The RescuersWhen an orphan named Penny gets kidnapped by a pair of unscrupulous treasure seekers, it's up to a pair of mice to rescue her. Yep, you heard that right--mice. The Rescuers is an animated children's movie released by Disney in 1977, about said mice--Bernard and Bianca--making a perilous flight from New York City and deep into the "Devil's Bayou" after receiving a message in a bottle from Penny, indicating that she needed rescuing. Once they arrive, they must contend with the kidnappers--a loathsome pair of thieves, including the disheveled harridan, Madame Medusa, and her frumpy crony, Mr. Snoops.
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Animation and Disney have always gone hand in hand, not to mention celebrity voice actors, music written for the movie, and anthropomorphic characters. All of this is true in The Rescuers, which is a solid representation of animated children's films at the time of its creation. The development of The Rescuers actually began in the early Seventies, and went through many stages before being released in its final form. It is a sweet and charming movie that embodies all of the best aspects (and some of the worst) of Disney animation at that time. It's also worth mentioning that this was the first movie where Don Bluth (prior to leaving Disney) was a directing animator (instead of an assistant). It was also an entry point for many new animators who would stay on with Disney, helping to build the "Disney Renaissance" with films like The Little Mermaid, a little over a decade later. Following the melancholy opening credits depicting Penny's message floating into New York City--subsequently discovered by mice--the story of The Rescuers begins in such a cute way that it's impossible not to smile. Beginning with a shot of the United Nations Secretariat Building, our scene focuses in on an assortment of mice dressed in international garb, making their way through a mouse hole and into a meeting room of their own, adorned with all sorts of odds and ends (like a broken comb used as a ladder and matchbooks for meeting desks). Bernard isn't one of these international delegates; he is a janitor, and is treated like one by everyone except by Miss Bianca, who requests for him to escort her on her mission to save Penny. The two exchange glances, and it is clear that they like one another. Throughout their journey, the superstitious Bernard (voiced by Bob Newhart) usually tries to discourage his lovely travelling companion from Hungary, Bianca (voiced by Eva Gabor), from more expedient methods, such as flying to the Devil's Bayou by way of a clumsy albatross named Orville (voiced by Jim Jordan). After discovering where the fashion disaster that is Madame Medusa (voiced by Geraldine Page) is headed, The Rescuers segues away from the city backdrop to one far more removed from urban society.
On the surface, The Rescuers might appear to be just another entry into the (admittedly delightful) Seventies-era Disney movies, designed just to get kids to pester their parents to consistently take them to the theaters. And while that may still be true, the development cycle for the movie was apparently long and complex, suggesting that The Rescuers was an idea worth pursuing. (At one point, a penguin was reported to be the main villain!) According to David Koenig in his book, "Mouse Under Glass : Secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks", the intent was for Disney to release a combination of "A-list" and "B-list" animated films, the latter possessing simpler animation, in order to keep the volume of animated content consistent. (If you ask me, the quality of The Rescuers is exceptional, so one expects that this was one of the "A-list" entries.) Many animators were hired to help shoulder the burden, and the story was ultimately simplified from its source material--a series of books by Margery Sharp, beginning with "The Rescuers"--to be about a girl who gets kidnapped and is saved by mice. Even the main villainess, Madame Medusa, was (at one point) going to be none other than Cruella de Vil of 101 Dalmatians. It turns out that one of the great Disney animators, Milt Kahl, modeled Medusa after his then-wife, Phyllis Bounds. (There were a lot of inside jokes in the Disney animation room, I'm sure!) None of this detracts from the pure enjoyability and innocent charm that was consistent with this era of Disney animation, ensuring the survivability of The Rescuers, not to mention a sequel made over a decade later titled The Rescuers Down Under (the first sequel for a Disney animated film). Perhaps it's nostalgia talking, but The Rescuers charms almost immediately because unlike recent Disney flicks, it is more interested in telling a compelling story by way of its gorgeous animation for its own sake, rather than adhere to contemporary expectations about content and by way of indistinct CGI. It gave me a warm feeling seeing this movie for the first time, as it took me back to those better days, made alongside other delightful films from the period like Robin Hood. There is a sense of artistry to this since-neglected form of hand-drawn animation, which has become all but a novelty anymore. It makes you appreciate the craft when you go back and revisit these simple pleasures of yesteryear.
Recommended for: Fans of fun and innocent animated movies for kids, even if they likely followed a production template regardless. The Rescuers is a wholesome delight for all audiences (now that they've dealt with that pesky frame of nudity a proto-Tyler Durden inserted back in the day), so enjoy with your kids, your loved ones who grew up on these stories, or with just anyone looking to see just how great hand-drawn animation used to be.
On the surface, The Rescuers might appear to be just another entry into the (admittedly delightful) Seventies-era Disney movies, designed just to get kids to pester their parents to consistently take them to the theaters. And while that may still be true, the development cycle for the movie was apparently long and complex, suggesting that The Rescuers was an idea worth pursuing. (At one point, a penguin was reported to be the main villain!) According to David Koenig in his book, "Mouse Under Glass : Secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks", the intent was for Disney to release a combination of "A-list" and "B-list" animated films, the latter possessing simpler animation, in order to keep the volume of animated content consistent. (If you ask me, the quality of The Rescuers is exceptional, so one expects that this was one of the "A-list" entries.) Many animators were hired to help shoulder the burden, and the story was ultimately simplified from its source material--a series of books by Margery Sharp, beginning with "The Rescuers"--to be about a girl who gets kidnapped and is saved by mice. Even the main villainess, Madame Medusa, was (at one point) going to be none other than Cruella de Vil of 101 Dalmatians. It turns out that one of the great Disney animators, Milt Kahl, modeled Medusa after his then-wife, Phyllis Bounds. (There were a lot of inside jokes in the Disney animation room, I'm sure!) None of this detracts from the pure enjoyability and innocent charm that was consistent with this era of Disney animation, ensuring the survivability of The Rescuers, not to mention a sequel made over a decade later titled The Rescuers Down Under (the first sequel for a Disney animated film). Perhaps it's nostalgia talking, but The Rescuers charms almost immediately because unlike recent Disney flicks, it is more interested in telling a compelling story by way of its gorgeous animation for its own sake, rather than adhere to contemporary expectations about content and by way of indistinct CGI. It gave me a warm feeling seeing this movie for the first time, as it took me back to those better days, made alongside other delightful films from the period like Robin Hood. There is a sense of artistry to this since-neglected form of hand-drawn animation, which has become all but a novelty anymore. It makes you appreciate the craft when you go back and revisit these simple pleasures of yesteryear.
Recommended for: Fans of fun and innocent animated movies for kids, even if they likely followed a production template regardless. The Rescuers is a wholesome delight for all audiences (now that they've dealt with that pesky frame of nudity a proto-Tyler Durden inserted back in the day), so enjoy with your kids, your loved ones who grew up on these stories, or with just anyone looking to see just how great hand-drawn animation used to be.