johnny Appleseed (1993), narrated by Garrison Keillor
• Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin (1993), narrated by Geena Davis
• John Henry (1993), narrated by Denzel Washington
• Mose the Fireman (1994), narrated by Michael Keaton

Holiday Classics ( 1986 - 1994):

• Santabear's First Christmas (1986), narrated by Kelly McGillis
• A Gingerbread Christmas (1991), narrated by Susan Saint James
• Squanto and the First Thanksgiving (1991), narrated by Graham Greene
• The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat (1991), narrated by Amy Grant
• The Night Before Christmas (1992), narrated by Meryl Streep
• The Song of Sacajawea (1993), narrated by Laura Dern
• The Lion and the Lamb (1994), narrated by Amy Grant and Christopher Reeve

This company and its works contain examples of:

• All-Star Cast: All the stories were narrated by well-known Hollywood actors and actresses including, Danny Glover, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Irons and Robin Williams.
• Christmas Special: "A Gingerbread Christmas", "The Night Before Christmas" and "The Lion and the Lamb."
• Darker and Edgier: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "The Boy Who Drew Cats" are considered Rabbit Ears’ darkest stories in the entire series. The Bible stories from "Greatest Stories Ever Told" are more serious in tone than the majority of the other stories.
• Deranged Animation: Due to the art styles of these stories, "The Fool and the Flying Ship", "The Bremen Town Musicians" and to a lesser extent, "Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby", are considered this.
• Fairy Tale: Many stories are this way including "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", "The Firebird", "Jack and the Beanstalk", and "Puss in Boots".
• Family-Unfriendly Death: The death of the Rat Demon in "The Boy Who Drew Cats".
• Gender Flip: In "The Three Little Pigs", all three pigs are female.
• Green Aesop: At the end of "Paul Bunyan," Paul has finally cleared the forests of the Dakotas, but realizes he went too far and that now there aren't enough trees. He quits logging and decides to plant new trees from now on.
• Halloween Special: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
• Lighter and Softer: Both "Pecos Bill" and "The Fool and the Flying Ship" were lighter and softer than their original stories. In "Pecos Bill", the mood was much more cheerful and in the end, Slue-Foot Sue doesn't get knocked to the moon by Widowmaker. Pecos Bill does end up being hauled to the sky by the tornado in the end, though. In "The Fool and the Flying Ship", the more intense parts are either removed or changed such as in the end the Puffer brings in an army of penguins instead of a real army to the Tsar's palace.
• Limited Animation: The Company uses iconographic animation for their stories.
• The Movie: Keeping the Promise
• Precision F-Strike: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Jonah and the Whale" uttered the word "hell", while "Pinocchio" and "Joseph and His Brothers" uttered the word "ass" or "jackass".
• Religious Edutainment: "The Greatest Stories Ever Told" series
• Russian Literature: "The Fool and the Flying Ship" and "The Firebird" are folktales that originated from Russia.
• Spin-Off: The We All Have Tales series was a spin-off from the Storybook Classics series, while the The Greatest Stories Ever Told series was a spin off from the We All Have Tales series and the American Heroes and Legends series was a spin off from the Greatest Stories Ever Told series.

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