Rabbit Ears Productions is a production company best known for producing three television series that feature individual episodes adapting popular pieces of children's literature. Rabbit Ears episodes have been released on home video, broadcast on Showtime, and rerun on PBS. The series features actors, such as Robin Williams, Raul Julia, Laura Dern, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, John Hurt, Danny Glover and others narrating children's books that are either well known in the United States or around the world. In a style similar to today’s motion comics, the series used limited animation by moving still images through each scene.. Rabbit Ears Productions has also won numerous awards, including Parents' Choice Awards and Grammy Awards.

The stories were released on CDs, VHS, and DVD by several distributors, including Random House Home Video (1985 to 1986), Sony Video Software (1987 to 1990), and Uni Distribution Corp.

Rabbit Ears Productions was acquired by Vanguard Animation in early 2024; the studio then began uploading full episodes of its programs onto its official YouTube channel.

Stories

Storybook Classics

From 1984 to 1990, Rabbit Ears Productions created a set of storybook classics that were well known around the world. Probably the most popular storybook classic from Rabbit Ears Productions was The Velveteen Rabbit, the first story that Rabbit Ears Productions had created. The Velveteen Rabbit also received many awards, such as a Parents' Choice Award and a nomination for a Grammy Award. Showtime acquired the broadcast rights to Storybook Classics in 1987.

We All Have Tales

From 1991 to 1995, Rabbit Ears Productions created the next set of stories that were collected from around the world, including the countries of Russia, France, Jamaica, England, Germany, Colombia, Scandinavia, Japan and India.

American Heroes and Legends

From 1992 to 1993, Rabbit Ears Productions made another set of stories that originated in the U.S., about great American heroes, such as John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, and many other heroes and heroines who made a great impact on American society.

The Greatest Stories Ever Told

From 1991 to 1993, Rabbit Ears Productions created its final installments, relating to stories from the Bible.

The Bible stories are (only released on audio CD):

• The Creation

• Noah and the Ark

• Joseph and His Brothers

• Moses in Egypt

• Moses the Lawgiver

• David and Goliath

• Jonah and the Whale

• The Savior is Born

• Parables That Jesus Told

Of the 9 Bible stories, the first 7 focus on stories from the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Samuel and Jonah), and the final 2 focus on stories from the New Testament.

This series was not shown on television. Of the 13 Bible stories, 10 were released on VHS and DVD. None were in the order found in the Bible, except The Creation (which was first) and Parables That Jesus Told (which was last).

In The Creation video, the narrator concludes that Adam and Eve ventured into the world. They "went out into the world until they returned to the ground from which they were made".

Holiday Classics

Holiday Classics are stories that are found throughout all the Rabbit Ears Productions series, whether they are Christmas, Halloween or Easter-themed.

Cast and stories

Cast

• Danny Aiello: told Pinocchio

• Rubén Blades: told Joseph and his Brothers

• Nicolas Cage: told Davy Crockett

• Michael Caine: told King Midas and the Golden Touch

• John Candy: told Stormalong

• Keith Carradine: told Annie Oakley

• Cher: told The Ugly Duckling

• Mel Gibson: told David and Goliath

• John Cleese: told Tom Thumb

• Glenn Close: told The Emperor and the Nightingale / The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

• Geena Davis: told Princess Scargo and the Birthday Pumpkin

• Laura Dern: told The Song of Sacajawea

• Jodie Foster: told The Fisherman and His Wife

• Morgan Freeman: told Follow the Drinking Gourd / The Savior is Born

• John Gielgud: told The Emperor's New Clothes

• Danny Glover: told Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion / Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby / How the Leopard Got His Spots / Moses in Egypt

• Whoopi Goldberg: told Koi and the Kola Nuts

• Amy Grant: told The Creation / The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat / The Lion and the Lamb

• Graham Greene: told Squanto and the First Thanksgiving

• Bob Hoskins: told The Bremen Town Musicians

• Holly Hunter: told The Three Billy Goats Gruff / The Three Little Pigs

• John Hurt: told Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

• William Hurt: told The Boy Who Drew Cats

• Anjelica Huston: told Rip Van Winkle

• Jeremy Irons: told The Steadfast Tin Soldier

• Raul Julia: told The Monkey People

• Michael Keaton: told Mose the Fireman

• Garrison Keillor: told Johnny Appleseed / Parables that Jesus Told

• Ben Kingsley: told The Tiger and the Brahmin / Moses the Law-giver

• John Lone: told The Five Chinese Brothers

• Kelly McGillis: told Thumbelina / Noah and the Ark

• Jack Nicholson: told The Elephant's Child / How the Rhinoceros got his Skin / How the Camel got his Hump

• Catherine O'Hara: told Finn McCoul

• Michael Palin: told Jack and the Beanstalk

• Christopher Reeve: told The Lion and The Lamb

• Jason Robards: told Jonah and the Whale

• Meg Ryan: told Red Riding Hood / Goldilocks

• Susan Saint James: told A Gingerbread Christmas

• Susan Sarandon: told The Firebird

• Sissy Spacek: told The Talking Eggs

• Meryl Streep: told The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher / The Tale of Peter Rabbit / The Velveteen Rabbit / The Night Before Christmas / The Tailor of Gloucester

• Max von Sydow: told East of the Sun, West of the Moon

• Emma Thompson: told The White Cat

• Kathleen Turner: told Rumpelstiltskin

• Tracey Ullman: told Puss in Boots

• Denzel Washington: told John Henry / Anansi

• Sigourney Weaver: told Peachboy

• Robin Williams: told The Fool and the Flying Ship / Pecos Bill

• Jonathan Winters: told Paul Bunyan

Crew

• Mark Sottnick: Executive Producer, Producer, Director

• Mike Pogue: Executive Producer

• Eric Metaxas: Writer

• Brian Gleeson: Writer

• C.W. Rogers: Animation Department, Film Editing, Production Design

• Tim Raglin: Illustrator, Art Direction, Director

• Paul Elliott: Art Director

• Ken Hoin: Producer

• Doris Wilhousky: Executive Producer

• Susan C. Anderson: Production Director

Episodes

Storybook Classics

We All Have Tales

American Heroes and Legends

The Greatest Stories Ever Told: 1991–1994

Holiday Classics: 1986–1994

Audiobooks

Many of the stories have been made available as audiobooks through Listening Library.

References

External links