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The Raccoons
The Raccoons
Genre	Animated television series/Children's
Created by	Kevin Gillis
Theme music composer	Kevin Gillis Jon Stroll
Country of origin	Canada
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	60 (plus 4 specials) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kevin Gillis Sheldon S. Wiseman
Producer(s)	Atkinson Film-Arts (1985-1986) Hinton Animation Studios (1987-1992)
Running time	25 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	CBC Television
Original run	1985 – 1992
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Raccoons is a Canadian animated television series, first broadcast from 1985 to 1992. The series was created by Kevin Gillis, and produced first at Atkinson Film-Arts (from 1985-1986), then at newly established Hinton Animation Studios (from 1987 on).^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Characters 2.1 Main characters 2.2 Sneer Industries 2.3 Other Investors 2.4 Other characters 2.5 Minor characters 3 Cast 4 Locations 5 Episodes 6 Broadcast details 7 DVD Release 8 References 9 External links

The series features the adventures in the Evergreen Forest (which is depicted to be in Western Canada) of Bert Raccoon and his friends Ralph and Melissa, particularly in their attempts to thwart the industrialist actions of pink aardvark Cyril Sneer and his trio of pig henchmen. Another interesting character was the capitalist Mr. Knox—a crocodile with a New Orleans accent. Cyril's son Cedric is Bert's best friend.

Usually, the series would feature the main characters learning major life lessons in teamwork, friendship, cooperation, and sometimes just helping out their fellow friends that live near the forest, human and animal alike, tangling with the tyrannical tycoon Cyril Sneer, who does not let anything as trivial as nature's defining highlights (trees, lakes, etc) prevent him attempting to attain a profit.

One unique element of the series is that Cyril gradually evolves from an unrepentantly destructive capitalist to a likeable and environmentally responsible, if still highly aggressive, businessman and occasional ally of the Raccoons.

Debuting in 1980 with The Christmas Raccoons TV special, The Raccoons slowly began its journey to becoming a regular animated series, using assorted specials over the next few years as stepping stones (The Raccoons On Ice, The Raccoons and the Lost Star, Let's Dance), before finally becoming a regular series in 1985. Five series of episodes were produced, airing from 1985 to 1992.

In 1989, a new character by the name of Lisa Raccoon was introduced into the series. Lisa is Ralph's niece, and the statuesque older sister of Bentley Raccoon, and the daughter of George and Nicole Raccoon. She is the love interest/best friend of Bert Raccoon. Lisa made her debut in Spring Fever, she was voiced by Lisa Lougheed, the singer of the series' ending theme.

The series had a New Wave soundtrack including the theme song "Run With Us" by cast member Lisa Lougheed a minor chart success in some countries, and covered more recently by Spray. 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. However the early version of 'Run With Us' like quite a few of the other songs from The Raccoons were never officially released. Nine of the songs from the series featured on Lougheed's 1988 album Evergreen Nights. However Lougheed only sung most of the songs (sometimes in duets), while a couple of the songs were sung by other artists (Curtis King Jr and Stephen Lunt). The French version of "Run With Us" was performed by the French Canadian singer Jano Bergeron and titled "Viens Vers Nous". Unlike many cartoon series from the 1980s, The Raccoons was not heavily merchandised. Today it has a small cult following, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation.

In 2003, As Long As Forever: A Raccoons Movie was listed as being in development on the Canadian Television Fund's website [1], however since then no information has been posted to the Canadian Television Fund's website about it.

The series returned to Canadian television on the new Teletoon Retro network, which launched October 1, 2007.

• Bert Raccoon: Bert is a happy-go-lucky, energetic raccoon with a lot of imagination. Bert has plenty of confidence in his skills, though sometimes he can get carried away. This over-confidence sometimes gets him in trouble. He acts younger than Ralph and Melissa, and has a lot more youthful energy. He can also be quite hasty; normally Bert will be impatient in getting a plan executed or in bringing justice to the Evergreen Forest. Despite his faults Bert is very loyal to his friends. His best friend is Cedric Sneer.

• Ralph and Melissa Raccoon: A pair of raccoons who live in the Raccoondominium. Ralph and Melissa are portrayed as a young, presumably married, couple. Generally, the two are the most level-headed of the gang and the most adult. They grew up together, and were childhood friends with Bert. They work for the newspaper called The Evergreen Standard, where Ralph is the editor, and Melissa is the photographer.

• Schaeffer: the Raccoons' friend, a large sheepdog. Originally portrayed as slow and dim-witted, he quickly became one of the brightest characters on the show, and eventually opened the Blue Spruce Cafe. It is later revealed that Schaeffer is a Black belt in Karate.

• Cedric Sneer: Cedric is Cyril Sneer's son and heir, yet he appears the complete opposite to his father - he's geeky, shy and initially rather weak, character-wise. In the specials, Cedric always gave into his father's will out of fear. While, in the specials, he is not able to help the heroes freely, Cedric does give help to his friends in anonymous form (disguising himself and playing for their hockey team, for example). As the series progresses he starts becoming more self supportive. He takes over "Sneer Industries" with his father as his partner in the series finale.

• Sophia Tutu: Cedric's ditzy girlfriend, who is a superb swan glider and diver. She was phased out of the show in later years, supposedly studying at school. The actual reason for her absence was apparently the writers' inability to decide how to portray her. She did, however, make a cameo in "The Headline Hunter" at Lady Baden-Baden's bachelor party as Cedric's date, and remains in the opening sequence of the show after her departure.

• Broo: A sheepdog puppy with a star hanging from his collar (Lost Star goes into great detail over this). Seems to favour Bert as his owner.

• Bentley Raccoon: The cousin of the Evergreen Raccoons. He's an expert with computers, and is a very typical younger kid, with all the personality traits (and faults) to match. Idolizes Bert.

Note: Bentley was originally introduced as Melissa's cousin (or Ralph's cousin) but was later referenced as their nephew, when it is discovered that Bentley's father George is Ralph's older brother.

• Lisa Raccoon: Bentley's big sister, Lisa is a superb Basketball player. Bert has a crush on her, and as the series develops they become closer.

• Cyril Sneer: Cyril Sneer is an aardvark, and originally the principal villain of the series. He is a ruthless businessman who won't let anything stand in the way of profit. Originally, Cyril was portrayed as a much darker version of what he would ultimately become, often attempting to destroy the entire Evergreen Forest for lumber or industry. All of his plans are foiled by the Raccoons, and occasionally even his own son Cedric. Once the TV series was established however, Sneer gradually softened as the series progress to become a far more sympathetic, if still aggressive, character. He became more of an anti-hero in some episodes such as when in Making The Grade he donated money to the old Schoolhouse to prevent it's closure, and in Join The Club he helps persuade Lisa to give up smoking. He can usually be seen with some gold teeth and half a cigar in his mouth.

• Aardvarks: In the first two specials, Cyril Sneer had other aardvarks as additional henchmen to help in his plans of destroying the Evergreen Forest.

• Bears: Cyril Sneer's additional henchmen, workers, soldiers, spies, etc... Anything that suits his needs for that particular episode. There's one bear whose name is Bruno.

• Snag: Pet dog of Cyril and Cedric Sneer. Has blue fur and has a nose similar to his owners. He is shown to be aggressive, especially when he's loyal to Cyril. In the Series 3 episode, Picture Perfect, his deed in saving Cedric's life led to TV stardom, much to his dissapproval.

• Pigs (Lloyd, Boyd, and Floyd): Cyril Sneer's bumbling henchmen and assistants. They are almost never referred to by name, listed as Pig One, Two and Three in the credits. Their mother visits them repeatedly during the series (Mom's the Word, Promises Promises). Like most middle management they are easily intimidated by their own boss but likewise are not above kindness towards their subordinates. They're extremely loyal to Cedric and when they're not following Cyril's orders, they're generally trying to make themselves rich (often at Cyril's expense).

• Mr. Mammoth: A rhinoceros, who is the richest, most powerful character on the show, who appears mostly in the form of a MacGuffin for Cyril Sneer (and often Mr. Knox as well), i.e. looking to start a partnership, giving out a contract for a baseball team, etc. Instead of talking, he mumbles, and his assistant has to translate what he's trying to say. He has only spoken clearly twice, such as when he was impressed by Cedric's solar powered car (The Evergreen Grand Prix) and when Cyril refused to accept his offer to manage his baseball team, The Mammoth Mudhens (Double Play).

• Mr. Knox: An acquaintance of Cyril Sneer's, a southern crocodile/business mogul who can be even more ruthless and richer than Cyril. Married to Lady Baden-Baden, and owns the TV company K.N.O.X. TV. He has a nephew called Bonneville.

• Lady Baden-Baden: A wealthy, melodramatic hen who eventually marries Mr. Knox (Courting Disaster). Was an actress in her old days. Later becomes Mayor of the Evergreen Forest near the series finale.

• Milton Midas: An eagle business man and scam artist. Unlike Cyril whose dealings are usually unethical, Midas' schemes are outright illegal.

• Humans: Ranger Dan and his children lived in a log cabin in the Evergreen Forest, and played a key role in the original "Christmas Raccoons" special. Since then, they became less and less important, until they were finally removed from the show at the end of the first season. They were the original owners of Schaeffer, and later Broo, and since their departure it is unclear where exactly Schaeffer and Broo live.
  • Chief Forest Ranger Dan: The father
  • Julie and Tommy: Dan's children.

• Mrs. Pig: The pigs' mother. It is revealed in 'Mom's The Word' that her first name is Sooey-Ellen.

• Professor Smedley Smythe: A goat who runs the Evergreen Museum (which Lisa Raccoon helps in tidying up).

• Mr. Willow: He runs Willow's General Store. It's not officially known what kind of animal he is supposed to resemble, however he looks quite like a bear. However he dosen't resemble any of Cyril Sneer's bears. He has white fur, so that could possibly mean he might be a polar bear, though he was coloured slightily differentily in the episode 'When The Chips Are Down'.

• George and Nicole Raccoon: Lisa and Bentley's parents. George is Ralph's big brother and works as a cook/host of Chef Surprise on K.N.O.X. TV. Nicole has a definite French accent.

• Ms. Primrose: A goose, teacher at Evergreen Elementary, the Schoolhouse where Ralph, Melissa, Bert and Cedric attended as children, and even Cyril Sneer himself.

• Simon Sneer: Cyril's big brother and Cedric's uncle who was lost at sea.

• Barbara Lafrum: Reporter for the show 20 Minutes. Voiced by the late Barbara Frum.

• Bonneville: Mr. Knox's nephew.

• Aunt Gertie: Ralph's aunt, who despite her age is a bit of a thrill seeker.

• Dr. Canard: A bird who is Cyril's doctor.

• Troy Malone: Melissa's former boyfriend and an skilled pilot. Voiced by Barry Bailey.

Character	Voice Actor
Bentley Raccoon	Noam Zylberman (1987-1990) Stu Stone (1990-1991)
Bert Raccoon	Len Carlson (1980-1991)
Broo	Sharon Lewis (1983-1991)
Cedric Sneer	Fred Little (1980-1983) Marvin Goldhar (1985-1991)
Cyril Sneer	Michael Magee (1980-1991)
Dan the Chief Forest Ranger	Rupert Holmes (1980) Leo Sayer (1981) John Schneider (1983) Murray Cruchley (1985-1986)
Ferlin	Danny Gallivan (The Raccoons on Ice) (1981)
George Raccoon	Dan Hennessey (1990-1991)
Julie	Tammy Bourne (1980-1983) Vanessa Lindores (1985-1986)
Lady Baden-Baden	Bob Dermer (1987-1991)
Lisa Raccoon	Lisa Lougheed (1989-1991)
Melissa Raccoon	Rita Coolidge (1980-1981) Dottie West (1983) Linda Feige (1985-86) Susan Roman (1987-1991)
Mr. Knox	Len Carlson (1985-1991)
Mr. Mammoth	Carl Banas (1985-1991)
Mr. Willow	Carl Banas (1988-1991)
Narrator	Rich Little (1980-1983) Geoffrey Winter (1985-1991)
Nicole Raccoon	Liz Hanna (1990-1991)
Pig One	Nick Nichols (1983-1990) Keith Hampshire (1990-1991)
Pig Two	Len Carlson (1983-1991)
Pig Three	Fred Little (1983) Len Carlson (1985-1991)
Ralph Raccoon	Bob Dermer (1980-1991)
Schaeffer	Carl Banas (1980-1991)
Snag	Michael Magee (1981-1991)
Sophia Tutu	Sharon Lewis (1981-1988)
Tommy	Hadley Kay (1980-1983) Noam Zylberman (1985-1986)

Main article: List of The Raccoons locations

Main article: List of The Raccoons episodes

The series was broadcast around the world by the following channels:

• Canada: CBC Television (original broadcaster), APTN, Canal Famille, Teletoon, A-Channel (the stations that are now Citytv), Teletoon Retro
• United Kingdom: BBC (BBC One and BBC Two 1987 - 2002)^[2] and Boomerang
• United States: Disney Channel, Starz, TRIO
• Eastern Europe: Boomerang Europe
• Greece: ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting And Television)
• Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: TVZ
• Poland:Boomerang Europe(in English lang.), TVN(in 1998,1999 years)
• Russia: REN TV (Currently showing), Teleinform, NTV+
• Germany: Super RTL, Tele 5
• Ireland: RTÉ 2 (Network 2)
• The Netherlands: Kindernet, RTL (Telekids)
• Flanders: VRT
• New Zealand: TVNZ, TV ONE Sunday mornings in late 1987. Later series not screened.
• Middle East: Infinity TV, Al Deera TV and Orbit's broadcast of the Boomerang Channel. Original Canadian version used to show on Children's Theatre (Cinema El Atfal) that aired on Egyptian Channel 1 in the 90s.

In 2004, Morningstar Entertainment released The Raccoons on Region 1 DVD for the first time. Two 9-episode boxsets entitled "The Raccoons: Collector's Set 1" and "The Raccoons: Collector's Set 2" were released, each containing 3 discs that were also available separately. The first set contained nine of the ten episodes from series 2 (omitting "Stop the Clock") and the second set contained the first nine episodes of series 3.

A 2-disc region 2 DVD release of the complete series 1 was released on September 17, 2007 through Fabulous Films Ltd

1. ^ The Hinton Report
2. ^ The Raccoons. BBC Catalogue. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.

• The Raccoons at the Internet Movie Database
  • The Christmas Raccoons at the Internet Movie Database
  • The Raccoons on Ice at the Internet Movie Database
  • The Raccoons and the Lost Star at the Internet Movie Database
  • The Raccoons: Let's Dance! at the Internet Movie Database
• The UnOfficial Raccoons Home Page
• History of the Making of The Raccoons
• UnOfficial Russian Raccoons site
• The Raccoons Mailing List on Yahoo!