''Rascal'' is a 1969 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

made by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

. The film is based on Sterling North's book of the same name which tells the story of young Sterling North and his "ringtailed wonder" pet

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

, Rascal. Although set in 1918 Wisconsin, the movie was filmed in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Plot

In the summer of 1918 in the little town of Brailsford Junction in central

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, Willard North takes his son, Sterling out into the woods, where a

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

surprises a family of

s, who run away, leaving a young raccoon behind. Sterling brings the raccoon home and names him Rascal. As Willard has to leave for work, his daughter, Theo, lines up interviews for a potential live-in housekeeper before returning to her job in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Willard agrees to meet with Theo's favorite, Mrs. Satterfield, but dismisses her afterwards, deciding that Sterling can take care of himself. During the summer Rascal starts causing trouble, including trashing up a local store and digging up a neighbor's corn patch. A local constable threatens to hold Sterling responsible for damages unless he keeps Rascal caged up. On his way home, Sterling takes Rascal to a race between a Stanley Steamer and a

sulky A sulky is a lightweight cart used for harness racing. It has two wheels and a small seat for only a single driver. The modern racing sulky has shafts that extend in a continuous bow behind the driver's seat, with wire-spoked "bike" wheels ...

. Rascal's presence inspires the sulky's

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

, Donnybrook, to win the race, changing the town's opinion of him. Theo returns from Chicago, finding the home in a mess. Enraged, Theo confronts Willard, reminding him that Sterling is his son who needs help. Willard vows to become a better father to Sterling. Later that night, Rascal hears the

mating call A mating call is the auditory signal used by animals to attract mates. It can occur in males or females, but literature is abundantly favored toward researching mating calls in females. In addition, mating calls are often the subject of mate choi ...

of a female raccoon through the window and tries to escape through Theo’s room, waking her and everyone else. Following a scuffle where Rascal bites his finger, Sterling realizes it is time to let Rascal go. The next day, Sterling sets out in his homemade

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

and returns Rascal to his old stomping grounds, where he quickly locates a female racoon. But before Sterling leaves, the lynx returns. As he comes to help, Rascal and his new mate outwit the lynx, sending him tumbling into the water. Sterling leaves, knowing that the two will be able to protect each other.

Cast

Bill Mumy Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, producer, and musician. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor whose work included television appearances on ''Bewitched'', ''I Dream of Jeannie'', ''T ...

as Sterling North **

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. A major leading man during the Golden Age of Hollywood, known for his "portrayals of men who prove both sturdy and wise," Pidgeon earned two Academy ...

as adult Sterling North (voice) * Steve Forrest as Willard North * Pamela Toll as Theo North *

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World ...

as Mrs. Satterfield * Henry Jones as Garth Shadwick *

Bettye Ackerman Bettye Louise Ackerman (February 28, 1924 – November 1, 2006) was an American actress primarily known for her work on television. Early years Ackerman was born in Cottageville, South Carolina (another source says she was born in Williston, S ...

as Miss Whalen * Jonathan Daly as Rev. Thurman *

John Fiedler John Donald Fiedler (February 3, 1925 – June 25, 2005) was an American actor. Recognizable for his high, flutey voice, Fiedler's career lasted more than 55 years in stage, film, television and radio. Fiedler was typecast beginning ear ...

as Cy Jenkins *

Richard Erdman John Richard Erdman (June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly in supporting roles ...

as Walt Dabbett * Herbert Anderson as Mr. Pringle * Robert Emhardt as Constable Stacey * Steve Carlson as Norman Bradshaw * Maudie Prickett as Miss Pince-Nez * David McCallum as Ice Cream Man

Differences from the book

In the award-winning book of the same name, all three of Sterling North's real-life siblings are featured in the story: his brother Herschel and his sisters Theodora (Theo) and the future poet and editor Jessica Nelson North. Theo is the only sibling featured in the film version.

Music

The film features the song "Summer Sweet" by

Bobby Russell Bobby Russell (April 19, 1940 – November 19, 1992) was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he had five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion". Russell w ...

Critical reception

''Rascal'' was the first film given a review in a publication by film critic

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

, appearing in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' one month before he became the paper's official film critic in 1969. His review of the film was not favorable ("Because of excessive gimmickry, most kids will miss the tenderness", he wrote). Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the film as "genteel, sweet-natured and appealingly frail", but thought the story "gets a little patly philosophical in trying to thrust practical responsibilities on the young hero, Bill Mumy, and his carefree, widowed father, Steve Forrest." '' Variety'' said that the film is a "diverting adaptation of Sterling North book about a boy and his pet raccoon. ''Rascal'' will pull younger generation as well as family-groups in to see a clean, well-presented, unashamedly sentimental Disney film."

Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that "for the young (and old) audience for which it is intended, ''Rascal'' is practically perfect hot weather fare, offering a spacious escape to a world of tree-shaded streets and spacious lawns, verandas, woods and ponds, trotting horses and Stanley Steamers (one at least)." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' stated: "Routine Disney boy-befriends-animal feature, agreeable enough on its own terms but as mawkishly sentimental as usual and with the additional embarrassment of a commentary by Walter Pidgeon which keeps insisting what a marvellous boyhood summer it all was."

References

* Text was copied fro
Disney Plus-Or-Minus: Rascal
at Jahnke's Electric Theatre, which is released under
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license

External links

* * *

{{Norman Tokar 1969 films 1969 children's films 1969 drama films American children's drama films Films about raccoons Films based on children's books Films directed by Norman Tokar Films produced by James Algar Films scored by Buddy Baker (composer) Films set in 1918 Cultural depictions of Sterling North Films set in Wisconsin Walt Disney Pictures films American children's films Drama films based on actual events 1960s English-language films 1960s American films