Disney Rewind – Rascal Turns 50

Fifty years ago, Disney adapted author Sterling North’s 1963 memoir. Rascal focuses on one summer in his childhood, taking care of a pet raccoon. Released on June 11, 1969 as a theatrical feature, it was a relatively charming story, straight off Main Street USA.

Sterling (Bill Mumy, Lost in Space) has a free-spirit father, who takes real estate commission in “turkeys and apple pies.” Willard North (Steve Forrest) has been absentee for years, and refuses to change his lifestyle, despite the death of his wife. Theo North (Pamela Toll) is due back to her job in the city, having taken care of her brother for months.

The family lives next to the town druggist Cy Jenkins (John Fiedler, the voice of Piglet) and Garth Shadwick (Henry Jones, later on Phyllis), a harness maker, both of whom are vehemently against having a raccoon in their neighbourhood. “Raccoons are varmints, son, and varmints are trouble,” states Cy. They begrudgingly welcome Rascal, after he calms a wily horse and receives licks from the pharmacist’s coon hound. Before Theo returned to the big city, she arranges for a series of interviews with nannies. After consulting with a photo of his late wife, Willard decides that none were right for his son, and he’d be better off alone.

The remainder of the summer consists of a series of random, small town anectodes and antics, rosily recalled a half century later.

So how does this film fare, fifty years later, and roughly one hundred years after it was set?

The pace varies but is always appropriate, never dragging, despite the simple story. Director Norman Tokar’s approach and Harold Swanton’s writing far exceed many of the direct-to-video dreck created by independent studios these days. There’s some elaborately set up stunts, with complex sets to go with them.

Perhaps too much sympathy is created for the father. He’s been gone for months at a time in Sterling’s childhood, and barely shows any remorse. “The only man that’s lonesome,” he lilts, “can’t live with himself.” But the family lives near a very robust town, so Mr. North seemingly has no excuse not to settle down, and leave his sales job to someone without family ties. Balance takes too long to come to Sterling’s world.

It’s not a classic, but it’s a sweet, light look at a family coming to terms with itself after a loss.

The film was released on DVD in 2002, is available on Amazon Prime, and hopefully will be available on Disney+.

Have you watched Rascal?