The Tale of the Bunny Picnic is a 1986 Easter TV special directed by Jim Henson and David G. Hillier. In the United States it was shown annually on HBO in the spring, usually during Easter time. It was later released on VHS in 1993. The film focuses on the Muppet character Bean Bunny (Steve Whitmire), who makes his first appearance in this special, and would later appear on additional projects featuring Jim Henson's Muppets. It was screened twice in the United Kingdom, first on March 29, 1986 on BBC One, then again on December 13, 1986.When the special originally aired on HBO, it opened with a live-action introduction that showed Jim Henson walking through a park on a spring day. In the introduction, he explains the inspiration for the story. In a park one day, he saw a large gathering of bunnies and had the thought that it looked like a bunny picnic. All of a sudden, a dog came running up and the bunnies scattered. This incident led to the creation of the television special. This introduction was not included in either of the VHS releases.