Rascal

Comedy-drama from the Disney company about a youngster (Bill Mumy, of TV's "Lost in Space") in the 1900s adopting a baby raccoon who quickly becomes the town menace. Impossibly warm and treacly saga that Walt himself might have been proud of (it seems a direct product of the late 1950s, not 1969!). However, the animals involved are consistently interesting, far more so than the hysterical grown-ups, and Mumy is solid if unspectacular (he wasn't in the same league as, say, Johnny Whitaker, though he's competent). Steve Forrest and Elsa Lanchester are unable to add much sparkle to the proceedings, and Buddy Baker's music score is teeth-grindingly sweet. *1/2 from ****