As we march bravely on through 2013, THN will take a nostalgic yet critical look at the 53 Walt Disney Animated Classics, from SNOW WHITE to WRECK-IT RALPH, through the obscurity of FUN AND FANCY FREE to the Golden Age of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. These are the films the Walt Disney company are most proud of, the ones that hold a special place in our hearts, the ones that still cost a fortune to buy on DVD. This time we join THE RESCUERS.
1977/ 77 minutes
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Art Stevens
One of the last films Walt Disney himself was involved in, albeit several years before production began, THE RESCUERS marked a return to dramatic storytelling, rather than the lighter, more comic films of the 1970s, and is also notable for a few technical innovations. Advancements in the xerographic process (which transferred pencil drawings directly from the page to the animation cel, rather than having someone trace over it in ink) allowed a more fluid, softer outline to the animation, and allowed them to use softer colours for the character outlines, ending the “sketchy” style of the studio’s previous films.
Being a Reitherman Disney movie, there is a little bit of recycled footage, which was a motif of his, but surprisingly little; a bluebird seen in one scene originated from ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and Bambi’s Mother makes yet another cameo appearance, which might make her the character who’s appeared in the most Disney 53 movies… except maybe Donald Duck.
SYNOPSIS:
In a pre-credits scene (the first in a Disney 53 movie), a little orphaned girl named Penny sneaks out of her room on board a derelict river boat in Devil’s Bayou. Under cover of darkness, she drops a message in a bottle into the river, pleading for help. As the credits roll – a beautiful and effective use of the camera passing over a still-life background – the bottle eventually washes up in New York City, where it comes to the attention of the Rescue Aid Society, hidden within the United Nations building. (Effectively a rodent version of Thunderbirds). The RAS’ Hungarian representative, Miss Bianca, immediately volunteers, taking the jittery, hapless janitor Bernard as her partner, surprising everyone, especially Bernard himself.
Their first port of call is Morningside Orphanage, where Penny used to live. Her possessions – a few trinkets in a battered and neglected cardboard box – are found by Rufus, the old cat who lives in the Orphanage, and one of Penny’s best friends. He puts them on the scent of Madame Medusa, a pawnbroker who once tried to lure Penny away from the Orphanage, and this time may have succeeded. Breaking into Medusa’s pawn shop, they overhear a phone conversation between Medusa and her “partner”, Mr Snoops; they do indeed have Penny hostage, and are using her to find the world’s largest diamond, The Devil’s Eye, which is somewhere in Devil’s Bayou. Snoops is having no luck with the child, so Medusa sets out to join him, leaving the Rescuers behind. Chartering a flight to the Bayou with Albatross Air, the Rescuers make their may to the Bayou and make contact with the local animals, who are well aware of Medusa and her evil scheme.
It transpires Medusa is sending Penny down into a cave, through a hole far too small for herself or the overweight Snoops, to search for the diamond. She’s found plenty of treasure already, but the Devil’s Eye eludes them.
With the help of a dragonfly riverboatman, Evinrude, the Rescuers finally find Penny, on the verge of tears and about to lose all faith. the arrival of the mice, and the knowledge that someone cares, boosts the little girl’s courage, and the three devise a plan. Bernard sends Evinrude out ahead to gather reinforcements, but he’s waylaid by a flock of bats and unable to reach his friends on the bank.
With no backup, and no means to make their escape just yet, Penny is forced down the hole once again, this time with the Rescuers hiding in her pocket. Their combined efforts finally find and retrieve the diamond, just as the tide threatens to fill the cave and drown them. Naturally, Medusa isn’t playing ball, and plans to take the diamond for herself, threatening Snoops at gunpoint while she hides the diamond in Penny’s beloved teddy bear.
Eventually, Evinrude is able to evade capture and sound the charge. With their reinforcements finally in play, Bernard, Bianca and Penny make their escape in Medusa’s “swampmobile” while the locals run interference.
Back in New York, the Rescue Aid Society members watch a news broadcast showing the Devil’s Eye being given to the Smithsonian Institution, and that Penny has finally been adopted. Bernard meanwhile has become Bianca’s official partner, and soon the pair are off on another mission.
LESSONS LEARNED:
- Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
- Animals are smarter than you think.
- A little faith goes a long way.
THE HERO
Bernard, voiced by Bob Newhart. A timid, superstitious fellow, he nonetheless rises to the occasion, putting aside his fears and reservations to help both Penny and Bianca. Stronger than he looks, both physically and morally, Bernard could well be related to THE ARISTOCAT’s Roquefort. He’s given a much bigger role here than in the original books, which were very much centred on Bianca.
THE HEROINES
Miss Bianca, voiced by Eva Gabor, is the sophisticated and adventurous representative from Hungary (derived from that of her voice actress, who also voiced Duchess in THE ARISTOCATS.) While Bernard could be argued to be the brains of the pair, Bianca very much embodies the spirit. It’s her drive, and her obvious fondness for him, that drives Bernard, which is taken further in the film’s sequel.
Penny, voiced by Michelle Stacy, is a very special creation. It’s difficult to get child characters right in most films; they risk becoming too annoying, or too twee, or they just become a plot device, someone to get into trouble for the hero to save. And while this certainly is true here, Disney pulls it off perfectly. Penny is a beautiful character; she has enough of an attitude to stand up to Medusa, and even her reptilian henchmen, and frequently gets one-up on Snoops, but at the same time, she’s a vulnerable, frightened child. It’s difficult to watch her solo scenes without welling up.
THE VILLAIN
Madame Medusa, voiced by Geraldine Page, was originally intended to be Cruella de Vil, but it was decided that Disney “Didn’t do sequels” (O rly?) and so a new character was created, loosely based on one of the original book villainesses.
In any case, she shares some dramatic DNA with Cruella, not least her taste in cars and driving (in)ability. Overweight, flame-haired and with a vicious temper, Medusa is also unintentionally one of the hardest-hitting of Disney villains. After ‘promising’ to return Penny to the orphanage so she can be “’dopted”, Medusa offhandedly remarks, “Adopted? What makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?”, absently breaking the poor little girl’s heart in the process. It’s a real gut-punch moment, for Penny and for the audience.
Beyond that, however, she’s little more than a bitchy bully with an itchy trigger finger.
HER FATE: Left clinging to a smoke stack over the bayou, with Brutus and Nero snapping hungrily beneath her.
SIDEKICKS/HENCHMEN?
Bernard and Bianca are aided in their mission by a ragtag gang of bayou animals and ferried across America on the back of an albatross (changed from a pigeon after an animator remembered watching the larger birds’ clumsy take-off and landing), but except maybe the dragonfly Evinrude – who does make a surprise reappearance at the end of the picture – there’s no one that really fills as a sidekick.
As for henchmen, well, you’ve got Mr Snoops. Voiced by Joe Flynn, he’s a pathetic waste of a man. Clumsy, overweight, bumbling and apathetic, he’s clearly only hanging around in the vain hope of getting a share of the loot.
Brutus and Nero – Medusa’s pet alligators – on the other hand, are basically just heavies. They are however, surprisingly smart and well-trained; One of them can (almost) operate a pipe organ, and when they’re sent out to retrieve Penny, the only marks they leave on her are torn shorts. Dim-witted and easily distracted, they end up turning on their mistress. Interesting to note that they’re the only animal characters in the movie that don’t talk, despite being voiced by Candy Candido.
PLOT
Based upon the books by Margery Sharp, THE RESCUERS takes the title of the first, the basic plot of the second, the general feel of the characters, and then does what Disney usually does; takes the rest and bins it, writing their own story in the spirit of the source material. Here, it works.
The plot is rather slight when you think about it, with very few twists or turns, but its balanced by well-created characters, setting and mood.
LAUGHS
Moving back towards drama, THE RESCUERS has the odd laugh and a few running gags, mostly revolving around Bernard’s triskaidekaphobia (that’s the “fear of the number 13”, by the way), and a lot of the local characters are a source of whimsy, but for the most part, it’s played straight.
SCARES
THE RESCUERS is a very atmospheric film, and pretty dark at times. While no one is seen to actually die or receive any real injury (even when Orville the Albatross is drawn through a the Swampmobile’s engine), the tension is continually ramped up towards its action packed, if rather light-handed, climax.
MORAL/ EDUCATIONAL VALUE
While the Rescue Aid Society itself is a charming concept, having it made up of rather broad racial stereotypes could have been handled better. But still, it’s an effective way of getting the point across that they’re an international organisation with agents around the world.
All three protagonists show courage that belies their small size; little girls could learn a lot from Penny and Bianca, and Bernard is yet another one of those little-guy-in-over-his-head heroes that Disney is so good at portraying. We also get a nice little lesson on faith from Rufus, the kindly old cat living in the Orphanage.
MUSIC/SONGS
Bucking the trend here, there’s only one song that’s actually sung by the characters, the Rescue Aid Society Anthem, a rather sweet little song that’s just enough to raise the spirits. (Okay, two songs if you count the kids singing at the end).
The other songs, performed by Shelby Flint, are performed as part of the narrative, the first Disney 53 picture to do so since BAMBI, rather than randomly belted out by the characters, and each of them is just brilliant and beautiful, carrying enough heart to anchor the whole film together.
The highlight for me is Someone’s Waiting For You.
LEGACY
THE RESCUERS was the first Disney animated feature film to have a theatrically released sequel. 1990’s THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER has Bianca and Bernard coming to the aid of a little body named Cody and a giant Golden Eagle in the Australian Outback. Bothe Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart reprised their lead roles, and it marked Gabor’s last film before her retirement.
Stepping off the beaten track for a moment, THE RESCUERS was also an important milestone in the career of one Don Bluth, who would go on to work with Steven Spielberg on some of the most successful non-Disney animated features of the 20th Century, AN AMERICAN TALE (1986), THE LAND BEFORE TIME (1988) and 1997’s ANASTASIA. He also directed one of my favourite movies, TITAN A.E. (2000), but that’s beside the point.
According to some, THE RESCUERS were at one time set to have their own spin-off series, following the success of DUCKTALES, but the decision was made to go with THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER instead. And so, after a few more changes, the series became a vehicle for Disney double-act Chip and Dale, and became RESCUE RANGERS.
FINAL SCORE: 35/53
