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Rascal (film)
Encyclopedia
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
that was released in 1969 by Walt Disney Pictures
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.
Synopsis
The movie is based on Sterling NorthSterling North
Thomas Sterling North was an American author of books for children and adults, including 1963's bestselling Rascal. North, who professionally went by "Sterling North", was born on the second floor of a farmhouse on the shores of Lake Koshkonong, a few miles from Edgerton, Wisconsin, in 1906, and...
's 1963 "memoir of a better era." North, born near Edgerton, Wisconsin
Edgerton, Wisconsin
Edgerton is a city in Dane and Rock Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 4,933 at the 2000 census. Known locally as "Tobacco City U.S.A.," because of the importance of tobacco growing in the region, Edgerton continues to be a center for the declining tobacco industry in the...
, was a former literary editor for newspapers in Chicago and New York. The movie tells the tale of a year in the life of young Sterling North (portrayed by Bill Mumy
Bill Mumy
Charles William "Bill" Mumy, Jr. is an American actor, musician, pitchman, instrumentalist, voice-over artist and a figure in the science-fiction community. He is known primarily for his work as a child television actor....
) and his "ringtailed wonder" pet raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
, Rascal. Although set in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, circa 1917, the movie was filmed in California.
Cast
- Bill MumyBill MumyCharles William "Bill" Mumy, Jr. is an American actor, musician, pitchman, instrumentalist, voice-over artist and a figure in the science-fiction community. He is known primarily for his work as a child television actor....
- Sterling North - The voice of Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
- the reminiscing grown Sterling North, - Steve Forrest - his father, Willard
- Pamela Toll - his sister, Theo.
The book
As with many films, this film differs from its source material, the award winning book Rascal (book)Rascal (book)
Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, often referred to as Rascal, is a 1963 children's book by Sterling North about his childhood in Wisconsin.-Publication:Rascal was published in 1963...
. His sister, the poet and editor Jessica Nelson North
Jessica Nelson North
Jessica Nelson North was an American author, poet and editor.- Early life and family :Jessica Nelson North was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the daughter of David Willard North and Sarah Elizabeth "Elizabeth" North. She grew up on the shore of Lake Koshkonong near to what later became St...
, is not a character in the film.