Rascal (film)

Last updated
Rascal
Rascal poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Norman Tokar
Written byHarold Swanton
Based on Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era
by Sterling North
Produced by James Algar
Starring Steve Forrest
Bill Mumy
Narrated by Walter Pidgeon
CinematographyWilliam E. Snyder
Edited byNorman R. Palmer
Music by Buddy Baker
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release date
  • June 11, 1969 (1969-06-11)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Rascal is a 1969 American drama film made by Walt Disney Productions. 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, Rascal. Although set in 1918 Wisconsin, the movie was filmed in California.

Contents

Plot

In the summer of 1918 in the little town of Brailsford Junction in central Wisconsin, Willard North takes his son, Sterling out into the woods, where a lynx surprises a family of raccoons, 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. 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. Rascal's presence inspires the sulky's horse, 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 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 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

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. [1]

Critical reception

Rascal was the first film given a review in a publication by film critic Gene Siskel, appearing in the Chicago Tribune 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). [2] [3]

Howard Thompson of The New York Times 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." [4] 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." [5] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times 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)." [6] The Monthly Film Bulletin 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." [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Mumy</span> American actor (born 1954)

Charles William Mumy Jr. 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, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and a role in the film Dear Brigitte, followed by a three-season role as Will Robinson in the 1960s sci-fi series Lost in Space. Mumy later appeared as lonely teenager Sterling North in the film Rascal (1969) and Teft in the film Bless the Beasts and Children (1971).

<i>The Aristocats</i> 1970 American romantic comedy animated film

The Aristocats is a 1970 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It is directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Ken Anderson, Larry Clemmons, Eric Cleworth, Vance Gerry, Julius Svendsen, Frank Thomas and Ralph Wright. It is the final Disney animated film made with the involvement of Walt Disney Productions' co-founder Roy O. Disney before his death on December 20, 1971. The film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler has kidnapped them to gain his mistress's fortune which was intended to go to them. The film features the voices of Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby.

<i>The Happiest Millionaire</i> 1967 American musical film directed by Norman Tokar

The Happiest Millionaire is a 1967 American musical film starring Fred MacMurray, based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony Drexel Biddle. The film, featuring music by the Sherman Brothers, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design by Bill Thomas. The screenplay by A. J. Carothers was adapted from the play, based on the book My Philadelphia Father by Cordelia Drexel Biddle. Walt Disney acquired the rights to the play in the early 1960s. The film was the last live-action musical film to be produced by Disney before his death on December 15, 1966.

<i>The Return of Jafar</i> 1994 American film

The Return of Jafar is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to Disney's 1992 animated feature film, Aladdin, made by combining the planned first five episodes of the Aladdin animated television series into a feature-length film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Siskel</span> American film critic (1946–1999)

Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillian Disney</span> Wife of Walt Disney (1899–1997)

Lillian Marie Disney was an American ink artist at the Walt Disney Animation Studios and the wife of Walt Disney from 1925 until his death in 1966. Born in Spalding, Idaho, Disney graduated from high school in Lapwai before moving to Lewiston to attend college. She left Idaho in 1923 to move to southern California, where she met future husband Walt while working as a secretary for his company.

Rascal or rascals may refer to:

<i>Robin Hood</i> (1973 film) Disney film

Robin Hood is a 1973 American animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Produced and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it is based on the English folktale "Robin Hood". Taking place in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, the story follows the adventures of Robin Hood, Little John, and the inhabitants of Nottingham as they fight against the excessive taxation of Prince John, and Robin Hood wins the hand of Maid Marian. The film features the voices of Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Pat Buttram, Monica Evans, Terry-Thomas, Roger Miller, and Carole Shelley.

<i>The Muppet Christmas Carol</i> 1992 film directed by Brian Henson

The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 American Christmas musical film directed by Brian Henson, adapted from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Although artistic license is taken to suit the aesthetic of the Muppets, the film otherwise follows Dickens' original story closely.

Thomas Sterling North was an American writer. He is best known for the children's novel Rascal, a bestseller in 1963.

<i>Rascal</i> (book) 1963 childrens book by Sterling North

Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, often referred to as Rascal, is a 1963 children's book by Sterling North about his childhood in Wisconsin, illustrated by John Schoenherr.

<i>The Shaggy D.A.</i> 1976 film directed by Robert Stevenson

The Shaggy D.A. is a 1976 American comedy film and a sequel to The Shaggy Dog (1959) produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Don Tait. As with the first film in the series, it takes some inspiration from the Felix Salten novel, The Hound of Florence.

<i>The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band</i> 1968 film by Michael OHerlihy

The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band is a 1968 American comedy musical western film from Walt Disney Productions. Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, the film is based on a biography by Laura Bower Van Nuys, directed by Michael O'Herlihy, with original music and lyrics by the Sherman Brothers. Set against the backdrop of the 1888 presidential election, the film portrays the musically talented Bower family, American pioneers who settle in the Dakota Territory. The film stars Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson, and Goldie Hawn in her film debut.

<i>The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes</i> 1969 American film directed by Robert Butler

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes is a 1969 American science fiction comedy film starring Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn and William Schallert. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company.

<i>Rascal the Raccoon</i> Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation

Rascal the Raccoon is a 1977 Japanese animated series by Nippon Animation. It is based on the 1963 autobiographical novel Rascal, A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North.

<i>Now You See Him, Now You Dont</i> 1972 film by Robert Butler

Now You See Him, Now You Don't is a 1972 American science fiction comedy film starring Kurt Russell as a chemistry student who accidentally discovers the secret to invisibility. It is the second film in Dexter Riley series.

<i>Winter Kills</i> (film) 1979 film by William Richert

Winter Kills is a 1979 satirical black comedy thriller film written and directed by William Richert, based on the eponymous novel of 1974 by Richard Condon. A fiction inspired by the assassination conspiracy theories about President John F. Kennedy, its all-star cast includes Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Richard Boone, Toshirō Mifune, Sterling Hayden, Dorothy Malone, Belinda Bauer, Ralph Meeker, Elizabeth Taylor, Berry Berenson and Susan Walden.

<i>Bon Voyage!</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by James Neilson

Bon Voyage! is a 1962 American comedy film directed by James Neilson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Fred MacMurray, Jane Wyman, Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk, and Kevin Corcoran as the Willard family on a European holiday.

<i>The Barefoot Executive</i> 1971 film by Robert Butler

The Barefoot Executive is a 1971 American comedy film starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Wally Cox, Heather North, Harry Morgan and John Ritter. The plot concerns a pet chimpanzee named Raffles who can predict the popularity of television programs. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Robert Butler. It was frequently aired during The Wonderful World of Disney from the late 1970s through the 1980s.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas S. Hischak; Mark A. Robinson (July 29, 2009). The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. pp. 189–. ISBN   978-0-8108-6938-7.
  2. ↑ "The Movie Reviews". Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1999.
  3. ↑ Siskel, Gene (August 5, 1969). "The Disney Version of 'Rascal'". Chicago Tribune . Section 2, page 5.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Howard (October 30, 1969). "Unhurried Pace of Rascal the Raccoon". The New York Times . 58.
  5. ↑ "Film Reviews: Rascal". Variety . June 11, 1969. 6.
  6. ↑ Champlin, Charles (August 14, 1969). "Walt Disney's 'Rascal' Opens Citywide Run". Los Angeles Times . Part IV, p. 1.
  7. ↑ "Rascal". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 37 (432): 15. January 1970.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.