Disney's Divinity wrote:
Is this true? I never realized that The Rescuers was ever that well-regarded. The strange things time does with films. Fantasia and Bambi both did awful on release, but are now best-selling classics. Dalmatians and Aladdin seem to have lost a little of their luster the past half decade or more (hopefully that won't be a continuing thing), while Hercules seems to have risen a degree (off the back of '90s kids' nostalgia, I suppose).
As for WIR's performance, I'm not surprised at all. That it got a sequel didn't surprise me because Disney's whole motivation into jumping into 3D so fully (killing off hand-drawn animation simultaneously) was to finally realize the lucrativeness of animated film franchises/endless sequels that PIXAR was hesitant to give them at first, but WIR just never had it. They're lucky that WIR2 has done as well as it has. I thought it would do half WIR's numbers, but the princesses apparently lifted it.
I read about it in this review and I've quoted the relevant portion.
http://animatedviews.com/2012/the-rescu ... e-blu-ray/
It’s fairly odd to see a film from the same era as The Rescuers, in this case the concurrently released The AristoCats, seemingly getting more attention in Disney’s latest Blu-ray round-up, when that title has traditionally always been seen as a secondary one in the Studio’s animated canon while The Rescuers was for many years an A-list feature. I can’t think what has changed this perception other than the box-office rejection of the arguably just-as-good (and certainly technically superior) sequel, which unfairly seems to have tarnished both films’ future outlook on home video.
I've heard similar things elsewhere on the Internet though that back in the 70s-80s, The Rescuers was the only recent film that was hailed as a classic. It wasn't until the 90s that the film drastically lost much of its goodwill. I'm assuming that the sequel flopping had something to do with that. Just as likely is the fact that The Little Mermaid kickstarted the Disney Renaissance and created the new mold of musical films. The Rescuers being a huge success didn't fit the narrative that every film after Walt's passing had flopped until The Little Mermaid. The Rescuers, neither being a Walt-era film, nor being a 90s style Disney musical, unfortunately got lumped in with the rest of the B-List films, despite its success.
farerb wrote:I didn't know that about The Rescuers. I always thought it didn't become a classic because it is such a bleak movie. you can see the despair of the animators in every frame. I actually thought The Rescuers Down Under was better.
Did you grow up with the sequel? A lot of people who grew up with the sequel tend to prefer it. The only thing the sequel does better than the original film is the animation. Even then though, The Rescuers was still better animated than its predecessors, namely Robin Hood and The Aristocats. So it was still a much-needed improvement.
D82 wrote:
Yeah, I think if Menken had won for Enchanted, things would be different for him now. I hope he has better luck with the new Aladdin songs. Though after the snub of Evermore, I'm not holding my breath. I fear Academy members probably think they've awarded him enough in the past.
I definitely wish Enchanted had won something, especially since I think it is quite one of his underrated works. I do believe Enchanted would have been able to win if the vote hadn't been split since several songs were nominated. At least it taught Disney to just focus on pushing one song during awards season.
), it's disappointing how they basically threw away Felix and Calhoun in the sequel, so I would love that pitch of their own sitcom come true (It clearly won't happen). I just pray that Disney doesn't abandon the WiR franchise completely again. 
I know that Tomorrowland ride was just revived because Disney thought the sequel would do phenomenal.
The Internet exploded with their trailer. I wonder if Disney will still do any future plans with them. The box office shows that they surpringsly aren't enough to sell a movie. Vanellope joining the lineup is pretty much dead now. 
It was the conditions during that time that forced Don Bluth and Gary Goldman to quit. I recall them saying in interviews that the treatment of the artists and the lowering of production values was the deciding factor. In relation to The Rescuers, Bluth cited they were not allowed to paint the white part of Bernard's eyes to reduce costs.
