Film Review #24: The Rescuers Down Under

Why does this film continue to be overlooked?  I mean, it it because of the fact that there are no songs or cuddly animals?  Maybe this review will change their minds.  After the success of The Little Mermaid, and with Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin still in development, the Disney studios released their first ever animated sequel.  Though I at first questioned why a film like The Rescuers got a sequel, it makes sense when you see the sequel.  The Rescuers Down Under is true blue entertainment, and while not quite up to par with The Little Mermaid, it still is a Disney Classic in every way.

Plot: Set in the Australian outback, a young boy named Cody finds a golden eagle named Marahute, the last one alive, trapped in a poacher's net.  After he frees it, the eagle befriends him and takes him to see her nest, where she tends to her still encased young.  Soon after, the boy is discovered by the infamous poacher McLeach, and is kidnapped when he refuses to reveal Marahute's location.  A field mouse sees this and wires the message to the Rescue Aid Society in New York, where Miss Bianca and Bernard are assigned to rescue him, being the two top mice for the job.  Instead of Orville taking them, his brother Wilbur (John Candy) takes them instead.

What Bianca doesn't know, is that Bernard is trying to propose to her throughout the entire movie, but constantly gets interrupted.  McLeach decides to release the boy out into the wild, after he lies and says that Marahute was killed.  Cody goes off to take care of the eggs, while McLeach heads off in pursuit.  The mice and their new friend Jake must now stop the poacher from killing off the last of the Golden Eagles before they die off forever.

What's Bad?:  -_-

What's Good?: Everything and anything.  The mice are more developed and interesting this time around, John Candy's Wilbur is more fascinating then Orville, and George C. Scott's McLeach is far more interesting than Madame Medusa.

The musical score is action packed, and the animation is ten times better than it's original film.  Overall, the film is a vast improvement over the original film in every category.  The scene that sticks out the most is the flying scene in the beginning of the movie, where Cody flies with Marahute.  The original film would have made this a ten second scene focused on their conversations.  Instead, this film goes off and makes a spectacle of it, having intense falls, flying off waterfalls, soaring through the clouds, it is a superb scene.

Overall: The film is a classic, no songs required.  The animation is simply breathtaking.  The characters are fleshed out, and the story is fast paced.  It is a Walt Disney Classic that should be getting more praise than it gets now.  Check it out!  Like now!  :D

Report Card

Hero:                                B+
Heroine:                           B
Villain:                             A-
Side Characters:             A-
Songs:                              N/A
Musical Score:                 B
Animation:                       A
Special Effects:                A
Themes:                            B
Story:                                A

Final Grade:                    A-