| Cartoon friends share the holidays Classic kids videos celebrate the spiritual 04/13/2001 By NANCY CHURNIN / The Dallas Morning News It's not always easy for younger kids to understand the spiritual significance of Passover and Easter.
And that's where perennials such as the 1974 It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and the 1991 A Rugrats Passover help.
Neither video sermonizes. And both make us laugh at our imperfections, while putting the spirit of the holidays at a kid's level.
A Rugrats Passover shows it's okay if celebrations don't go as planned.
Instead of sitting at the table for the seder, during which the story of the liberation from Egypt is traditionally told, Grandpa Boris gets stuck in the attic when the door, which only opens from the outside, slams behind him.
When Tommy and the gang look for Boris, they get stuck, too. So Boris decides to tell them the Passover story in the attic, casting bossy Angelica as the Pharoah figure and Tommy as Moses, telling her to "Let my babies go!"
As for Easter Beagle, anyone who has ever botched an Easter egg should get a special kick out of watching Peppermint Patty try to teach Marcy how to do it as Marcy waffles, roasts, fries and ruins egg after egg after egg.
Meanwhile, Linus tries to persuade everyone to wait for the Easter Beagle, rather than the Easter Bunny.
And in a bittersweet way, the video also brings its late, great creator Charles Schulz to mind – a timely reminder that the departed linger, as long as we keep their memory alive. IT'S THE EASTER BEAGLE,
CHARLIE BROWN
Not rated.VHS. 25 min. A RUGRATS PASSOVER
Not rated. VHS. 35 min.
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