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From: Roman Podolak
Date: 15 Sep 2003
Time: 22:17:51
Remote Name: 152.163.252.3
At the time "Rascal" was filmed, Disney Productions rarely, if ever, ventured beyond their own studio gates. Location filming usually only consisted of "background", or, if the principal actors were involved, brief scenes to establish the "authenticity" of a setting. This was true of most studios until the late sixties. Most had rather sizable backlots which could provide settings for most locales and eras. As a matter of economics, it was cheaper and easier to film in one's "backyard" than to go on location where filming could be complicated by outside factors, ie. crowds, weather, backgounds, etc., which could not easily be controlled. MGM, for example, had a very extensive backlot with two areas of 20-30 acres each, dedicated to outdoor filming. One area consisted of forests, lagoons, etc., while the other consisted of streets and buildings. Disney, too, had certain standing sets on its' lot which could be "re-dressed" from film to film. Even though many films utilized the same sets, by altering them slightly, or (especially true in photography and motion pictures) by filming from a slightly different angle, they appeared to be completely different. As far as "Rascal" is concerned, all interiors and street scenes (town square, North home and yard) were filmed on the Disney lot in Burbank, CA. All the rural scenes were filmed at the Disney-owned Golden Oak Ranch in Newhall, CA. The Golden Oak Ranch is located approximately one hour north of Los Angeles on Placerita Canyon Road and consists of acres of forests, lakes, streams, hills, barns, western towns, etc. The covered-bridge seen in "Rascal" is also seen in Disney's "Follow Me, Boys", and dozens of other films. In the 1950's, Walt Disney purchased roughly 315 acres of land and more was constantly added in order to create a buffer against the encroachment of civilisation (eg. telephone poles, etc. in the distance). Currently the ranch consists of 619 acres. Many other productions rent the facilities from Disney as most studios (including Disney) have only token backlots now (due to the exorbitant cost of real estate in southern California). The movie "Back to the Future", for example, utilized the ranch for some scenes (the barn where Marty crashes after being zapped to the 50's). The ranch is STRICTLY PRIVATE PROPERTY and is not open to the public in any way for tours-trespassers will be arrested! Although the scenery and seasons depicting Edgerton may not have been entirely accurate in "Rascal", that does not detract from the beauty of the story in any way. The values and lessons-learned are ones we could use more of today!