Sixteen Jewel Boxes

 

I read Sterling North’s book Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era when I was nine or ten. I don’t recall being awfully impressed with it. I have a better memory of seeing the 1969 Disney Movie Rascal on Wonderful World of Disney when I was thirteen. The film had a terrific cast: John Fiedler (Pooh’s friend Piglet), Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein), and Billy Mumy (Lost in Space). I’m surprised this movie isn’t on Disney+. While searching for a way to stream Rascal, I found an article about a 1977 anime series loosely based on the same book. It’s called Araiguma Rasukaru (Rascal is HARD to pronounce). Araiguma, the Japanese word for raccoon, means “washing bear.” Like the name, the raccoon in the series is adorable. And though the book, the movie and the series show vividly why raccoons make terrible pets, Araiguma Rasukaru is the reason Japan is overrun with this invasive species.