Opinions about "The Rescuers"

[Jackoleen]

Dear Disney Enthusiasts,

XXX!

[avonleastories95]

The Rescuers is also one of my favorites. It is a very beautiful movie. I think that the first 5 minutes are the Best beginning in Disney's history (yes, that includes you too, Enchanted, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White). Medusa in my opinion, is one of the best Disney villains. However, I also saw she was a little bit like Ursula as well. I also find that this movie is very humorous, like you Rogain jokne (yes, it was WAY before my time and I still got it). The Rescuers is an uncomfortably underrated Disney feature. I STRONGLY believe it does not get the attention it deserves. The Black Cauldron, Hercules, The Great Mouse Dectective, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete's Dragon, and even Aladdin fit into this category.

[Wonderlicious]

* There are far too many shots of various characters' rear ends to ever again dismiss the rumor that Walt had a thing for behinds! It seems as though his successors lovingly adopted his fetish. Speaking of rear ends, unmentionables, etc., I noticed that poor Orville nearly took one for the team when the fireworks went off! Wow

I really, really don't think Walt ever had a fetish for rear ends. It's simply a tried and tested comedy formula to involve butts in slapstick comedy. Really now.

I feel that Penny is actually a great deal LIKE Medusa. Medusa is a stubborn, down and dirty woman who is obsessed with The Devil's Eye, and Penny is a fairly fearless scrapper, and an orphan, who is obsessed with keeping her teddy bear. Medusa should've KNOWN that a child who was THAT stubborn would constantly clash with her best laid plans.

Well, Penny is simply a hostage, and as a result is scared and nervous of her devious holder, somewhat unwilling to do what they want her to do (for the right reasons). Equally, Penny is supposed to be the polar opposite of Medusa. Medusa is sleazy, aging and ugly, whereas Penny is innocent, pure, young and pretty. Classic Disney.

* I'm curious to know if anybody believes that Medusa really DID intend to set Penny free after The Devil's Eye had been found. I can't decide weather or not she would've been willing to let Penny return to the orphanage. I'm thinking that she wouldn't have allowed her to go back, because she would've believed that Penny knew too much, etc.

I assumed that Medusa was intending to leave Penny behind in the swamp, since at one point she says "just think, you'll have this whole riverboat all to yourself!" or something to that extent.

* I suddenly realized that Disney might have re-released "The Rescuers" during 1989, because Don Bleuth was releasing a similar movie that year (That movie was, of course, "All Dogs Go To Heaven, and it was ALSO about a poor, misused orphan girl who must be rescued.) During "All Dogs Go To Heaven", the orphan, Anne Marie, becomes ill, due to her exposure to grime, watery conditions, contagion, and the like. Poor little Penny spends most of her time being soaked to the skin, and I am super surprised that she DOESN'T come down with pneumonia, or something, during her trials. I guess that either "All Dogs" was more realistic (Although Penny becomes soaked MUCH more often than Anne Marie does), or Penny has developed some super immunity to just about everything! I only know that I would've been sick as a DOG after having spent that much time wearing the same grimy, repeatedly soaked clothes.

Well, of course, The Rescuers Down Under was to be released the year after, so Disney were obviously trying to raise awareness of the original, which had last seen a theatrical release in the early 80s and had never been put on video at that point. It's what's called refreshing people's memories, and I doubt trying to knock down All Dogs Go to Heaven had anything to do with it.

And as for Penny's immunity...well, there's only one way to kill a toon...

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[Semaj]

Though somewhat slower-paced than most Disney movies, The Rescuers was the best Disney movie of its time. It proved that the company was more than capable of making quality films at a time when they were still coping without Walt, and when some of the old timers were beginning to exit.

I really, really don't think Walt ever had a fetish for rear ends. It's simply a tried and tested comedy formula to involve butts in slapstick comedy. Really now.

Well, you have to wonder what these guys were thinking with Penny revealing the holes in her undies. One recurring problem in Disney's 60's and 70's films were those bits of awkward acting.

[Wonderlicious]

Well, you have to wonder what these guys were thinking with Penny revealing the holes in her undies.

lol, forgot about that one. To be fair, I kinda predict that a lot of the old guys were so off in their own innocent little world that they didn't even think about what they could be implying with such a gag.

[milojthatch]

I honestly have to say that of all the DAC, this is the only one I have a hard time watching all the way through. It's so boring! I have way more fun watching one of the package films or Fantasia then this one!

The sequel was WAY better in every way.

[Disney Duster]

I always had a problem when Penny flashed the audience like that. It made me think the Disney men were trying to get away with it, but some people, like me, would be really put of by it, and to have to see that every time I watch the movie...It was a step farther than the usual butt gags, so...I just really wish they never did that, she could have just pointed and said they ripped her underpants, really.

[Mayhem]

And of course the infamous "Playboy" shot in one of the windows

But yes, I have quite a sentimental attachment to "The Rescuers". It was the first Disney film I saw, and at the cinema to boot. In the downturn of the 70s and 80s when the studio was trying to find its feet again, I feel it is also the best film it produced. Sure Medusa comes off a little as Cruella-lite, but she has her own charms (or lack of them), foibles and drives.

It was also the inspiration and catalyst for the creation of my favourite DA series, Rescue Rangers, so I always have to give props for that

[SpringHeelJack]

I assumed that Medusa was intending to leave Penny behind in the swamp, since at one point she says "just think, you'll have this whole riverboat all to yourself!" or something to that extent.

She says that line referring to how Penny is on the riverboat currently when talking up the perks of her current life, though whatever Medusa planned to do with Penny after the fact is pretty up for debate (I do doubt she'd just let her go back to the orphanage).

[DisneyAnimation88]

I can understand some people's discomfort with that scene. I think at the time that the film was made, this was not as big of a deal for audiences and I don't think it was intended to be perverse in any way by the animators. There are scenes that invoke a similar feeling in several of the older Disney films

[Disney Duster]

I felt like Penny's was a step farther than past instances. Can you tell me what other scenes in the past films were like that that you were talking about, because maybe I would agree or disagree with you, I don't know.

[DisneyAnimation88]

I was thinking Song of the South and Pecos Bill, scenes that have caused some kind of controversy but are not relevent to this case now I realise. What I meant was with the benefit of hindsight, we can look back at certain scenes and think that they're not appropriate when the films are simply products of the time in which they were made. In the case of children, perhaps some people would be uncomfortable with the depiction of the boys in the Pleasure Island scene in Pinocchio in terms of them drinking alcohol and smoking. As I said, not the best example but I don't think the Disney animators who worked on the film in the 1960's and 1970's meant to make anyone uncomfortable simply because attitudes were different then.

[Semaj]

I assumed that Medusa was intending to leave Penny behind in the swamp, since at one point she says "just think, you'll have this whole riverboat all to yourself!" or something to that extent.

She says that line referring to how Penny is on the riverboat currently when talking up the perks of her current life, though whatever Medusa planned to do with Penny after the fact is pretty up for debate (I do doubt she'd just let her go back to the orphanage).

I had often believed that Medusa planned to keep Penny in case she wanted to look for more treasure. She was running a pawn shop.

She seemed to reinforce such an intent by stealing the kid's teddy bear, and hiding the diamond in it, as if she planned to pawn both items.

[Goliath]

The Rescuers is, in my opinion, the only film Disney made between 1967 (Jungle Book) and 1989 (Little Mermaid) that captures the same atmosphere (some would call it 'essence') of Walt's pictures. I'm disregarding Many Adventures of Winnnie the Pooh here, since that was a compilation of shorts made under Walt. While it obviously doesn't have the lush animation and rich production values that Walt's films had, The Rescuers does have a story with heart and soul and rich characters that is reminiscent of Walt's days.

Is it a deep and complex story? No, not really, but sometimes the most effective movies have simple and clear stories. To sum up the plot in one sentence: two mice go on a mission to save the little orphan girl Penny, who has been kidnapped by Madam Medusa to find her a giant diamond. But what sets it apart from its predecessors (The Aristocats and Robin Hood), is that it has a really tight narrative, where there's enough room for drama and pathos and *real* suspense, alongside the humor. Almost all films from that so-called 'Dark Era' didn't have the right balance between all those elements. And of course, the bland sequel traded story and impact for visual spectacle.

I always had a problem when Penny flashed the audience like that. It made me think the Disney men were trying to get away with it, but some people, like me, would be really put of by it, and to have to see that every time I watch the movie...It was a step farther than the usual butt gags, so...I just really wish they never did that, she could have just pointed and said they ripped her underpants, really.

Look, everybody: somebody send us a message from the 1860's!

Seriously, I CANNOT believe this point got 'debated' instead of being ridiculed as it should be! I swear, the things you read on UD...! Sometimes one has to think this is a madhouse!

[disneyboy20022]

.... I swear, the things you read on UD...! Sometimes one has to think this is a madhouse!

It isn't?????!!!!....they Why Do I owe money to this guy....

[Disney Guru]

The Rescuers has never been a personal favorite of mine, granted yes it is very deep. And I want to say WOW! on your analysis of the film very in-depth. I just found it to be such a sad piece, have never liked films that show kidnapping/abuse of small children it simply irks me. I never liked Oliver & Company either due to the treatment of that poor little girl. I know I know I know it is just a movie but it just breaks my heart. And yes the movie was very well made Bernard/Bianca were adorable but the whole angle with Penny just ruined it for me.

[jpanimation]

While I'm not a fan of The Rescuers, I do like the characters. They are well developed and enduring, so much so that they felt the need to make a sequel (the only one out of the so called "Dark Age" to do so). I remember reading that these characters were so popular in the seventies, that when they were planning an Animation pavilion at EPCOT Center (eventually moved to the Disney-MGM Studios) that they couldn't think of any other characters as well known to introduce/guide you through the process/facility. Too bad Disney has let these characters fade away by creating this Dark Age mindset and giving them poor releases and promotion.

[Lazario]

I think first instincts will tell you everything. I've always loved The Rescuers because it's genuinely heart-felt. It believes everything it's saying. It's a bit underplayed to be seen as sappy. It's coincidental. Very cinematic. Has a great habit of toning down the music (which would have been a huge mistake pre-1955). I just noticed this when re-watching Escape to Witch Mountain, very little music in the 70's. A very clever movie- it looks like they're going for another Aristocats when Bianca keeps falling out of places and needs Bernard to help. Then they switch it around and he always needs help.

Show me a complex Disney film, really. Pinocchio comes close. Owl's dialogue in the Winnie the Pooh features is pretty sophisticated, as is some of the humor in 101 Dalmatians. Cruella's dialogue. Oh yeah, and then there's Great Mouse Detective. But Disney thrived (as they still do) on simplicity. Rescuers is just more emotional, touching than most others. Never cutesy. Quaint, but not cutesy.

[avonleastories95]

Golaith, I back your opinion 100%.
FACT: Madame Medusa was originally not going to be in the feature. Instead, they were thinking of reusing Cruella.
ANOTHER FACT: People use the same arguments to justify slavery in 1860's as they do today for abortion.

[Goliath]

Golaith, I back your opinion 100%.
FACT: Madame Medusa was originally not going to be in the feature. Instead, they were thinking of reusing Cruella.
ANOTHER FACT: People use the same arguments to justify slavery in 1860's as they do today for abortion.

Yeah, thanks, but... er... I don't see how that last 'fact' has got anything to do with either this thread or The Rescuers, and it would be a shame to let this thread go to waste by turning it into a 'political' discussion, wouldn't it? On the bonus dvd of 101 Dalmatians, it's said that Milt Kahl was jealous of Marc Davis, because Marc got to animate such a lively character as Cruella, while he was stuck with Roger and Anita. That's why he vowed to someday create a character that would blow Marc's Cruella off the screen and that turned out to be Medusa. I don't know if that's true, but anyway, that's whatn was said on the dvd.