The Raccoons on Ice

I had the presence of mind to record this hour long special for my 4 year old son back in 1986. I found the video gathering dust in the attic and watched it recently.

Yes, the voices of Rich Little, Rita Coolidge and Leo Sayers alone were enough to make this project great, but the producers went right out there and recruited Danny Gallivan, the greatest hockey play-by-play announcer in broadcast history, to portray Ferlin Fielddigger! I have worn out the section of tape featuring Gallivan's rich tone and vibrant observations during the game between the Raccoons and Cyril's Bears. "...and aren't they a brutish bunch...?" because its truly THE highlight of this program. Some trivia: Carl Banas, the voice of Schaeffer, was previously a co-star (Sgt. Byron James) in the great 1960's CBC drama "Wojeck".

I remember visiting Hinton Studios in Ottawa, Canada and watching the animators working on Raccoons in the late 1980s. Sadly, Kevin Gillis and Sheldon Wiseman had a severe falling out shortly thereafter, or else the Raccoons could have gone on indefinitely.