The Raccoons and the Lost Star is a precursor TV Special to the animated series The Raccoons and debuted in 1983. It came after the first two Raccoons seasonal specials, which were The Christmas Raccoons in 1980 and The Raccoons on Ice in 1981. There are some thematic elements that don't exist in the first specials, such as the Raccoons' world being separate from that of the humans. In the United States, where The Raccoons specials were in the top 10 in Nielsen ratings, The Raccoons and the Lost Star was the number one children's two-part special in syndication at the time.