Lassie's Rescue Rangers:The Movie

ER · May 29, 2022, 08:52:26 AM

This wasn't a real movie, per se, but five episodes of the Saturday morning cartoon from the '70s spliced together and released in multiplexes in the '80s. It was cheap animation, lazy storytelling, and the lessons tacked on at the end were a bit heavy-handed (don't play with matches or go near water or get in vans with strangers unless Lassie is there to save you) and yet at seven I liked it enough to see it twice at the local cinema.

Now the strange part. I can find zero record that this movie ever existed. The series, sure, but the movie....zilch.

Best explanation---I grew up in a different reality. Mystery solved.

Alex · May 29, 2022, 09:31:08 AM

My conspiracy theorist workmate believes this, mostly because New Zealand is further south than he thinks it should be.

ER · May 29, 2022, 10:30:05 AM

Quote from: Alex on May 29, 2022, 09:31:08 AM
My conspiracy theorist workmate believes this, mostly because New Zealand is further south than he thinks it should be.

Lemme get this straight, he believes New Zealand has moved south? What a moron! Actually it's Sri Lanka that's moved.

Alex · May 29, 2022, 11:02:48 AM

Quote from: ER on May 29, 2022, 10:30:05 AM
Quote from: Alex on May 29, 2022, 09:31:08 AM
My conspiracy theorist workmate believes this, mostly because New Zealand is further south than he thinks it should be.

Lemme get this straight, he believes New Zealand has moved south? What a moron! Actually it's Sri Lanka that's moved.

Also Sri Lanka and various Mandela effect deaths.

pacman000 · May 30, 2022, 12:05:20 PM

Searching for this on Cooyright.gov

Found the original episode registrations, but nothing for a compilation film. https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?ti=201,0&Search%5FArg=Lassie%27s%20rescue%20rangers&Search%5FCode=TALL&CNT=100&PID=9Bag_YiriY3UwdWqa3ok3iY_UPkbL&SEQ=20220530130132&SID=23

Scroll to the bottom of that page for the registrations.

Next step would be newspaper archives, but those usually charge money for access.

ER · May 30, 2022, 12:23:36 PM

Quote from: pacman000 on May 30, 2022, 12:05:20 PM
Searching for this on Cooyright.gov

Found the original episode registrations, but nothing for a compilation film. https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?ti=201,0&Search%5FArg=Lassie%27s%20rescue%20rangers&Search%5FCode=TALL&CNT=100&PID=9Bag_YiriY3UwdWqa3ok3iY_UPkbL&SEQ=20220530130132&SID=23

Scroll to the bottom of that page for the registrations.

Next step would be newspaper archives, but those usually charge money for access.

Makes me wonder if the theater was just showing episodes and as little as I was I thought it was a movie....

chainsaw midget · May 31, 2022, 03:49:58 PM

I did some quick searching and found there was a series of episodes stuck together and released as a movie. It was called Lassie's Great Adventure.

It was released sometime between 1962 and 1964. Different sources I saw on it listed different dates.

RCMerchant · May 31, 2022, 04:28:14 PM

Lassie's Rescue Rangers was an animated TV show produced by Filmation and featuring Lassie, running from 1972 to 1973. The hour-long pilot, Lassie and the Spirit of Thunder Mountain, was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.

https://cultfaction.com/2015/08/16/cult-cartoon-essentials-lassies-rescue-rangers/

I can find no info for a theatrical release. It may have been just a local kiddie matinee thing. They had them when I was a kid.