A Claymation Easter is a Will Vinton Holiday Special that premiered April 19, 1992.
It's about a pig named Wilshire who cooks up a scheme to kidnap and replace The Easter Bunny, after he hears The Easter Bunny on a radio interview talk about how he constantly gets offered millions of dollars to do Celebrity Product Endorsements; and then turns them down. Wilshire successfully kidnaps the Easter Bunny, but replacing him is not as easy as he thought it would be; and all sorts of hilarious hijinks ensue.
Tropes found in this special include:
- Animal Testing: Wilshire tests out a "shark proof" suit on a fellow anthromorphic pig named Vinnie. It's this universe's equivalent of Tested on Humans. It turns out Wilshire's shark suit is a flop and Vinnie is eaten alive by Wilshire's shark
- Bait-and-Switch: During the opening we see a beautiful field with vibrant wild flowers, then we see The Easter Bunny waving at us, then we see it's just a bill board, and behind it is a dirty oil field.
- Bungling Inventor: In the opening act Wilshire is testing out a new shark proof suit he invented; and he isn't testing it out on himself.
- Capture and Replicate: Wilshire decides to kidnap and replace The Easter Bunny after he hears the Easter Bunny describe how he just turned down a commercial deal for $5 Million Dollars
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Wilshire is the owner & proprietor of an unspecified business located in the middle of what looks like a dirty oil field. His business is going under, and he's looking for any scheme to get rich.
- Near-Villain Victory: Wilshire is literally inches away from claiming the Easter Bunny's throne when the real thing arrives.
- Oh, Crap!: Wilshire screams his head off when he discovers the last test to become the Easter Bunny is "the ancient art of freeway crossing".
- Paper-Thin Disguise: After Wilshire kidnaps The Easter Bunny, he dons a rabbit costume so he can take his place. This doesn't fool anybody, so instead of trying to convince everybody he's a rabbit, he tries to convince them that he's a rabbit trapped inside a pig's body.
- Shark Pool: Wilshire has one complete with a Great White He uses it and another pig named Vinnie to test out his new shark proof suit. You can guess what happens next.
- Sinister Swine: Wilshire is a an overall rotten pig; greedy, arrogant, and a huge coward.
- Shockingly Expensive Bill: Wilshire gets a Final Notice for his electric bill. It's over $1.5 Million Dollars.
- Swallowed Whole: The shark in the pool does this to Vinnie, Dr. Spike Rabbit and the Easter Bunny. They are able to escape by Spike singing a heart-wrenching (And stomach-turning) song that causes the shark to vomit them out.
- Talk Show: Wilshire happens to tune into a radio interview where a Shock Jock named Dr. Spike Rabbit interviews The Easter Bunny.
- Training from Hell: Wilshire goes on to Dr. Spike Rabbit's radio talk show to tell him about his "plight" of feeling like a rabbit trapped in a pig's body so that he can elicit sympathy from the audience. He wants Dr. Rabbit to help him learn how to convincingly act like a real rabbit. At first Dr. Rabbit refuses citing the fact that he can't just reveal trade secrets to just anybody, but then then he agrees and has Wilshire raid Farmer McGregor's garden; Wilshire gets mauled by McGregor's Dog. He then teaches Wilshire how to hop across a Highway, all sorts of Amusing Injuries that would be lethal in Real Life follow.
- Traveling Salesman: Wilshire poses as a Vacuum Salesman when he abducts The Easter Bunny.
- Usurping Santa: After hearing an interview with the Easter Bunny, Wilshire Pig decides to kidnap him, pretend to be a rabbit, and win the contest to decide the new Easter Bunny, hoping to take the lucrative offers that the previous Bunny rejects because he's not in it for the money.
- Weapons That Suck: Wilshire uses a vacuum cleaner to kidnap The Easter Bunny and totally destroys his house in the process. The Vacuum cleaner was so powerful you'd think Wilshire was using a Black Hole machine to suck up The Easter Bunny.
