Directed by Hendel Butoy and Mike Gabriel
Written by Jim Cox, Karey Kirkpatrick, Byron Simpson, and Joe Ranft. Based on The Rescuers and Miss Bianca by Margery Sharp
Premiered November 16, 1990
77 minutes
Rated G
Synopsis
In the Australian outback, a young boy named Cody (Adam Ryen) rescues and befriends a majestic giant eagle named Marahute from a trap set by evil poacher Percival C. McLeach (George C. Scott). When Cody himself is captured by McLeach, word gets out to the Rescue Aid Society, an international group of mice who help people (mostly children, it seems) in distress. Top agents--glamourous Hungarian Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) and her neurotic American boyfriend Bernard (Bob Newhart)--are put on the case. They fly to Australia on the back of albatross Wilbur (John Candy) and are aided by dashing kangaroo rat Jake (Tristan Rogers), who flirts mercilessly with Bianca despite Bernard's several attempts to pop the question.
Before We Begin
Although the dark days of the Disney direct-to-video sequel/prequel/midquel/spin-off is behind us (thank you, John Lasseter), let's travel back to a time when the idea of a Disney sequel was a novel idea...the 1980s. At this point in time, Disney finally decided to produce a sequel to one of their beloved family classics. But which one? Certainly not Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty; those heroines were off living happily ever after. To disrupt their fairy tale endings would be a travesty.
What about Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Bambi? Real boy, reunited with his mother, Prince of the Forest. All coming of age stories. Once the age had come, a sequel would have to follow these three into adulthood and fatherhood and no one wanted to see that, apparently. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, The Aristocats, The Fox and the Hound: All would have to be stories concerning the protagonist's children...which wasn't yet an idea on Disney's radar.
Fantasia, by the 1980s had come to be respected, but I believe the folks at Disney were not feeling all that ambitious about arty shorts set to classical music. Kids wanted their MTV, after all.
Obviously Alice in Wonderland has its own sequel and one of the Peter Pan books has an epilogue where Wendy's daughter goes to Neverland...which Disney eventually used. Perhaps they thought Alice was too out there? Or they used all the good bits in the first movie? Dunno.
The Black Cauldron: HUGE box office disappointment. A sequel wouldn't be the best idea, would it?
The Sword in the Stone: Wart's wife cheats on him with his best friend and he's killed by his bastard son/nephew while his kingdom crumbles.
The Jungle Book: Mowgli becomes a civilized young man, loses the the loincloth and never returns to the jungle.
Robin Hood: King Richard "returns to the throne" and Robin marries Maid Marian. Taxes are lowered, Robin gets to having those dozen kids.
So what does that leave? The Rescuers and The Great Mouse Detective, both adventures about mission bound mouse duos, both easily tailored for sequels. In fact, the two movies end with the protagonists leaving on "another rescue mission/mystery". But The Rescuers had the financial edge over The Great Mouse Detective's mediocre box office draw that will, unfortunately, forever remain in the shadow of Don Bluth's An American Tail.
Despite there being nine books in The Rescuers series by Margery Sharp, Disney opted to write a brand new original adventure where Bernard and Miss Bianca go to Australia.
On a personal note, The Rescuers Down Under was not a childhood staple of mine--much like its predecessor. I saw many previews, because it was released right at the time I started getting my own copies of DAFs. Again, I don't recall my first viewing of this movie, but I for sure watched it in 2006 in my original chronological run. And let me tell you...watching The Rescuers Down Under in between The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast always feels wrong. I know it came out between those movies. I've double checked. It even looks newer than The Little Mermaid...but...the stylistic differences are jarring. Trust me, Disney's 29th animated feature is best viewed far out of the shadows of its 28th and 30th.
Mötley Müsings
• I cheated with this one. I am still randomly picking these movies (out of a drawer in my vanity) but I had two strips of paper with the word "rescuers" written on them. I was always going to do these in chronological order. #sorrynotsorry
• No offense to Australia, but I'll probably never visit there. That is one long ass plane ride.
• Cody. That's such an 80s name.
• Well...some might call that an Australian accent. And those some would be mistaken.
• That is one 80s haircut. I like.
• Wombats!
• "Be careful, little friend." Too bad this nice kangaroo disappears.
• Good majestic score, but I miss that sleepy 70s stuff...
• This looks just fantastic!
• Marahute is a chick. And a mom. And a widow. :-(
• The fluffing is way cute.
• Oh man...just teared up at Marahute's reaction to "Where's the daddy eagle?" My hormones are out of whack.
• Time to pick some nits: I understand why Marahute's not talking is more dramatic and meaningful, but how and why do some animals talk--the kangaroo, the mice--and others don't? Having the villains' toadies (Brutus, Nero, and Joanna) not talk is a way of showing their wickedness, but then Marahute, as a good character should be able to talk...it's all very confusing.
• Does Percival C. McLeach have a C in his name because George C. Scott does? Probably. I mean, they look very similar.
• I like Joanna. Her not talking helps. And she's not pink nor does she have eyelashes to show us she's a girl. I dig it. Come to think of it, there aren't any feminine signifiers on Marahute either. #feministdisney
• I have a Bernard Christmas ornament from McDonalds!
• Bernard has a cummerbund! So 80s!
• "I don't think of it as a matter of wanting, it's a matter of duty."
• April! I'm getting married in April!
• A mention of Orville... Orville's voice actor Jim Jordan passed away in 1988 so they got John Candy to play his brother. It works.
• "May I just say enchante, senorita to you?"
• Albatross Air: A Fair Fare from Here to There
• "Jolly little holiday" #disneyreferencesdisney
• "Cowabunga!"
• "Non-stop? What I look like? Charles Lindberg?"
• This one is certainly more LOL funny.
• "Albatross? It's a jumbo!"
• "Crazy yank."
• Bra jokes. Nice.
• Yeah...so what's with this creepy mouse hospital?
• All right...you're not married, Bianca, but you're dating so you should mention that to Jake.
• Although unnecessary, this love triangle forces Bernard to stand up for what he wants. And the callback to the way Bernard put his arm around Bianca is a nice touch.
• Oh no. Frank. The irritating lizard thing.
• "Frank will go as...a purse."
• "I feel like I've got my head in a vise."
• I like this Joanna stealing the eggs bit.
• Frank sucks.
• McLeach is a great villain. Damn...I should rank villains and such, shouldn't I?
• Having three "rescuers" really changes the dynamic. Jake is doing too much work and Bernard and Bianca are becoming ciphers.
• Oh right. The rescuers finally meet Cody. It seems rather...whatever at this point. Maybe that's because he was set free and could've gone home. But he's soon to be in trouble again.
• Heh. Wilbur has to sit on the eggs. Gilligan cut.
• Bernard asserts himself!
• Jesus! McLeach is feeding Cody to the crocodiles! Why doesn't he just dump him the desert? He would probably die of dehydration before he make it home. Fuck, man.
• Dude! Bernard just pushed McLeach and Joanna into the Crocodile Falls!
• ...But, of course, McLeach has to fall over a waterfall so Bernard's not a murderer, although he did push him into the water... #greyarea
• Bernard does a lot more than Bianca in this movie. I don't like that.
• Good majestic score, but I miss that sleepy 70s stuff...
• This looks just fantastic!
• Marahute is a chick. And a mom. And a widow. :-(
• The fluffing is way cute.
• Oh man...just teared up at Marahute's reaction to "Where's the daddy eagle?" My hormones are out of whack.
• Time to pick some nits: I understand why Marahute's not talking is more dramatic and meaningful, but how and why do some animals talk--the kangaroo, the mice--and others don't? Having the villains' toadies (Brutus, Nero, and Joanna) not talk is a way of showing their wickedness, but then Marahute, as a good character should be able to talk...it's all very confusing.
• Does Percival C. McLeach have a C in his name because George C. Scott does? Probably. I mean, they look very similar.
• I like Joanna. Her not talking helps. And she's not pink nor does she have eyelashes to show us she's a girl. I dig it. Come to think of it, there aren't any feminine signifiers on Marahute either. #feministdisney
• I have a Bernard Christmas ornament from McDonalds!
• Bernard has a cummerbund! So 80s!
• "I don't think of it as a matter of wanting, it's a matter of duty."
• April! I'm getting married in April!
• A mention of Orville... Orville's voice actor Jim Jordan passed away in 1988 so they got John Candy to play his brother. It works.
• "May I just say enchante, senorita to you?"
• Albatross Air: A Fair Fare from Here to There
• "Jolly little holiday" #disneyreferencesdisney
• "Cowabunga!"
• "Non-stop? What I look like? Charles Lindberg?"
• This one is certainly more LOL funny.
• "Albatross? It's a jumbo!"
• "Crazy yank."
• Bra jokes. Nice.
• Yeah...so what's with this creepy mouse hospital?
• All right...you're not married, Bianca, but you're dating so you should mention that to Jake.
• Although unnecessary, this love triangle forces Bernard to stand up for what he wants. And the callback to the way Bernard put his arm around Bianca is a nice touch.
• Oh no. Frank. The irritating lizard thing.
• "Frank will go as...a purse."
• "I feel like I've got my head in a vise."
• I like this Joanna stealing the eggs bit.
• Frank sucks.
• McLeach is a great villain. Damn...I should rank villains and such, shouldn't I?
• Having three "rescuers" really changes the dynamic. Jake is doing too much work and Bernard and Bianca are becoming ciphers.
• Oh right. The rescuers finally meet Cody. It seems rather...whatever at this point. Maybe that's because he was set free and could've gone home. But he's soon to be in trouble again.
• Heh. Wilbur has to sit on the eggs. Gilligan cut.
• Bernard asserts himself!
• Jesus! McLeach is feeding Cody to the crocodiles! Why doesn't he just dump him the desert? He would probably die of dehydration before he make it home. Fuck, man.
• Dude! Bernard just pushed McLeach and Joanna into the Crocodile Falls!
• ...But, of course, McLeach has to fall over a waterfall so Bernard's not a murderer, although he did push him into the water... #greyarea
• Bernard does a lot more than Bianca in this movie. I don't like that.
Final Thoughts
The last time I ranked these movies, I put Down Under just ahead of The Rescuers because it was "less childish" or something. I have a change of opinion. Given the similar premises and same characters, it's easy to compare and contrast these movies but I don't want my "closing statements" to be about why Movie A is better than Movie B.
But they're going to be. I just can't help it.
In The Rescuers, Bernard and Bianca equally do the sleuthing, equally share the action. In Down Under, Bianca is stuck in McLeach's cage thingy for the last part of the movie while Bernard has to save Cody, protect Marahute's eggs, etc. Also, we as the audience feel closer to Bernard since we know he's trying to propose to oblivious Bianca. Our relationship with these characters is no longer balanced.
Even though I like Jake as a character, he horns in on Bianca and Bernard's partnership (business and romantic) and, like I said, it throws off the dynamic. When it comes to Cody vs. Penny, both are resourceful and reasonably likable, but Penny gets the edge because she is more sympathetic. Plus, Cody is adventuresome in his own right while Penny has probably never known life outside Morningside Orphanage; how long could she survive in that bayou? And finally, that score sure is swashbuckling, but my ears prefer those dreamy 70s soft rock diddies from the first movie.
But here's where Down Under wins: the visuals. Duh. Duh. And I prefer Wilbur to Orville because, you know, John Candy. Finally...there's just something extremely appealing about Joanna. Easily one of my favorite villain sidekicks. I was surprised.
As for the proper villains...we'll call that a draw because both Medusa and McLeach are delightfully evil in surprisingly realistic ways. Both use children for financial gain--a big ass diamond and a big ass eagle but Medusa uses more "feminine" manipulation and emotional abuse, while McLeach hangs Cody over crocodile infested waters.
I suppose I could go on, but all you need to know is that I do like The Rescuers Down Under, just slightly less than The Rescuers. I thought it'd be the other way around, honestly, but there you go.
But they're going to be. I just can't help it.
In The Rescuers, Bernard and Bianca equally do the sleuthing, equally share the action. In Down Under, Bianca is stuck in McLeach's cage thingy for the last part of the movie while Bernard has to save Cody, protect Marahute's eggs, etc. Also, we as the audience feel closer to Bernard since we know he's trying to propose to oblivious Bianca. Our relationship with these characters is no longer balanced.
Even though I like Jake as a character, he horns in on Bianca and Bernard's partnership (business and romantic) and, like I said, it throws off the dynamic. When it comes to Cody vs. Penny, both are resourceful and reasonably likable, but Penny gets the edge because she is more sympathetic. Plus, Cody is adventuresome in his own right while Penny has probably never known life outside Morningside Orphanage; how long could she survive in that bayou? And finally, that score sure is swashbuckling, but my ears prefer those dreamy 70s soft rock diddies from the first movie.
But here's where Down Under wins: the visuals. Duh. Duh. And I prefer Wilbur to Orville because, you know, John Candy. Finally...there's just something extremely appealing about Joanna. Easily one of my favorite villain sidekicks. I was surprised.
As for the proper villains...we'll call that a draw because both Medusa and McLeach are delightfully evil in surprisingly realistic ways. Both use children for financial gain--a big ass diamond and a big ass eagle but Medusa uses more "feminine" manipulation and emotional abuse, while McLeach hangs Cody over crocodile infested waters.
I suppose I could go on, but all you need to know is that I do like The Rescuers Down Under, just slightly less than The Rescuers. I thought it'd be the other way around, honestly, but there you go.
Favorite Character
 |
| Joanna |
Favorite Moment -- Cody and Marahute's first meeting and flight.
Favorite Song -- N/A
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