Television Reviews : Poor Story Lets Lively ‘P. J. Funnybunny’ Down

With its appealing title character, brightly colored backgrounds and limited but lively animation, “P. J. Funnybunny,” a “Weekend Special” airing at 11:30 a.m. today on Channels 7, 10 and 42, should be a lot more entertaining than it is.

A diminutive rabbit with outsized ears, P. J. Funnybunny connives to get out of his chores and launch a (literally) hare-brained scheme to make himself and his pals famous. The plan, which involves contacting aliens through a jury-rigged pile of old junk, backfires and P. J. ends up on K. P.

Most of the problems with “P. J. Funnybunny” can be traced to the script. Writers/executive producers Len Janson and Chuck Menville burdened it with a lot of silly Valley Girl dialogue that’s as dated as it is unfunny. Voice director Ginny McSwain compounds the script’s problems by having the actors read their lines in two modes--flat and frantic. The audience listens in vain for any vocal acting that might explicate the characters’ personalities.

The deficiencies in the script and sound track seem doubly unfortunate as director Maria Dail and the artists at the Animation Cottage studio manage to imbue P. J. with an agreeably bouncy way of moving. Their attention to details like shading the characters to suggest shadows and highlights gives the program a richness that’s rarely seen on Saturday morning television. These animators are clearly capable of interesting work: All they need is a good story.