Irontail is the main antagonist in Here Comes Peter Cottontail. He is a wicked rabbit. Irontail will stop at nothing to stop Peter from being the Easter Bunny. However, during the credits of the movie, he was foiled by being the clean-up crew and became good.
Role in the Story
Here Comes Peter Cottontail
Colonel Wellington B. Bunny, the retiring Chief Easter Bunny, names young Peter his successor despite Peter's propensity for boasting and telling fibs, which is exemplified when his left ear droops. Peter, who has dreamed of being the Chief Easter Bunny almost his entire life, contentedly accepts. But not everybody in April Valley is content with the Colonel's decision. January Q. Irontail, a wicked, antisocial rabbit villain who lives in a craggy old tree by himself, except for his assistant, a bat named Montresor, intends to be the Chief Easter Bunny... but only so he can eliminate it for kids everywhere, as revenge for the loss of his tail, which was run over by a small kid who rollerskated over his fluffy tail (we’re told), and replaced with a prosthetic iron one. Because the constitution of April Valley says only the rabbit who delivers the most eggs on Easter morning can be Chief Easter Bunny, Irontail proposes that Colonel Bunny hold a contest between himself and Peter to see who prevails. Peter, eager to prove his worth, accepts Irontail's challenge even as Colonel Bunny is making ready to turn the wicked rabbit down. Although Peter promises the Colonel that he will not fail, he stays up late partying with his friends. Though he sets his rooster to awaken him at 5:00, Irontail sabotages his friend by giving it magical bubble-gum. The magic gum causes the rooster's crows to float so far away that Peter can't hear them, resulting in Peter resting through and failing the contest.
Even though the unpleasant Irontail manages to deliver only one egg, it's still one more egg than Peter delivers and so Irontail is named the new Chief Easter Bunny, as per the constitution. Instantly, Irontail starts to wreck Easter by passing preposterous new laws that will doubtless make the entire holiday a complete disaster. Meanwhile, Peter, guilty that his overconfidence and irresponsibility led to this tragedy, leaves April Valley in shame.
He happens upon Seymour S. Sassafrass, who in addition to being the narrator in the present is also the pleasant man who supplies April Valley with the dyes it uses to color its Easter eggs. He gets them from his Garden of Surprises, which includes striped tomatoes, orange string beans and blue cabbages. Proving to be a very compassionate and understanding man (if a somewhat offbeat one), Sassafrass offers to let Peter use his latest invention, the Yestemorrowmobile, a time machine. With the assistance of its pilot, a French caterpillar named Antoine, Peter will be able to go back to Easter and retake the contest.
Unfortunately, Irontail finds out about Peter's plan and sends a spider to sabotage the Yestemorrowmobile's controls, thereby making it so that Peter and Antoine can go to any holiday but Easter! The rules of the contest don't specifically say the eggs must be delivered on Easter, so Peter begins trying to give his eggs away at other holidays, without success. Along the way he rescues a talking bonnet, and meets Donna, a lovely girl bunny (with who he celebrates Valentine's Day for a very short time). But Peter continues to attempt to persevere in his quest, even though nobody seems to want eggs on any holiday except Easter. Antoine disappears as well, (he is left behind accidentally in a town on Christmas Eve ). But Peter's biggest issue is still Irontail and Montresor the bat; who are constantly trying to steal the eggs, or otherwise sabotage Peter's efforts (at one point, with assistance from Madame Esmerelda, a Halloween Witch), finally succeeding in turning the eggs a mottled green color.
After many failed efforts, including Irontail trying to have Peter slaughtered, but misses. Irontail crashed into the Christmas Tree to his death, and he who was permanently damaged and crucified for all time. Pitch the salesperson attempts to pitch the eggs as "explosive" torpedoes on the 4th of July, he eventually manages to give the green eggs away on St. Patrick's Day. That afternoon, the bats are crucified, including Montresor was badly wounded; however 79 of one hundred butterfly are destroyed was badly wounded. Since they’re the appropriate color for the occasion. As a result, Peter is crowned Chief Easter Bunny, and Antoine returns as a butterfly.
Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie
January Q. Irontail, last seen having been demoted to the janitor of April Valley, approaches Jackie Frost, the queen of winter, with a proposal. Jackie wants it to be winter forever, and Irontail, who knows of the Clock of Spring's existence, decides to team up with her to steal the golden spring which powers it. They do so when Junior irresponsibly runs off with his friends Chunk and Sophie, and as soon as the Spring of Spring has been purloined, March gains extra days.
Realizing the whole mess is his fault, Junior leaves his parents a note and sets out to find Irontail and Jackie and get the Spring of Spring back. Along the way, he teams up with an awkward Robin named Flutter and a perpetually famished mouse named Munch. As it turns out, Junior's desire to stop Irontail and Jackie couldn't have come at a better time, as the pair now plan to also steal the Sun of Summer and the Leaf of Fall! Meanwhile, a disappointed Peter sends Antoine the caterpillar out to search for his son. Irontail succeeded to zapped Munch to their demises.
Irontail and Jackie Frost steal the Sun Of Summer and the Leaf Of Fall, but Junior, Flutter, and Antonie un-freeze them (Irontail and Jackie Frost) and take the symbols back, Irontail was safe in the cave, but now the butterflies frightened Irontail, accidentally Irontail falls into the lava to his demise, now Irontail's head turned red is melting. In the end, Junior, Flutter, and Munch perform a rock version of the original song while penguins try to un-freeze Jackie Frost.
