Satterfield out of a moral aversion to lying? The boy is respectful to his elders and generally seems to have his priorities in order, so such an explanation is plausible. Such a reference would have probably satisfied Theo and allowed Sterling to proceed alone. Satterfield in letters to his sister even when information on the would-be maid is requested. Sterling repeatedly avoids referencing Mrs. North owe it to Sterling to stay home more often? North must ponder whether his parental responsibilities should take precedence over his often visionary business interests. Sterling must adjust quickly to these responsibilities in caring for himself, and Mr. Rascal demonstrates such an evolution in changing from a harmonious youth to a more nuanced critter as the film progresses.Īt the same time, the process of growing up leads to an increase in one’s responsibilities. In life, childhood innocence often gives way to less savory qualities. Satterfield might provide more security to Sterling in the absence of his family, the housekeeper’s dislike of animals would make Sterling unhappy and override her potential benefits. While the presence of a maid such as Mrs. On a related note, Sterling’s secluded home life symbolizes the dichotomy between security and happiness.

Considering that his mother has passed away and that his father and sister are often away from home, his pet dog and raccoon provide companionship in an otherwise isolated life. Additionally, nature affords structure to Sterling’s life. First, these elements provide a nostalgic aura, which is an appropriate feeling since the film is a remembrance of decades-old events. Nature and the animal world significantly contribute to Rascal’s plot in two ways. Sterling is caught in a bind: he has no human companionship, and his beloved pet is causing problems throughout the town. Satterfield (Elsa Lanchester), hates animals. Furthermore, the housekeeper that Theo wants to hire for Sterling while she and Mr. Unfortunately for Sterling, Rascal becomes at first a threatened nuisance and later a real nuisance to the North’s otherwise kindly neighbors, Garth Shadwick (Henry Jones) and Cy Jenkins (John Fiedler). Sterling (Bill Mumy) and his father agree that they should take the baby raccoon, soon named “Rascal,” home to care for it, and Sterling quickly grows attached to the critter. There, prior to the respective departures of Sterling’s widower father, Willard North (Steve Forrest), and his older sister, Theo North (Pamela Toll), for work reasons, the family dog, Wowser, chases off a mother raccoon, leaving one of said raccoon’s kin stranded. In the middle of the twentieth century, an aged Sterling North (voiced by Walter Pidgeon) recollects a childhood summer fifty years earlier in rural Wisconsin.

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