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RangerRickMedal

"The only simple matter of interpreting our chatter, and hearing with your eyes, not just your ears."

Ranger Rick is a children's nature magazine created by the National Wildlife Federation, publishing since 1967. It features articles about animals, the environment, and a comic series about the title character, Ranger Rick (a raccoon) and his friends Scarlett Fox, Boomer Badger and other animals living in the Deep Green Wood exploring nature and protecting the environment against the evils of mankind. Originally starting out as a children's book in 1959, more and more characters were included in its more than 50 years of publication.

Tropes used in Ranger Rick include:


  • Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Ranger Rick wears nothing but a hat, and Scarlett Fox wears nothing but a scarf.
  • Action Girl: Scarlett Fox.
  • Alliterative Name: Rick Raccoon, Boomer Badger, Ollie Otter, Sammy Squirrel, the list goes on...
  • Alliterative Title/Character Title/Role Called:Ranger Rick.
  • Animated Adaptation: A streaming series based on the magazine is currently being developed.
  • Art Evolution: Oh, so many times they changed their art style. The series started off in a realistic, Disneyesque painted design, followed by a style common in little kids' storybooks. By the Turn of the Millennium, the short stories were replaced by even shorter comics. Then the series underwent a CGI makeover, and the current designs look like a cross between Limited Animation and Thin-Line Animation.
  • All Just a Dream: In the January 1997 issue, the NWF headquarters are closed, and the animals have to do the magazines. They all fail in making the magazines in the end, until it is revealed everything's just a dream of Ranger Rick.
  • Ascended Extra: Scarlett Fox appears as a minor character in an issue from 1983. One year later, she's Ranger Rick's deputy.
  • Bat Out of Hell: Averted, since this is a nature magazine based on reality.
  • Beary Funny: Cubby Bear.
  • Beach Episode: Many stories about coral reef conservation or beach pollution tend to be this.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Don't ever goof off in front of Scarlett, or to Ranger Rick.
  • The Big Bad Wolf/Predators Are Mean: Wally Wolf, a short lived character who tried to eat Ranger Rick.
  • Bigger on the Inside: Ranger Rick's treehouse, according to the app of the same name.
  • Bland-Name Product: One issue has Boomer Badger wanting to buy a Contendo 6000 for Christmas.
  • The Bus Came Back: Odora Skunk was last seen in 2011. She returned in the February 2019 issue.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: A whole lot of characters from the 1960s to the 2000s are long gone, except the main trio.
  • Civilized Animal: Ranger Rick and the Deep Green Wood animals are this.
  • Cunning Like a Fox: Scarlett. She even has her own advice column in the magazine.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Scarlett Fox appears as a one-time character in a 1983 issue. She becomes a major character by 1984.
  • Early Installment Weirdness: Originally, the comics were short stories called Ranger Rick and his Friends. This was renamed The Adventures of Ranger Rick and currently Ranger Rick Adventures.
  • Fantastic Foxes: Scarlett.
  • Foil: Boomer Badger is this to Scarlett Fox.
  • Green Aesop: This magazine is Green Aesop: The Magazine. Justified, as the company behind it is the National Wildlife Federation.
  • Humans Are Cthulhu: This was how humans were treated in the early issues. Not as much in the more recent comics.
  • Lazy Bum: Boomer Badger is this.
  • Lighter and Softer: The newer comics compared to the original stories. There are mentions of death, extinction, and guns in the old stories.
  • Limited Animation: A Ranger Rick commercial from the 1970s was animated this way.
  • Long Runners/Print Long Runners: The magazine was created in 1967 and is still running today. The main character also appeared in a book 8 years before that.
  • Never Say "Die": Almost always averted, but death is used in a scientific context.
  • Nice Hat: Ranger Rick's ranger hat.
  • Playful Otter: This is basically Ollie (now Reggie) Otter. In fact, he hosted the game pages during the 1970s.
  • Rascally Raccoon: Downplayed by Ranger Rick. He was originally quick and cunning, but he has evolved to a more generic Nice Guy.
  • Recap Episode: The June 1994 story tell about the aftermaths of the events from past issues.
  • Recycled Script: Plenty of times.
    • Ranger Rick's origin story (first appearing in a 1959 book) was retold in 1967, 1992, 1995, 2005, and 2016.The last one was a Retcon.
    • The December 1981 and the December 1988 stories are Ranger Rick versions of A Christmas Carol.
    • Three stories from 1973, 1978, and 1987 all have some characters getting kidnapped to a local zoo.
    • Two stories from 1979 and 1984 have Ranger Rick getting sick from drinking polluted water.
  • Retcon: In the January 2017 comic, when Ranger Rick first moved in to Deep Green Wood, Boomer Badger and Scarlett Fox were already residents. The original stories portray Ranger Rick as a native already, and it is Boomer and Scarlett who came much later.
  • Species Surname: Almost every animal in the series.
  • Smelly Skunk: There is a main character named Odora Skunk.
  • The Smurfette Principle: The magazine was accused of this during the 1960s. Becky Hare, and later Scarlett Fox were added.
  • ¡Three Amigos!: Ranger Rick, Scarlett Fox, and Boomer Badger.
  • Token Human: Ranger Tom from the 1970s stories.
  • Yet Another Christmas Carol:The December 1981 and 1988 stories have Ranger Rick himself as Scrooge.
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