''The Christmas Raccoons'' is the first of four Canadian animated

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

s, before the main

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

succeeding it, ''

The Raccoons ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985 to March 19, 1991 in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985 to August 28, 1992 in the U.S., with three preceding television specials from ...

'', took place. It was first broadcast on CBC in Canada on December 17, 1980 and three days later in

first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

in the United States on December 20. The story takes place in the Evergreen Forest, home of the forest ranger Dan, his children Tommy and Julie, and their pet

sheepdog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...

, Schaeffer. The special was followed by ''

The Raccoons on Ice ''The Raccoons on Ice'' is the second of four animated television specials leading up to the television series ''The Raccoons''. It initially aired on CBC in Canada on December 20, 1981 and in syndication in the United States on November 21, 1982 ...

'' (1981) and ''

The Raccoons and the Lost Star ''The Raccoons and the Lost Star'' is the third of four animated television specials leading up to the animated television series ''The Raccoons'' and debuted on December 13, 1983. It came after the first two Raccoons seasonal specials, which wer ...

'' (1983), the direct-to-video special '' The Raccoons: Let's Dance!'' (1984) and finally the television series beginning in 1985.

Plot

On December 23, Ranger Dan receives a call that all the trees in the forest are disappearing. Tommy and Julie are concerned, but Dan is doing the investigating. Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, a trio of

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

s (married couple Ralph and Melissa and their friend Bert) prepare their home, The Raccoondominium, for Christmas. Their joy is cut short when they see in the news that all the trees in the forest are disappearing. Nearby, local aardvark millionaire Cyril Sneer is revealed to be the tree thief hoping to make a profit out of the lumber. His college-educated son Cedric tries to talk him out of his crazed plans to destroy the whole forest. Cyril ignores Cedric and chops down a whole line of trees, including the Raccoondominium. However, Cyril loses the Raccoons' tree and Tommy, Julie, and Schaeffer find it and take it home. Left without a home, the Raccoons try to find who's behind the destruction of the forest. Ralph sees Tommy, Julie and Schaeffer dragging it to the cabin and deduces they are the forest destroyers and follows them. While Tommy and Julie go out, leaving Schaeffer alone in the cabin, the Raccoons sneak inside and find the Raccoondominium decorated with ornaments, tinsel, and lights. As Melissa tries to get their Christmas stockings back, Schaeffer wakes up from his nap and chases the Raccoons through the forest. The chase leads the four animals to Cyril's sawmill, where they find the source of the forest destruction. As Cyril and Cedric head out to cut down the rest of the trees in the forest, the Raccoons and Schaeffer catch the two Sneers. After some convincing that there's a profit in planting trees, Cyril reluctantly agrees to replant all of the trees. The animals are pleased they have saved the forest, but the Raccoons are still homeless. Schaeffer returns to the cabin, where Julie and Tommy wait for him. Just then, Julie and Tommy see the homeless Raccoons in the cold and realise that their Christmas tree must be the Raccoons' home. Julie phones their father to ask him to find a new home for them. Dan agrees and the group celebrate. The next day Julie and Tommy wake up only to find it is Christmas Eve and they must have dreamed the events of the previous 'day'. However, Dan tells them that the trees have miraculously stopped being cut down. He reads a newspaper article to them which says that thousands of seedlings were planted overnight, but the tree planter is anonymous. Suddenly, Schaeffer, Julie and Tommy see outside the window the Raccoons settling in a newly re-planted tree nearby.

Cast

Len Carlson Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 – January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who has voiced various characters on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman dur ...

– Bert Raccoon *

Michael Magee Michael Magee (October 11, 1929 – July 15, 2011) was a Canadians, Canadian actor, singer and author. He was known for voicing Cyril Sneer and his pet half dog/half aardvark Snag in the Canadian animated series ''The Raccoons'' and the voice for T ...

– Cyril Sneer *

Carl Banas Carl Banas (born January 23, 1929) is a Toronto-born retired radio personality and actor. He is best known for his voice roles in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964) and '' The Raccoons: Let’s Dance!'' (1985). As a television actor, he ...

– Schaeffer *

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

– Melissa Raccoon *

Bob Dermer Bob Dermer (born 1946) is a Canadian actor who first made his contributions to Canadian television in 1965 as an actor in Ottawa on a late night serial called ''Milk and Honey'' which ran for 200 episodes. Prior to '' Readalong'', Dermer was also ...

– Ralph Raccoon * Fred Little – Cedric Sneer *

Rupert Holmes David Goldstein (born February 24, 1947), better known as Rupert Holmes, is a British-American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and " Him" (1980). ...

– Dan the Forest Ranger * Tammy Bourne – Julie *

Hadley Kay Hadley Kay (born ) is a Canadian film, stage, television and voice actor, best known for his appearances in ''The Care Bears Movie'', '' Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation'' and ''Popples''. Career At age six, he made his film debut opposite ...

– Tommy *

Rich Little Richard Caruthers Little (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and voice actor. Sometimes known as the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Little has recorded nine comedy albums and made numerous tel ...

– Narrator

Songs and performers

- "Lost Angels", "Lake Freeze" *

- "Shake The Sun", "Perfect Tree"

Production

Production of the special began in 1979 and completed in 1980.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Raccoons, The 1980 animated films 1980 films 1980s animated television specials 1980 television films 1980 television specials Animated Christmas television specials Canadian animated television films Canadian Christmas films Canadian television specials CBC Television original films Christmas television specials Environmental films Films about raccoons The Raccoons 1980s Canadian films