The Raccoons and the Lost Star is the third of four animated television specials leading up to the animated television series The Raccoons and debuted on 13 December 1983. It came after the first two Raccoons seasonal specials, which were The Christmas Raccoons (1980) and The Raccoons on Ice (1981). There are some thematic elements that did not exist in the first two specials, such as the Raccoons' world being separate from that of the humans, but it is the first one to develop the look and feel of the series. 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. The special was remastered in 2023 for streaming, though with anything to do with John Schneider altered or edited out. It is available on the Roku Channel.

The Christmas Raccoons is the first of four Canadian animated television specials, before the main animated television series succeeding it, The Raccoons, took place. It was first broadcast on CBC in Canada on December 17, 1980 and three days later in first-run syndication in the United States on December 20. The story takes place in the Evergreen Forest, home of the forest ranger Dan, his children Tommy and Julie, and their pet sheepdog, Schaeffer.