Rascal (1969)

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I apologize to my readers for the multiple delays in getting this review out; life has been quite busy. So without further ado, let’s take a look at another “boy and his animal” Disney film, Rascal!

And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!

Directed by Norman Tokar, the film begins with narration by Walter Pidgeon as an older Sterling North relating to us a story of one of his childhood summers. We see him as a young teen, played by Bill Mumy, getting ready for the summer now that school is out. He lives with his father, Willard, played by Steve Forrest, who is often out of town on work trips. His mother has since passed away.

Sterling also has an older sister named Theodora aka “Theo”, played by Pamela Toll. She works in the city and since her father will be on the road again, she puts in an ad for a housekeeper to take care of Sterling as she’s worried that he’ll be too lonesome. Willard sympathizes with Theo and even interviews a Mrs. Satterfield, played by Elsa Lanchester, for the position. But in the end, he feels nobody can replace Sterling’s mother, so he doesn’t hire anyone.

Sterling keeps this a secret from Theo in the multiple letters he writes to her during the summer. While Willard is out of town, Sterling spends a lot of time with a raccoon he found on a hunting trip with Willard. He names the raccoon Rascal and although he enjoys his company, the neighbors view Rascal as a pest.

Soon enough, Willard returns home around Thanksgiving time. Theo is also returning home, this time along with her fiancé, Norman, played by Steve Carlson. On the way there, she bumps into Mrs. Satterfield and realizes the truth that Willard never hired any housekeeper. She heads home ready to have words with Sterling and Willard, but after talking with Sterling, she understands how he would have seen a housekeeper as an intrusion on his deceased mother.

She also has a talk with Willard about how he needs to spend more time at home with Sterling instead of traveling around the country chasing dreams. Willard takes this advice to heart.

One night, Rascal hears a female raccoon cry outside and tries to escape. Sterling tries to stop him, but Rascal scratches him. Sterling realizes that it’s time to let Rascal go back to the wild as he is still a wild animal. He and Willard drop off Rascal the next day in a nearby forest where he finds his lady raccoon and even outfoxes a lynx.

And that was Rascal! Honestly, it’s a lot better than I thought it would be! Yes, the plot is very thin, but there’s a lot of depth in it.

Surprisingly enough, Rascal isn’t really the focus of the film; the relationship between Sterling, Willard, and Theo is. Their family dynamic is one you don’t see often in these Disney films. Willard was willing to listen to Theo and change his life for Sterling. Theo and Sterling were willing to hear each other out. The family dynamic is where this film shined!

Other positives of this film include the acting performances (especially that of Steve Forrest) and the title song. There also was an overall feeling of wistfulness throughout the movie. I’m not sure if that’s the accurate word, but it’s closest to what I want to say. All in all, this film wasn’t your typical “boy and his animal” movie and I, for one, was pleasantly surprised!

So, my final score for this film is 29/35 = 82.86% (B-) !

The next review will be posted on August 27, 2024.