The Little Raccoon
Okay, I'll admit it. The main reason for my
interest. in "The Buford Files" centers around the small character
whose name appears above. I don't know why, but I became captivated by him the
moment he first appeared on the premier episode back in 1978. Those familiar
with the Yogi's Space Race series will remeber that Jabberjaw, who was
curiously paired with Buford, would place Buford on a tread mill, and would
hang a stuffed raccoon on a fishing lure in front of him to make him run. Then
there was the episode where Jabberjaw and Buford won the race when a real
raccoon got Buford going, and the time when an' offhand remark about
"space raccoons" was enough to wake up Buford.
The thing was, the raccoon on Buford's own show was a
particular character, as he was identified by a thin blue headband with a knot
tied in front. At first, I thought this was a Seminole Indian band, since the
Seminole were a tribe native to Okefenokee. But it seems to be instead the type
of band often worn in cartoons by martial artists. The Raccoon himself had a
somewhat oriental (Japanese?) persona, and the few times he spoke it was with a
pronounced accent. Why was this? It could have been because the animators thought
raccoons had an oriental look to them, or the fact that there are cartoon
karate experts whose headbands double as masks (Come to think of it, Hong Kong
Phooey is one). 
The bigger question is why the Raccoon was included on the show
at all. Why did HB decide to give the star of a teen mystery series a
Tom-and-Jerry-like adversary? The Raccoon seemed to want to belong on another
series, a catch-and-chase type show with himself and Buford as the main
players. Since the Raccoon is glimpsed most often on the first few episodes,
the writers may have had higher hopes for him. He was shown less and less as
the series progressed, and many of the later episodes did not show the Raccoon
at all.
Partly, it may have been because by this time it was certain they wouldn't be
making new episodes for the following season, and the animation became rather
sloppy toward the end. Another reason may have been that they saw no real point
to include the few appearances by the Raccoon on a teen mystery, especailly
since when he did appear, he made the star of the show look bad. A strange fact
is, raccoons are strangly absent as cartoon characters. Certainly the number
cartoon raccoons is small compared with the legions of mice, birds, cats, dogs,
and rabbits. And even those who do exist tend to have personnalities that are
un-raccoon like. The Canadian series "The Raccoons" are one example
of this, as is HB's own Rick the Raccoon on shirttales, and (I believe) Smokey
on the animated version of "The Dukes of Hazzard." One famous
animated raccoon who does act his species -in other words, gluttonous and
mischievous-is Meeko of Pocahantas fame. But with the Raccoon on Buford, whom
most people don't even know, they hit the nail on the head. The raccoon is
about as mischievous and gluttonous as they come. Unlike the mice, birds and
rabbits, real raccoons often do foil hounds and other animals who are after
them. So a hound-and-raccoon teamup seemed natural and something that hadn't
been done before. And unlike those other characters, a raccoon fit the role of
cute troublemaker like a glove.
Clearly, the Raccoon has some similarity to other small
catch-and-chase characters which are found throughout cartoons, such as Jerry
mouse, Tweety Bird, Sniffles, Lambsy, to name a few. Like the majority
of these, the raccoon is drawn as a "cute" character with a large
head and pear-shaped body. He is small, and is quick-witted. What's different
about him seems to be in his relationship with Buford. In the premier episode,
Buford doesn't appear the bear the Raccoon any real animosity. He seems almost
friendly with him, as he gives him a piece of his shoo-fly pie, first during a
dream-sequence, then at the end of the episode, when the Raccoon makes off with
Buford's pie leaving him holding the one piece. I couldn't help feeling sorry
for him (Buford) here. But for the rest of the series, Buford seems to actually
hate the raccoon, and is intent on harming or destroying him. Did the shoo-fly
pie incident set him off, or was he just feeling generous that first episode?
The animators don't tell us, but it's clear that Buford has it in for the
Raccoon, at least from this point on. In what passes for "real-life"
in the cartoon, the Raccoon always comes out of encounters with his adversary
on top, as small cartoon characters almost always do. However, Buford has a
series of "dreams" on several epsiodes which very often feature the
Raccoon.
Since according to Freud, dreams are said to always be egotistical, it
is Buford who wins in these dream encounters. It is although the cartoon rule
which says that the little guy always wins has been horrifically inverted.
Given the frequency with which small characters get the better of their
pursuers in cartoons, some might find these dreams refreshing. I always found
them nightmarish situations in which the smaller, cuter animal is rendered
powerless. Curiously, it seems the animators intended the same thing, as
sometimes the dreams are shown from the little raccoon's viewpoint. If this was
to encourage viewer empathy with the raccoon, why didn't show focus more on
him, and less on Fenokee County's incompetent law enforcment? One thing that is
clear from these dreams is that Buford's pursuit of the Raccoon differs in one
important way from other catch-and-chase situations, such Mildew Wolf and
Lambsy, Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, Blast-Off Buzzard and Crazylegs, and
just about any other one you can name. Most of these cartoon predators desire
to eat of their intended victims-they might not be above sneering, but all they
really want is a decent meal. Buford, however, seems motivated by revenge. He
shows no desire to eat the Raccoon; he wants noting so innocent as
self-gratification. This isn't even a "best enemies" type of relation
like Tom and Jerry, or Motormouse and Autocat. 
When I first watched these
cartoons I felt a bit guilty for empahthizing with the Raccoon. After all, he
was obviously no innocent victim. However, it is not so simple to say that
Buford wants to get the Raccoon merely because he is provoked. We know from the
Space Race segments that Buford has a "thing" against raccoons. The
writers are playing on the natural animostiy that exists between dogs and
raccoons in real-life. In the cartoon world, where characters represent human
types, that roughly translates into prejudice. In other words, the Raccoon is
sympathetic (to me, anyway)partly becasue his mischievous nature only makes him
endearing, but also because his adversary (Buford) is a bigot. Buford is, of
course, a lovably lethargic sort of character if the raccoon isn't around;
certainly Buford shows malice to no one else, unless they threaten Duchess, or
someone he cares about. His ideas of "getting even" with the Raccoon
are obviously overblown. For example, in the dream sequence on "Man with
the Orange Hair", we first see the Raccoon kicking show on Buford. Then we
see Buford corner the Raccoon on an ice lege over a deep chasm before he starts
to chop the ledge off with an icepick. Why doesn't Buford just kick snow back
at the Raccoon instead? Then there is the dream where Buford imagines himself
and Duchess as the hero and heroine of a melodrama, with the Raccoon
(naturally) as the villain. This is the one episode that shows the Raccoon as
evil. However, the Snidley Whiplash getup simple looks rediculous on him, and
what this really demostrates is that Buford regards the Raccoon as his
"sworn enemy". In the other dreams, it's Buford who acts like a
villain, and when Buford sneers he really does look evil. Then there is the
dreadfully ominous music they play during the dream scene on "The Magic
Whammy" episode, when Buford sticks the raccoon on a table. I wasn't
exactly sure at first what was going on during this cheesily animated little
scene, but I suppose Buford is threatening to zap the little Raccoon out of
existence with his magic wand, and wants to toy with him a bit first. Another
curious fact is that Buford's relation to Duchess is exactly opposite that of
the Little Raccoon. It is clear Buford will risk his own life to save her, or recover
her diamond collar, both in "real-life", and during the dreams. When
Duchess is on, Buford is a real hero, as noble and self-sacrificing as they
come. It probably is no coincidence that the Raccoon is absent from the final
episode,even in the dream sequence,and Duchess was brought back. The writers
probably thought they should end the series (as it was clear this was the end)
making Buford heroic instead of having be foiled by a smaller character.
Clearly, these two relations show that there was a bit more to Buford's
character than to most other HB canines, only the series didn't last, and
writers didn't go into as much detail with it, even on the episodes that were
produced. What if the series had gone the opposite way, and had been simply a
catch-and-chase show? Wether it would have attracted a larger or smaller
audience is anyone's guess, but it would have been a catch-and-chase audience
rather than the teen mystery crowd it was aiming for. That said, I may not fit
in very well with other "Buford" fans by saying the Raccoon is my
favorite character. Since most fans watched for mainly for mysteries, the
Raccoon may have seemed an intrusion or worse. After all, what would most
Scooby-Doo fans think of a character who played tricks on the star of the show,
and whom Scooby was uncharacteristically malicious toward? Since Buford was the
star of the show, it would have made more sense (if they wanted a foil for him
at all) to include someone who was out to get Buford,(a local redneck who hated
dogs maybe), rather than the other way round. The Raccoon remained sympathetic,
to me anyway, for the reason that he comes across as cute character whose
personal characteristics, in this case not being able to stay out of mischief,
places him in dire straits, somewhat like the childhood characters of Peter
Rabbit and Tom Kitten. And in spite of the fact he's such a trouble maker, he
comes across more than any small cartoon I can think of, as truely persecuted,
because Buford appears to hate him because of what he is. One other thing about
the Raccoon; he appears to have had a predecessor. There was no regular
character quite like him on any other teen mystery show, but on one episode of
"Clue Club" set at a skie resort, there was a mischievous rabbit who
played pranks on Whoofer and Wimper. Even though he lacked the Raccoon's
vulnerability and depth of character, he may well have been a prototype. One
other obvious example was another gluttonous troublemaker called Ninja Raccoon
who appeared on tow epidoes of "The New Yogi Bear Show" in 1987. This
guy has an even more pronounced oriental persona, and though he lacks a regular
adversary, similarity between him and the Little Racoon is virtually the same
was that between Muttley and Mumbly.
Possibly he was rework of the character
on"Buford". Some may believe that the writers gave the Raccoon an
unfair edge over Buford, as they had him do things like trick Buford into
falling into a water trough in one well-animated scene. But HB did do the
Raccoon at least one grave injustice: they didn't show him enough. Had the show
continued into a second season, it is very likley that he would have been gone
entirely. I don't really believe that the mystery formula of the show should
have been scrapped in favor of a catch-and-chase relation between Buford and
the Raccoon. In fact, both formulas have been done to death. What might have
been better was an outdoor adventure type show, like I suggested earlier. It
may well have drawn in more viewers, as the mystery formula was tired by then, and
given more opportunies for the feud between Buford and the raccoon to play a
larger role in the story, without taking over the show. After all, probably
most fans of the show had an particular interest in the regional aspect of
"Buford", what really set it apart from the other teen mysteries. But
who knows? Would the show really have lasted? We'll never know and can only
guess.
