Rascal

1h 25m 1969
Rascal

Brief Synopsis

A lonely boy adopts a baby raccoon.

Cast & Crew

Read More

Norman Tokar

Director

Steve Forrest

Willard North

Bill Mumy

Sterling North

Pamela Toll

Theo

Elsa Lanchester

Mrs. Satterfield

Henry Jones

Garth Shadwick

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Release Date
Jun 11, 1969
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Walt Disney Productions
Distribution Company
Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Rascal, a Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North (New York, 1963).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Color (Technicolor)

Synopsis

In the summer of 1918 in the little town of Brailsford Junction in central Wisconsin, 11-year-old Sterling North saves a raccoon from a lynx, and the two become boon companions. Sterling's father, a widower and traveling salesman, spends much of his time on the road; and Rascal, the raccoon, is often Sterling's only companion. Three friendly neighbors keep an eye on the pair, however: Miss Whalen, his teacher; Mr. Thurman, the new minister; and Mr. Pringle, a kindly merchant. Rascal gets into trouble often, and when he digs up a neighbor's corn patch, Sterling frees him rather than putting him in a cage. Rascal is again almost killed by the lynx, and Sterling must once more save him. On his way home, Sterling takes Rascal to a race between a Stanley Steamer and a sulky, and the presence of the animal inspires Donnybrook, the horse pulling the sulky, to win the race. Sterling's sister, Theo, returns home from Chicago with her fiancé and finds the North home in a terrible mess. She takes her father to task for neglecting Sterling, and, as a result, Mr. North takes an office in Brailsford Junction. Sterling sets Rascal free in the company of a female raccoon, knowing that together the two animals will be able to protect themselves from the lynx.

Director

Norman Tokar

Director

Cast

Steve Forrest

Willard North

Bill Mumy

Sterling North

Pamela Toll

Theo

Elsa Lanchester

Mrs. Satterfield

Henry Jones

Garth Shadwick

Bettye Ackerman

Miss Whalen

Jonathan Daly

Reverend Thurman

John Fiedler

Cy Jenkins

Richard Erdman

Walt Dabbitt

Herbert Anderson

Mr. Pringle

Robert Emhardt

Constable

Steve Carlson

Norman Bradshaw

Maudie Prickett

Miss Pince-nez

Walter Pidgeon

Voice of Sterling North

Crew

James Algar

Producer

Buddy Baker

Music

John Bloss

Unit Production Manager

Robert O. Cook

Sound Supervisor

Henry L. Cowl

Animal Supervisor

Christopher Hibler

Assistant Director

Chuck Keehne

Costumes

Evelyn Kennedy

Music Editor

Emile Kuri

Set Decoration

Eustace Lycett

Special Effects

Otis Malcolm

Makeup

Alan Maley

Matte artist

John B. Mansbridge

Art Director

La Rue Matheron

Hairstyles

Frank R. Mckelvy

Set Decoration

Rosemary O'dell

Costume Design

Norman R. Palmer

Film Editor

Bob Russell

Composer

Walter Sheets

Orchestration

William Snyder

Director of Photography

Emily Sundby

Costumes

Harold Swanton

Screenwriter

Dean Thomas

Sound mix

Arthur J. Vitarelli

2nd unit Director

Gerry Lynn Warshauer

Animal Supervisor

Film Details

MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Release Date
Jun 11, 1969
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Walt Disney Productions
Distribution Company
Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Rascal, a Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North (New York, 1963).

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Color (Technicolor)

Articles

Rascal -

June 2, 2015
"Some things are irresistible...a ring-tailed rapscallion, a freckle-faced boy...and a summer warm with laughter," read the poster for Disney's Rascal (1969), starring Billy Mumy. The film is based on Sterling North's 1963 best-selling memoir Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, in which he relates growing up in Wisconsin in 1917 with his pet raccoon. Rascal is rescued when Sterling's dog chases off a mother raccoon, with baby Rascal left behind. Sterling takes in the baby and raises him as a pet. Later, the boy finds himself alone for the summer when the housekeeper abandons him with only his dog and his raccoon for company. The book was later serialized in the Reader's Digest, and won the Newbery Honor in 1964, followed by the Young Reader's Choice Award and the Sequoyah Book Award in 1966. It was eventually translated into many languages.

Rascal was a Disney reunion, with most of the players having already appeared in other projects for the studio. Mumy had starred in Sammy, the Way-Out Seal (1962) and was familiar to audiences from his appearance in the sci-fi series, Lost in Space, but at 15, he was four years older than the 11-year-old Sterling of the novel, causing some fans to think he wasn't the right choice for the role. Also in the cast were Steve Forrest playing Mumy's dad (the first of two Disney films in which he would appear), Elsa Lanchester, who had appeared in Mary Poppins (1964), John Fiedler (best known as the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh), Henry Jones, and Walter Pidgeon as the narrator. Director Norman Tokar was also a Disney vet, having helmed Big Red (1962). So was screenwriter Harold Swanton, who wrote Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders (1967). Although the film was set in Wisconsin, Rascal was shot on the Disney lot in Burbank, California, as well as Golden Oak for exteriors. Mumy would later remember in an interview for Lost in Space Bi-Monthly magazine, that Rascal was "A typical Disney film, but it was really nice, well done."

When Rascal was released in the United State on June 11, 1969, it was met with tepid reviews. Most felt that it was overly sentimental (not surprising for the summer when Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon), and it was no great shakes at the box office. Like Mumy, Fred Lutz of The Toledo Blade wrote that the film was "another production utilizing the Disney formula. And, though it may not send adults to new peaks of cinematic appreciation, most children will probably enjoy it." This was the first film that legendary critic Gene Siskel (later of Siskel and Ebert fame) reviewed professionally. He gave it a thumbs down. Rascal later aired on The Wonderful World of Disney as a two-part special in 1973.

SOURCES:

http://www.gojefferson.com/rascal/index.html
http://lostinspace.wikia.com/wiki/Bill_Mumy_Interview
Lutz, Fred "Disney's Rascal: A Nature Story," The Toledo Blade 28 Aug 69
http://www.thedisneyfilms.com/2014/02/rascal-1969.html
The Internet Movie Database

By Lorraine LoBianco
Rascal -

Rascal -

"Some things are irresistible...a ring-tailed rapscallion, a freckle-faced boy...and a summer warm with laughter," read the poster for Disney's Rascal (1969), starring Billy Mumy. The film is based on Sterling North's 1963 best-selling memoir Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, in which he relates growing up in Wisconsin in 1917 with his pet raccoon. Rascal is rescued when Sterling's dog chases off a mother raccoon, with baby Rascal left behind. Sterling takes in the baby and raises him as a pet. Later, the boy finds himself alone for the summer when the housekeeper abandons him with only his dog and his raccoon for company. The book was later serialized in the Reader's Digest, and won the Newbery Honor in 1964, followed by the Young Reader's Choice Award and the Sequoyah Book Award in 1966. It was eventually translated into many languages. Rascal was a Disney reunion, with most of the players having already appeared in other projects for the studio. Mumy had starred in Sammy, the Way-Out Seal (1962) and was familiar to audiences from his appearance in the sci-fi series, Lost in Space, but at 15, he was four years older than the 11-year-old Sterling of the novel, causing some fans to think he wasn't the right choice for the role. Also in the cast were Steve Forrest playing Mumy's dad (the first of two Disney films in which he would appear), Elsa Lanchester, who had appeared in Mary Poppins (1964), John Fiedler (best known as the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh), Henry Jones, and Walter Pidgeon as the narrator. Director Norman Tokar was also a Disney vet, having helmed Big Red (1962). So was screenwriter Harold Swanton, who wrote Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders (1967). Although the film was set in Wisconsin, Rascal was shot on the Disney lot in Burbank, California, as well as Golden Oak for exteriors. Mumy would later remember in an interview for Lost in Space Bi-Monthly magazine, that Rascal was "A typical Disney film, but it was really nice, well done." When Rascal was released in the United State on June 11, 1969, it was met with tepid reviews. Most felt that it was overly sentimental (not surprising for the summer when Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon), and it was no great shakes at the box office. Like Mumy, Fred Lutz of The Toledo Blade wrote that the film was "another production utilizing the Disney formula. And, though it may not send adults to new peaks of cinematic appreciation, most children will probably enjoy it." This was the first film that legendary critic Gene Siskel (later of Siskel and Ebert fame) reviewed professionally. He gave it a thumbs down. Rascal later aired on The Wonderful World of Disney as a two-part special in 1973. SOURCES: http://www.gojefferson.com/rascal/index.html http://lostinspace.wikia.com/wiki/Bill_Mumy_Interview Lutz, Fred "Disney's Rascal: A Nature Story," The Toledo Blade 28 Aug 69 http://www.thedisneyfilms.com/2014/02/rascal-1969.html The Internet Movie Database By Lorraine LoBianco

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Summer June 1969

Released in United States Summer June 1969

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