The Raccoons
Encyclopedia
The Raccoons is a Canadian
animated television series which was originally broadcast from 1985 to 1991 with four preceding television special
s beginning in 1980. The series was created by Kevin Gillis
, and produced at Atkinson Film-Arts
first-hand from 1984 to 1985, then at Hinton Animation Studios second-hand from 1986 to 1991. it was made with the co-operation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
.
millionaire Cyril Sneer, who usually tries to destroy the forest for a quick buck. However, the Raccoons would always save their forest from Cyril's schemes, with help from their forest friends including Schaeffer, a gentle sheepdog
, Cedric, Cyril's college graduate son, and Sophia Tutu, Cedric's girlfriend. But, as the show progressed, Cyril became more of a sympathetic character, eventually becoming an anti-hero
.
Lessons featured in the show mainly included environmentalism
, but also included other lessons, including friendship
, and teamwork
. There was also a handful of episodes that showed flashback footage from previous episodes.
in the 1970s, while he appeared in such shows as Celebrity Cooks
, and Yes You Can
. The initial idea for the show was created by Gillis and columnist Gary Dunford (they drew their inspiration from a dilemma that happened in a cottage in their hometown). Dunford backed out, but Gillis took his idea to Ottawa lawyer Sheldon S. Wiseman, who saw potential in Gillis's idea and put together a large group of animators, musicians, and writers to create the first special to star the characters known as The Christmas Raccoons
. Production on the special began in 1979 and completed in 1980 and was shown on the December of that same year on CBC
.} It was also shown in countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom
, and Taiwan
. The special was a huge hit and resulted in two sequel specials The Raccoons on Ice
and The Raccoons and the Lost Star
and a direct-to-video
movie, The Raccoons: Let's Dance!
.
In 1984, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Disney began funding on the TV series, which cost about $4.5 million to make. Canadian animation company Atkinson Film-Arts
began production on the first season in 1984. After the show's first season, production then switched to Hinton Animation Studios for the remainder of the series, (the former would go on to provide animation for The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
from 1986 to 1987). In 1990, Wiseman wanted to expand from television to feature-length work, so he helped create and finance an animated Christmas film titled The Nutcracker Prince
, which starred the voices of Kiefer Sutherland
and Megan Follows
. Kevin Gillis was the main producer while Sheldon was the co-executive producer. Unfortunately, the film was a critical and financial disappointment. Wiseman's plans to take his animation work to the big screen led to an argument between him and Gillis, causing their partnership to end bitterly. Wiseman went on to finance two animation studios in Ottawa, Paragon Entertainment Corporation and Lacewood Studios
(the two are later renamed Amberwood Entertainment), and produced animated series like Katie and Orbie
, The Secret World of Benjamin Bear
, and more recently Rob the Robot.
In 1997, Gillis went on to form a company called Cambium Catalyst International. And in 2009, Gillis, Michael McLaughlin, Michael Iscove went on to form and finance another company called Skywriter Media & Entertainment Group.
as Bert Raccoon, Michael Magee
as Cyril Sneer and pet dog Snag, Bob Dermer
as Ralph Raccoon, Carl Banas
as Schaeffer, and Sharon Lewis as Sophia Tutu and Broo. The rest of the characters were given new voices provided by lesser and well-known Canadian voice actors/actresses.
Marvin Goldhar
replaced Fred Little, Rich Little
's brother, as Cedric Sneer. Canadian actress Linda Feige
replaced Rita Coolidge
and Dottie West
as the voice of Melissa Raccoon for only one season. She eventually left the series because she, an Ottawa
resident, was tired of flying back and forth to Toronto
, where the recording sessions were held. She was eventually replaced by Susan Roman
, who voiced the character for the remainder of the series. English-born Canadian singer Keith Hampshire
was hired in 1990 to replace Nick Nichols as Pig #3, due to Nichols's severe illness and eventual death. Also in 1990, Stuart Stone was hired to replace Noam Zylberman
, due to puberty which made a change in his voice.
Len Carlson eventually became a voice director for the show from 1990 to 1991.
soundtrack
including the theme song "Run With Us
" by cast member Lisa Lougheed
, which was covered by Spray
in 2004. Season 1 ended with a different version of the song, not sung by Lougheed. "Run With Us" was performed in Season 1 by Stephen Lunt. In the first season the French Canadian
singer Luba
performed several songs, several of which were later re-recorded by Lougheed for use in other seasons. There were also several other songs performed by other musicians such as Rita Coolidge
and Rupert Holmes
who performed songs for the first special, Leo Sayer
and Coolidge again for the second, and John Schneider
and Dottie West
for the last TV special. Rory Dodd
, The Dior Bros. (actually Kevin Gillis and Jon Stroll under a pseudonym), and several other musicians also had songs performed, although somewhat rarely compared to the aforementioned people.
The earlier version of "Run With Us", like quite a few of the other songs from The Raccoons, were never officially released. The songs from the first two specials were released on the album Lake Freeze – The Raccoons Songtrack in 1983. A soundtrack for the fourth special was released in 1984, but featured vocals from Frank Floyd and Hank Martin to replace John Schneider. Nine of the songs from the series featured on Lougheed's 1988 album Evergreen Nights
, though Lougheed only sang some of the songs (sometimes in duets), while some were sung by other artists (Curtis King Jr and Stephen Lunt). The French
version of "Run With Us", as well as most of Luba and Lisa Lougheed's songs, was performed by the French Canadian
singer Jano Bergeron
with 'Run With Us' being renamed in French to"Viens Vers Nous".
The instrumental music was composed by Kevin Gillis and Jon Stroll and performed largely by the National Arts Centre Orchestra
from Ottawa, Canada. Most of the instrumental cues heard in the series were actually recorded for The Raccoons and the Lost Star
and re-used. Only two of the instrumental tunes (the opening and closing themes for The Raccoons on Ice) have ever been released officially (they can be found on the Lake Freeze album).
. The budget in total came around to $4.7 million. Funding was provided by CBC and Telefilm. In order to defer the cost, $450,000 per episode, Disney and BBC
bought the rights to show the series internationally. Two of the animators who worked on the first season were Jamie Oliff and Nik Ranieri
, who would go on to work with Disney and would animate in such movies as Pocahontas
and Hercules
.
and its home video counterpart were responsible for releasing the specials and select episodes on home video from 1983 to 1994.
In 2003, Morningstar Entertainment had released the show on DVD for the first time. Two 9-episode boxsets were released, each containing 3 discs that were also available separately. The discs were released without any region coding in NTSC
format. The first set contained nine of the ten episodes from season 2 (omitting "Stop the Clock") and the second set contained the first nine episodes of season 3. The extras include character bios, a chance to create your own scene from the The Raccoons and Raccoon-A-Roma DVD-ROM content, like Quicktime
animatic sequences. Both sets are now out of print, and are sold on Ebay
and Amazon.com
or it's Canadian counterpart Amazon.ca for extremely high prices.
A 2-disc Region 2 PAL
DVD release of the complete series 1 was released on September 17, 2007 through Fabulous Films Ltd. The bonus features on set 1 were duplicated from the Canadian release, mainly the create a scene and Raccoon-A-Roma DVD ROM content. They later released a DVD entitled "Three Adventures With The Raccoons" on April 7, 2008. This DVD contained the first 3 episodes of Series 1 with no extras. Series 2 was released on April 20, 2009 by Fabulous Films Ltd. in another 2-disc set. DVD extras on the set include character model sheets and a documentary.
On September 18, 2009, an 8-disc DVD set was released in Germany, it contained all 60 episodes (7-8 per disc) and no extras.
On December 14, 2009, Skywriter Media & Entertainment Group and E1 Entertainment had released the first season of The Raccoons on iTunes
in Canada
. On April 19, 2010, the first season is also released on iTunes
in the United States
.
The first two seasons are released on DVD and are available through Netflix
in the United States and Canada.
, in its review for their second TV special, said "...The Raccoons are an adorable lot, supported nicely by an attractive production."http://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/16/arts/tv-weekend-a-bomb-nursery-tales-raccoons-and-ireland.html Variety
praised the third special, The Raccoons and the Lost Star, calling it a rollicking good adventure filled with space-age animation, high-tech gadgetry, lilting tunes, a lovable sheepdog, and the delightful Raccoons team.http://www.gilsinan.com/raccoons/images/promo_back.jpg
The show was nominated for many awards, including a Gemini Award
for Best Sound and Best Writing. It did however, win the Gemini for Best Animated Series.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131183/awards The franchise continues to be massively popular among many fans.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
animated television series which was originally broadcast from 1985 to 1991 with four preceding television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
s beginning in 1980. The series was created by Kevin Gillis
Kevin Gillis
Kevin Gillis is Canadian Television producer, Writer, Singer-songwriter and former TV host mainly known for his work in animation. Gillis is famous for creating The Raccoons as well as other cartoons such as Atomic Betty and Producing Parker. He was also host of fitness show Yes You Can as well...
, and produced at Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, The company is best known for the first two Care Bears television specials, The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine, and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons...
first-hand from 1984 to 1985, then at Hinton Animation Studios second-hand from 1986 to 1991. it was made with the co-operation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
.
Synoposis
The series revolves around a trio of raccoons called the Evergreen Raccoons - Bert, a happy-go-lucky free spirit, and Ralph and Melissa, who both run the local newspaper The Evergreen Standard. The series mostly involves the three fighting against the industrialist forces of greedy aardvarkAardvark
The aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...
millionaire Cyril Sneer, who usually tries to destroy the forest for a quick buck. However, the Raccoons would always save their forest from Cyril's schemes, with help from their forest friends including Schaeffer, a gentle sheepdog
Herding dog
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding...
, Cedric, Cyril's college graduate son, and Sophia Tutu, Cedric's girlfriend. But, as the show progressed, Cyril became more of a sympathetic character, eventually becoming an anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
.
Lessons featured in the show mainly included environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, but also included other lessons, including friendship
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
, and teamwork
Teamwork
Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....
. There was also a handful of episodes that showed flashback footage from previous episodes.
History
The Raccoons franchise was originally conceived by Kevin GillisKevin Gillis
Kevin Gillis is Canadian Television producer, Writer, Singer-songwriter and former TV host mainly known for his work in animation. Gillis is famous for creating The Raccoons as well as other cartoons such as Atomic Betty and Producing Parker. He was also host of fitness show Yes You Can as well...
in the 1970s, while he appeared in such shows as Celebrity Cooks
Celebrity Cooks
Celebrity Cooks was a Canadian cooking show independently produced by Initiative Productions and aired on the CBC from 1975 to 1979 and on Global from 1980 to 1984. It was syndicated throughout Canada and the United States from 1980 to 1989. It was hosted by Bruno Gerussi who introduced various...
, and Yes You Can
Yes You Can
Yes You Can was a Canadian children's television series broadcast on CBC Television from 1980 to 1983. Hosted by singer Kevin Gillis, and co-hosted by Trevor Bruneau and Tammy Bourne, the half-hour live-action series was sports-themed and encouraged fitness and good health...
. The initial idea for the show was created by Gillis and columnist Gary Dunford (they drew their inspiration from a dilemma that happened in a cottage in their hometown). Dunford backed out, but Gillis took his idea to Ottawa lawyer Sheldon S. Wiseman, who saw potential in Gillis's idea and put together a large group of animators, musicians, and writers to create the first special to star the characters known as The Christmas Raccoons
The Christmas Raccoons
The Christmas Raccoons is the first of four television specials before the main animated television series succedding it, The Raccoons, took place. It was first broadcast on December 17, 1980.-Plot:...
. Production on the special began in 1979 and completed in 1980 and was shown on the December of that same year on CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
.} It was also shown in countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The special was a huge hit and resulted in two sequel specials The Raccoons on Ice
The Raccoons on Ice
The Raccoons on Ice is the second of four specials leading up to the television series The Raccoons. It initially aired on December 20, 1981.-Plot:...
and The Raccoons and the Lost Star
The Raccoons and the Lost Star
The Raccoons and the Lost Star was a precursor TV Special to the 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...
and a direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
movie, The Raccoons: Let's Dance!
The Raccoons: Let's Dance!
The Raccoons: Let's Dance! was the last of four Raccoons specials. Unlike the previous three, it was a direct-to-video release by Embassy Home Video...
.
In 1984, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Disney began funding on the TV series, which cost about $4.5 million to make. Canadian animation company Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, The company is best known for the first two Care Bears television specials, The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine, and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons...
began production on the first season in 1984. After the show's first season, production then switched to Hinton Animation Studios for the remainder of the series, (the former would go on to provide animation for The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin is an American animated television series based on Teddy Ruxpin, an animatronic teddy bear created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder...
from 1986 to 1987). In 1990, Wiseman wanted to expand from television to feature-length work, so he helped create and finance an animated Christmas film titled The Nutcracker Prince
The Nutcracker Prince
The Nutcracker Prince is a 1990 animated romantic fantasy film made by Lacewood Productions and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was directed by Paul Schibli and based on the story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A...
, which starred the voices of Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
and Megan Follows
Megan Follows
Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows is a Canadian/American actress. She is most known to international audiences for her role as Anne Shirley in the acclaimed 1985 Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables and its two sequels.-Biography:Follows was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the...
. Kevin Gillis was the main producer while Sheldon was the co-executive producer. Unfortunately, the film was a critical and financial disappointment. Wiseman's plans to take his animation work to the big screen led to an argument between him and Gillis, causing their partnership to end bitterly. Wiseman went on to finance two animation studios in Ottawa, Paragon Entertainment Corporation and Lacewood Studios
Lacewood Productions
Lacewood Productions was an Canadian animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario. It produced a television series, Katie and Orbie, as well as specials based on For Better or For Worse, and the 1990 feature The Nutcracker Prince...
(the two are later renamed Amberwood Entertainment), and produced animated series like Katie and Orbie
Katie and Orbie
Katie and Orbie is an animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada in 1994 by Family Channel and later aired in the United States on PBS from 1995–1997 and on Disney Channel from 1997–2000. In Canada, the series still airs on Family and Disney Junior...
, The Secret World of Benjamin Bear
The Secret World of Benjamin Bear
The Secret World of Benjamin Bear was an animated television series produced from 2003 to 2009 by PorchLight Entertainment and Amberwood Entertainment...
, and more recently Rob the Robot.
In 1997, Gillis went on to form a company called Cambium Catalyst International. And in 2009, Gillis, Michael McLaughlin, Michael Iscove went on to form and finance another company called Skywriter Media & Entertainment Group.
Casting
Only a few of the original cast from the original specials have reprised their roles for the show, including Len CarlsonLen Carlson
Len Carlson was a Canadian voice actor on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman during the 1970s and 1980s...
as Bert Raccoon, Michael Magee
Michael Magee
Michael Magee was a Canadian actor and author. He was known for voicing the antagonist Cyril Sneer and his pet dog Snag in the Canadian animated series The Raccoons....
as Cyril Sneer and pet dog Snag, Bob Dermer
Bob Dermer
Bob Dermer is a children's entertainment actor who first made his contributions to Canadian television starting with the 1976 series Readalong....
as Ralph Raccoon, Carl Banas
Carl Banas
Carl Banas is a Toronto born radio personality and actor. As a TV actor he appeared in the series Wojeck as police detective Byron James, and provided voices for numerous TV series and features. He was also known as a radio personality on Toronto radio station CKFM-FM, later and more famouly known...
as Schaeffer, and Sharon Lewis as Sophia Tutu and Broo. The rest of the characters were given new voices provided by lesser and well-known Canadian voice actors/actresses.
Marvin Goldhar
Marvin Goldhar
Marvin Goldhar was a Canadian actor, best known for his voice work in animated programs and in made-for-TV movies.Among his voice credits include Cedric Sneer on The Raccoons, Mr...
replaced Fred Little, Rich Little
Rich Little
Richard Caruthers "Rich" Little is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. He has long been known throughout the world as a top impersonator of famous people, resulting in his nickname, "The Man of a Thousand Voices"....
's brother, as Cedric Sneer. Canadian actress Linda Feige
Linda Feige
Linda Feige is a Canadian voice actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Melissa Raccoon in the first season of The Raccoons in 1985. Feige left the series because she, an Ottawa resident, was no longer interested in traveling back and forth between Ottawa and Toronto, where the voice...
replaced Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
and Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
as the voice of Melissa Raccoon for only one season. She eventually left the series because she, an Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
resident, was tired of flying back and forth to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where the recording sessions were held. She was eventually replaced by Susan Roman
Susan Roman
Susan Roman is a Canadian voice actress best known for voice acting the role of Lita/Sailor Jupiter in the North American DiC dub of the anime, Sailor Moon. She is one of the few voice actors to remain throughout the entire run of the series...
, who voiced the character for the remainder of the series. English-born Canadian singer Keith Hampshire
Keith Hampshire
Keith Hampshire is an English-born Canadian popular singer of the 1970s, famous in Canada for three top ten hits , and the successful television show Music Machine...
was hired in 1990 to replace Nick Nichols as Pig #3, due to Nichols's severe illness and eventual death. Also in 1990, Stuart Stone was hired to replace Noam Zylberman
Noam Zylberman
Noam Zylberman is a voice actor best known for the voice of Split Kit from Garbage Pail Kids and also the voice of Bentley Raccoon in the popular animated series The Raccoons from 1988 to 1990....
, due to puberty which made a change in his voice.
Len Carlson eventually became a voice director for the show from 1990 to 1991.
Music
The series had a New WaveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
including the theme song "Run With Us
Run With Us
"Run With Us" is the theme song for the 1980s TV show The Raccoons. The song was originally recorded by Steve Lunt for the first season but was later covered by and is more associated with Lisa Lougheed and included on her first album Evergreen Nights, as well as being heard at the end of every...
" by cast member Lisa Lougheed
Lisa Lougheed
Lisa Lougheed is a Canadian singer and voice actor. She is probably best known for her role as Lisa Raccoon in the animated television series The Raccoons, as well as for singing the series' various songs, including the theme song "Run With Us".-History:As a teenager, Lougheed attended Etobicoke...
, which was covered by Spray
Spray (band)
Spray is a 21st century synthpop duo from England, consisting of Jenny McLaren and Ricardo Autobahn. Following the demise of their previous band, the Cuban Boys , McLaren and Autobahn released the album Living In Neon on Ninthwave Records in the USA. This was followed in 2003 by the extended single...
in 2004. Season 1 ended with a different version of the song, not sung by Lougheed. "Run With Us" was performed in Season 1 by Stephen Lunt. In the first season the French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
singer Luba
Luba (singer)
Luba is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and recording artist. She was commercially active from 1980 to 1990, 2000 to 2001 and is active again from 2007 to present. She was initially the vocalist for a band named Luba before signing as a solo artist under the one-name moniker...
performed several songs, several of which were later re-recorded by Lougheed for use in other seasons. There were also several other songs performed by other musicians such as Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
and Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
who performed songs for the first special, Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s...
and Coolidge again for the second, and John Schneider
John Schneider (television actor)
John Richard Schneider III is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Bo Duke in the 1980s American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, and as Jonathan Kent on Smallville, a 2001 television adaptation of Superman.Alongside his acting career, Schneider performed as a...
and Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
for the last TV special. Rory Dodd
Rory Dodd
Rory Dodd is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics on Bonnie Tyler's version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."...
, The Dior Bros. (actually Kevin Gillis and Jon Stroll under a pseudonym), and several other musicians also had songs performed, although somewhat rarely compared to the aforementioned people.
The earlier version of "Run With Us", like quite a few of the other songs from The Raccoons, were never officially released. The songs from the first two specials were released on the album Lake Freeze – The Raccoons Songtrack in 1983. A soundtrack for the fourth special was released in 1984, but featured vocals from Frank Floyd and Hank Martin to replace John Schneider. Nine of the songs from the series featured on Lougheed's 1988 album Evergreen Nights
Evergreen Nights
Evergreen Nights is the first album by Canadian singer, Lisa Lougheed. It is also the soundtrack to the animated television series, The Raccoons. Other musical artists on this album include Curtis King Jr...
, though Lougheed only sang some of the songs (sometimes in duets), while some were sung by other artists (Curtis King Jr and Stephen Lunt). The French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version of "Run With Us", as well as most of Luba and Lisa Lougheed's songs, was performed by the French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
singer Jano Bergeron
Jano Bergeron
Jeannine "Jano" Bergeron is a Quebec singer who was born in Chapais, Quebec in 1958. This singer, actress and entertainer is best known on the Quebec music scene with the commercial success of the song Sought in 1986, as well as performing the French version of Run With Us and other songs for the...
with 'Run With Us' being renamed in French to"Viens Vers Nous".
The instrumental music was composed by Kevin Gillis and Jon Stroll and performed largely by the National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
from Ottawa, Canada. Most of the instrumental cues heard in the series were actually recorded for The Raccoons and the Lost Star
The Raccoons and the Lost Star
The Raccoons and the Lost Star was a precursor TV Special to the 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...
and re-used. Only two of the instrumental tunes (the opening and closing themes for The Raccoons on Ice) have ever been released officially (they can be found on the Lake Freeze album).
Animation
The animation for the first season was provided by Canadian animation company Atkinson Film-ArtsAtkinson Film-Arts
Atkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, The company is best known for the first two Care Bears television specials, The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine, and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons...
. The budget in total came around to $4.7 million. Funding was provided by CBC and Telefilm. In order to defer the cost, $450,000 per episode, Disney and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
bought the rights to show the series internationally. Two of the animators who worked on the first season were Jamie Oliff and Nik Ranieri
Nik Ranieri
Nik Ranieri is a character animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has been supervising animator of many characters."After graduating from the Classical Animation Program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Ranieri went to work for Atkinson Film-Arts animation production studio ." He...
, who would go on to work with Disney and would animate in such movies as Pocahontas
Pocahontas (1995 film)
Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
and Hercules
Hercules (1997 film)
Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
.
Cast
- Len CarlsonLen CarlsonLen Carlson was a Canadian voice actor on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman during the 1970s and 1980s...
- Bert Raccoon / Boyd / Floyd / Mr. Knox / Additional Voices - Michael MageeMichael MageeMichael Magee was a Canadian actor and author. He was known for voicing the antagonist Cyril Sneer and his pet dog Snag in the Canadian animated series The Raccoons....
- Cyril Sneer / Snag - Bob DermerBob DermerBob Dermer is a children's entertainment actor who first made his contributions to Canadian television starting with the 1976 series Readalong....
- Ralph Raccoon / Lady Baden-Baden / Additional Voices - Linda FeigeLinda FeigeLinda Feige is a Canadian voice actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Melissa Raccoon in the first season of The Raccoons in 1985. Feige left the series because she, an Ottawa resident, was no longer interested in traveling back and forth between Ottawa and Toronto, where the voice...
- Melissa Raccoon (1985) - Susan RomanSusan RomanSusan Roman is a Canadian voice actress best known for voice acting the role of Lita/Sailor Jupiter in the North American DiC dub of the anime, Sailor Moon. She is one of the few voice actors to remain throughout the entire run of the series...
- Melissa Raccoon (1987-1991) / Additional Voices - Marvin GoldharMarvin GoldharMarvin Goldhar was a Canadian actor, best known for his voice work in animated programs and in made-for-TV movies.Among his voice credits include Cedric Sneer on The Raccoons, Mr...
- Cedric Sneer / Additional Voices - Sharon Lewis - Sophia Tutu / Broo
- Carl BanasCarl BanasCarl Banas is a Toronto born radio personality and actor. As a TV actor he appeared in the series Wojeck as police detective Byron James, and provided voices for numerous TV series and features. He was also known as a radio personality on Toronto radio station CKFM-FM, later and more famouly known...
- Schaeffer / Bears / Mr. Mammoth / Mr. Willow - Nick Nichols - Lloyd (1983-1989)
- Keith HampshireKeith HampshireKeith Hampshire is an English-born Canadian popular singer of the 1970s, famous in Canada for three top ten hits , and the successful television show Music Machine...
- Lloyd (1990-1991) - Murray CruchleyMurray CruchleyLee Murray is the stage name of Murray Cruchley, a Canadian actor and radio personality.-Roles:* City on Fire - Tony Miller* Death Ship - Parsons* The Agency - New Copywriter* Scanners - Programmer 1...
- Dan The Forest Ranger - Noam ZylbermanNoam ZylbermanNoam Zylberman is a voice actor best known for the voice of Split Kit from Garbage Pail Kids and also the voice of Bentley Raccoon in the popular animated series The Raccoons from 1988 to 1990....
- Tommy / Bentley Raccoon (1987-1990) - Vanessa Lindores - Julie
- Dan HennesseyDan HennesseyDan Hennessey is a Canadian voice actor who, early on in his career, performed with a children's comedy troupe,...
- George Raccoon - Elizabeth HannaElizabeth HannaElizabeth Hanna is a Canadian film and television actress, most notable for her voice acting work in animated films. She later complemented her voice acting skills by becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist.-Early history:...
- Nicole Raccoon - Lisa LougheedLisa LougheedLisa Lougheed is a Canadian singer and voice actor. She is probably best known for her role as Lisa Raccoon in the animated television series The Raccoons, as well as for singing the series' various songs, including the theme song "Run With Us".-History:As a teenager, Lougheed attended Etobicoke...
- Lisa Raccoon - Stuart Stone - Bentley Raccoon (1990-1991)
- Geoffrey Winter - Narrator
Additional Voices
- Debra McGrathDebra McGrathDebra McGrath is a Canadian actress and comedienne.-Education:Debra McGrath was born in Toronto in 1954. She studied theatre at Ryerson University.-Career:...
- Nurse Peck - Les LyeLes LyeLeslie Earnest "Les" Lye was a Canadian actor. Best known for his numerous roles as one of the two adults on the children's program, You Can't Do That On Television , he enjoyed a television and radio career spanning nearly half a century.-Career:Following a stint in the armed forces after high...
- Samaritan "Sammy" Sneer - Rick JonesRick Jones (voice actor)Rick Jones is an animation writer, director, content developer, and voice actor. Since 1983, he’s worked with Fox, Disney, Universal, Hanna-Barbera, Alphanim, Cinar and Nelvana...
- Mr. Mammoth's Assistant - Derek DiorioDerek DiorioDerek Diorio is a Canadian writer, director, producer and actor. He was a member of the comedy group Skit Row during the 80's.-Writer:* You Can't Do That on Television * The Raccoons * The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin...
- Lamborgini - Pauline RenniePauline RenniePauline Rennie is a Canadian actress whose career included voice roles on The Care Bears. Rennie also provided the voice of Fizgerald Fieldmouse on Maggie Muggins, as well as voices on Mary Grannan's follow-up 1960 series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Just Mary.-Roles:* Maggie Muggins...
- Aunt Gertie - Nonnie GriffinNonnie GriffinNonnie Griffin was born in 1933 in Canada. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory in her native land, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and even with famed mime artist Marcel Marceau....
- Mrs. Pig - Bob SegariniBob SegariniBob Segarini is a recording artist, singer, songwriter, composer and radio host. During a professional music career primarily developed between 1968 and the early 1980s, Segarani was particularly popular in Canada...
- Woodchuck Berry - Barry Bailey - Troy Malone
- Jeremiah McCann - Bonneville Knox
- Peter Messaline - Tromboni
- Kay HawtreyKay HawtreyKay Hawtrey is a Canadian actress. She was born in Toronto.Full name Katharine Mary Craven Hawtrey, she is part of the Canadian branch of this very old English family, the Anglicized name having been derived from D'awtrey...
- Ms. Primrose - Bruno GerussiBruno GerussiBruno Gerussi was a Canadian television actor born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, best known for the lead role in the CBC Television series The Beachcombers...
- Edward Miller - Barbara FrumBarbara FrumBarbara Frum, OC was a Canadian radio and television journalist, acclaimed for her interviews for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Personal life:...
- Barbara LaFrum - Theresa Sears - Ingrid Bellamour
- Terrence ScammellTerrence ScammellTerrence Scammell is a Canadian actor and voice actor who commonly playes multiple characters in cartoon series. He is a member of the ACTRA and Canadian Actors' Equity Association unions.-TV series:* 3 Gold Coins...
- Classmate #1 - Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
- Donna
Home Video Releases
Embassy PicturesEmbassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as The Graduate, The Lion in Winter, This Is Spinal Tap and Escape from New York.-Founding:The company was founded in 1942 by producer Joseph E...
and its home video counterpart were responsible for releasing the specials and select episodes on home video from 1983 to 1994.
In 2003, Morningstar Entertainment had released the show on DVD for the first time. Two 9-episode boxsets were released, each containing 3 discs that were also available separately. The discs were released without any region coding in NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
format. The first set contained nine of the ten episodes from season 2 (omitting "Stop the Clock") and the second set contained the first nine episodes of season 3. The extras include character bios, a chance to create your own scene from the The Raccoons and Raccoon-A-Roma DVD-ROM content, like Quicktime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
animatic sequences. Both sets are now out of print, and are sold on Ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
and Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
or it's Canadian counterpart Amazon.ca for extremely high prices.
A 2-disc Region 2 PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
DVD release of the complete series 1 was released on September 17, 2007 through Fabulous Films Ltd. The bonus features on set 1 were duplicated from the Canadian release, mainly the create a scene and Raccoon-A-Roma DVD ROM content. They later released a DVD entitled "Three Adventures With The Raccoons" on April 7, 2008. This DVD contained the first 3 episodes of Series 1 with no extras. Series 2 was released on April 20, 2009 by Fabulous Films Ltd. in another 2-disc set. DVD extras on the set include character model sheets and a documentary.
On September 18, 2009, an 8-disc DVD set was released in Germany, it contained all 60 episodes (7-8 per disc) and no extras.
On December 14, 2009, Skywriter Media & Entertainment Group and E1 Entertainment had released the first season of The Raccoons on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. On April 19, 2010, the first season is also released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The first two seasons are released on DVD and are available through Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
in the United States and Canada.
Broadcasting
- CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(1980-2000) - TeletoonTeletoonTeletoon is a Canadian Category A specialty channel that broadcasts animation programming. Teletoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc., a joint venture between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of television and cartoon and has no connection with the television channel...
(1997-2000) - APTNAboriginal Peoples Television NetworkAboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian broadcast and cable television network. APTN airs and produces programs made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples...
(1999-2003) - Teletoon RetroTeletoon RetroTeletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
(2007-2010)
- CBC
- United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- First-run syndication (specials, 1980-1984)
- Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
(1985-1993) - TrioTrio (TV network)Trio was an American cable and satellite television network.Trio went on the air in 1997, then originally owned and operated jointly by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Power Broadcasting Inc. as a venue for airing the CBC's arts, culture and entertainment programming in the U.S...
(1997-1999)
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- BBC (1985-2002)
- Boomerang (2006-2009)
Reception
The Raccoons was well-received by critics. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, in its review for their second TV special, said "...The Raccoons are an adorable lot, supported nicely by an attractive production."http://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/16/arts/tv-weekend-a-bomb-nursery-tales-raccoons-and-ireland.html Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised the third special, The Raccoons and the Lost Star, calling it a rollicking good adventure filled with space-age animation, high-tech gadgetry, lilting tunes, a lovable sheepdog, and the delightful Raccoons team.http://www.gilsinan.com/raccoons/images/promo_back.jpg
The show was nominated for many awards, including a Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
for Best Sound and Best Writing. It did however, win the Gemini for Best Animated Series.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131183/awards The franchise continues to be massively popular among many fans.
External links
- The Raccoons at Skywriter Media & Entertainment Group
- The UnOfficial Raccoons Home Page
- The Raccoons Wiki