The Christmas Raccoons

1980

Animation / Family

7
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 195 195

Plot summary

In this prelude to the television series 'The Raccoons', Bert, Melissa, and Ralph Raccoon have their home accidentally stolen when it is cut down to become a Christmas tree.

Director

Paul Schibli Photo
Paul Schibli

Top cast

Rich Little Photo
Rich Little as The Storyteller
Michael Magee Photo
Michael Magee as Cyril Sneer
Carl Banas Photo
Carl Banas as Schaeffer
Rupert Holmes Photo
Rupert Holmes as Dan the Forest Ranger
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
218.29 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
29.97 fps
12 hr 23 min
Seeds 7
404.84 MB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
29.97 fps
12 hr 23 min
Seeds 14

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by tamsin-parker-262-538925 8 / 10

Cute if mind-bending Christmas special

The Raccoons made their TV debut in 1980 with this special. It tells the story of how the Raccoons met Schaeffer, and it shows their only interaction with Julie and Tommy. So back then, they did have a purpose. The animation has a little of that late 70's awkwardness. It's not as clean as it was in the TV show but it also has a lot of life to it at times, particularly with the Sneers. Cyril (Michael Magee doing an impression of a schoolmaster he disliked), a bell-bottom-legged, ragged-eared pink aardvark who looks like a cross between a Grinch and a Heffalump doesn't just stomp around and once in a while cock his head a little when he talks: he waves his arms, kicks stuff and jumps around madly. Cedric is really well animated as well. If he sounds different to how he does in the show, it's because he's voiced by Fred Little. In the show he's voiced by Marvin Goldhar. Len Carlson gives a great voice performance as Bert, the slacker/housemate raccoon and by far the most interesting of the raccoons. No one is more perfect for the role than him. It's one of those stories where it appears to be a dream and then it's not. I find it surprising that he has other aardvarks working for him. In the series (and from The Raccoons on Ice onwards) he has a trio of pigs working for him, and a squad of bears. Maybe all those aardvarks quit after Cyril was thwarted. In this special, Cedric is still on Cyril's "team", so to speak, but in the next special he defects to the side of the raccoons. Still, here he's the conscience of the team, trying to stop his greedy father from cutting down too many trees. It's a pretty groovy special and I recommend it.
Reviewed by CuriosityKilledShawn 7 / 10

Exceeded my expectations

I was fully prepared to hate The Christmas Raccoons as I wasn't much of a fan of the series when I was a kid, thankfully it turned out to be very entertaining and I never once looked at the clock. This is mainly due to the massive cuteness of Schaeffer, the Old English Sheepdog.On Xmas Eve Eve a forest ranger is alerted to the fact that someone is cutting down all the trees, including the home of three raccoons. As he goes to investigate his two children and Schaeffer use the situation to their advantage and bring home a fallen evergreen to turn into the Xmas tree that they were previously denied. Shaeffer goes off on his own with the Raccoons and foils the lumberjacking plans of crooked aardvark Cyril Sneer.It sounds like kindergarten stuff, but this Xmas Special was made in a time when cartoons didn't pander to kids or insult their intelligence, and the Xmas atmosphere and snow-covered landscapes give it nice cosy feel. Certainly one to watch again.
Reviewed by geatornez82 10 / 10

The Christmas Raccoons

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