Cyril Sneer
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Cyril Sneer (performed by Michael Magee, 1982-1992) is the multimillionaire tycoon head of 'Sneer Industries' and the main antagonist in 'The Raccoons' television show and feature-length movies. He is a pink aardvark with a love of money and precious few scruples regarding how this money is acquired.
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[edit] Family
Cyril Sneer is only shown to have one living direct relative: his college educated son Cedric, who lives with him in his vast house 'Sneer Mansion' on the edge of the Evergreen Forest. He keeps numerous servants who attend to his various needs, including three particularly incompetent pigs (Lloyd, Floyd and Boyd/Lloyd), and a large number of bears who function as butlers, handymen, mechanics and other trades.
In the episode "Going it Alone", Cyril is shown to have an uncle who was a fantastic benefactor to the poor and renown for his charity work (the complete antithesis to Cyril).
References are also made in "Courting Disaster" to Cyril's wife, and mother of Cedric. No disclosure is ever made as to the reason for her absence, but since Cyril refers to her in the past tense it would seem to imply she died many years previously ("She was beautiful. I loved her. She really knew how to make money!")
It is also stated that Cyril is adopted, as well as evicting his entire family from Sneer Mansion at age 7 before making his fortune.
In "Simon Says", it's revealed that Cyril has a long-lost brother named Simon Sneer, who disappeared several years ago and is entitled by testament to half of the inheritance Cyril utilized to make his fortune, which almost forced Cyril to give half of his fortune to one imposter who claimed to be Simon.
[edit] Business
Aside from the title, Sneer Industries is never particularly clarified in terms of what the Sneer family business does. Cyril seems to enter into all manner of industries and economies with precious little regard- including public utilities (Power Trip), tourism and merchandise (Monster Mania), logging and lumber (The Christmas Raccoons) and many more.
If Cyril's money-making schemes are anything like those illustrated in some episodes, many would appear to be insane failures- including producing 40,000 platform shoes for short people and selling egg and broccoli flavour potato chips.
The Sneer Industry business must be profitable however, as Cyril enjoys a vast vault of treasure beneath his mansion (although it is shown in "The Evergreen Express" that he cannot immediately lay his hands on $1,000,000 to pay a debt to his business rival Mr. Knox, which implies his finances may be more limited).
The first episode (the feature length 'Christmas Racoons') shows Cyril as a money hungry lumber baron, so it may be from wood that the foundation of his fortune was made, a substantial amount of which is stored as gold bullion.
[edit] The Raccoons and the Lost Star
The Cyril Sneer shown in the alternate universe of the 'Raccoons and Lost Star' feature is cast as a military general and cruel dictator- bent on the conquest of the planet Earth. His character remains much the same however, still greedy and concerned with wealth and still occupying a very similar mansion albeit one on the slopes of a giant volcano which houses his army.
[edit] Character Development
The first incarnation of Cyril in 'The Christmas Raccoons' is very much an uncaring, greedy and selfish individual. However he mellows over the course of The Raccoons television show. Whilst still being greedy, it becomes clear on many occasions that some things are genuinely more important to him than wealth- particularly his son Cedric.
There are numerous other occasions where Cyril acts in an extremely benevolent manner to other characters, despite numerous attempts to make a fortune preferably at the discomfort of others.
