The Raccoons and the Lost Star
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| The Raccoons and the Lost Star | |
|---|---|
 Title screen | |
| Directed by | Kevin Gillis |
| Written by | Kevin Gillis Juliet Law Packer |
| Starring | Rich Little John Schneider Dottie West |
Release date | 1983 |
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The Raccoons and the Lost Star was a precursor TV Special[1][verification needed] to the critically-acclaimed animated series The Raccoons and debuted in 1983. It came after the first two Raccoons seasonal specials, which were The Christmas Raccoons in 1980 and The Raccoons on Ice in 1981. There are some thematic elements that don't exist in the first specials, such as the Raccoons' world being separate from that of the humans.
Plot
Schaeffer the sheepdog (voiced by veteran actor Carl Banas) is playing with his human owners, Dan the Forest Ranger (voiced by John Schneider), and his children Tommy and Julie (performed by Hadley Kay and Tammy Bourne) respectively when there is a surprise that takes the humans inside their cabin in the Evergreen Forest. As things progress, a plane lands in front of the cabin which takes Schaeffer to the planet where the Raccoons live. Upon his arrival, he runs into Sophia Tutu (performed by Sharon Lewis) who looks familiar to him, although she doesn't seem to know Schaeffer. This is perhaps things don't make sense at least based on the previous specials, as Schaeffer is a mystery to all the other characters who he supposedly knew in the Evergreen Forest. Sophia takes Schaeffer to meet Bert Raccoon (voiced by the late Len Carlson), Ralph Raccoon (voiced by Bob Dermer) and Melissa Raccoon (performed by the late country singer Dottie West).
The crux of the Raccoons' concerns arises when they reveal to Schaeffer the contemptuous plans of Cyril Sneer (voiced by Michael Magee) who, while always an adversarial figure for the Raccoons, was particularly malevolent with designs on destroying earth. The only thing hindering Cyril from obtaining his pernicious goal is a powerful star which the puppy Broo wears around his neck. Cyril is joined by his henchmen pigs (who later served as his employees in the series), as he takes on the role of an Otto Von Bismarck-type character with lusts for dominating the world.
As in the subsequent series to come, his son Cedric Sneer (voiced by Fred Little) has a crush on Sophia and is fraternizing with the enemy, obviously against his maniacal father's wishes. Because of their knowledge of Cyril's need to procure the star, the Raccoons and Sophia do their best to prevent this mystical object from falling into his hands. About halfway through the special, Cyril discovers a "jungle rendezvous" Cedric is having with Sophia and he follows him to a place where he can get the star. After foiling their meeting, Cyril captures the Raccoons, Sophia, Schaeffer and Broo while seizing the star en route to destroying earth. Nevertheless, Broo initiates their escape and Bert, who has always had aspirations of being a pilot helps the Raccoons and the other animals escape from Cyril's clutches while destroying his fortress in the process.
After everyone and everything is safe, Schaeffer feels a longing to go back to Earth, so Bert, obviously now an expert at flying, drops him off. Incidentally, when Schaeffer comes to he discovers that this was all a dream sequence, and Cyril was never close to destroying the earth, supposedly. Anyway, after arising from his sleep, Dan, Tommy and Julie reveal their surprise which turns out to be Broo, who Schaeffer becomes a sort of father figure to.
Cast
- Rich Little - Narrator
- Len Carlson - Bert Raccoon, Pig General
- Bob Dermer - Ralph Raccoon, Bears
- Dottie West - Melissa Raccoon
- Carl Banas - Schaeffer, Bears
- John Schneider - Dan the Forest Ranger
- Tammy Bourne - Julie
- Hadley Kay - Tommy
- Michael Magee - Cyril Sneer
- Fred Little - Cedric Sneer, Pig General
- Sharon Lewis - Sophia Tutu, Broo
- Nick Nichols - Pig General
Trivia
- First appearances of Broo the puppy, and Cyril's Pigs.
References
- ^ Raccoon toys, games emerge from TV show, Ottawa Citizen - April 7, 1983