“The Raccoons” Created by Kevin Gillis; Directed by Kevin Gillis, Sebastian Grusta, and Paul Schibli; Starring Michael Magee, Len Carlson, Marvin Goldhar, Bob Dermer, Geoffrey Winter, Nick Nichols, Carl Banas, Susan Roman, and Sharon Lewis; Originally aired July 4, 1985; Run time 25 minutes.
My favorite Saturday’s are when I come across a cartoon I’ve never heard of before. Sometimes it means I discover a previously hidden gem like “Count Duckula” or “Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys.” Other times it’s “The Raccoons.”
Upon reading the premise of the show, a group of raccoons trying to save their forest from the evil and odd looking Cyril Sneer and his machinations, I was hesitantly optimistic. It sounded like fun, and had been well received by audiences at critics at the time of its release. Sadly, having been born the year of its first episode, it seems I may have missed the boat on this one.
The first episode opens on a group of raccoons plotting the details of a mysterious plan, a group of three pigs dressed like Donald Duck look on in worry and return to the mansion of Cyril Sneer to advise him of what they’ve overheard. A plan involving hot air balloons, gun powder, and a secret weapon is afoot and Cyril dispatches his secret service made up of bears to get information on what the raccoons are up to. Meanwhile the raccoons are being assisted by Cyril’s son Cedric and his girlfriend Sophia Tutu.
When Cyril discovers that the raccoons are being aided by his own son, he is simultaneously delighted and dismayed at his son’s evil attempts to overthrow him, as a result he throws Cedric into the dungeon (whit no color TV) as punishment. The raccoons, along with their friend Schaeffer, a sheep dog, and Sophia, hatch a plan to break into the mansion and release Cedric. Using a Trojan horse, a grappling hook, and a hot air balloon they’re able to get in and out with Cedric in tow, but Cyril gives chase.
All of this sounds exciting and entertaining enough, but it somehow falls flat. There are none of the deforestation plots that the intro and premise promise, only a shallow obsession with money on Cyril’s part, with no real explanation. The animation feels sloppy, even for the time period. It’s surprising to me that the show lasted as long as it did, considering that “The Adventures of the Gummi Bears” would come along only a few months later and do this same type of story, only with better animation, tighter writing, and more interesting characters and settings.
I would hesitate even to share this cartoon with my Kindergartner, out of concern that he would get bored of it before the 25-minute run time had elapsed. My best estimate as to the source of the series’ success is the pseudo new wave soundtrack dotting the episodes that may have drawn in kids of the era, but isn’t enough to redeem the show thirty years later.