After Walt Disney's death in 1966, Walt Disney Productions went through a period of declinewith many of his releases outperforming such Universal Pictures films as The land before time And American fairy tale. The studio changed the situation by releasing in 1989 Little Mermaidushering in the hit period known as Disney Renaissancewhich includes such favorite films as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, And Lion King.
Rescuers belowwhich was released in 1990 and celebrates its 35th anniversary on November 16, is technically part of the Disney Renaissance, but has very little in common with the other films in the group. The film is directed by Hendel Butoy (who worked as an animator on the 1985 film). Black Cauldron) and Mike Gabriel (who later became co-director Pocahontas), was the first sequel to any of Disney's theatrical animated films: a sequel to the 1977 film. Rescuers, one of the most successful Disney films of the post-Disney, pre-Renaissance era, earning $29 million in the original release. But Rescuers below exploded at the box office: it was a major smash on its first weekend Home alone.
More Rescuers below is considered one of the best animated films of the 80s, especially because it is such an oddity. This is not a musical. It features an extremely dangerous villain, made even more sinister because he puts cute animals and a small child in danger. It also carries a strong environmental message and a spirit of adventure that makes the Australian outback seem as wonderful as any of Disney's fantasy worlds.
Rescuers below significantly superior to the original Rescuers. The original is an adaptation Miss Biancasecond book in “The Rescuers” by Margery Sharp series is about heroic mice saving people in danger, but the film's story about a child taken hostage during a treasure hunt ends up feeling rather disjointed. Rescuers below retains the concept of the Rescue Aid Society, a mice version of the United Nations, but otherwise the authors have chosen their own path. The sequel presents a more complex story: Rescuers must save an Australian boy named Cody (Adam Ryen) from the dastardly poacher Percival K. McLeach (Patton star George C. Scott).
Scott is absolutely terrible as McLeach, who looks like an even more twisted Cruella De Vil. McLeach not only enjoys skinning animals, but also enjoys feeding hungry crocodiles to children. He hopes to get a big payday for killing Marahute, the female golden eagle that Cody rescues from the net at the beginning of the film.
The film's opening sequence is triumphant, with Cody enjoying the freedom to roam and hang out with his animal friends, which to me, as a kid watching from suburban US, seemed like a fantasy—as impossible as going underwater or riding a magic carpet. Although there are no songs in the film, Bruce Broughton's score has an energy reminiscent of John Williams' work on Indiana Jones. The music is especially mesmerizing in the visually stunning early scene where Cody floats on Marahute's back.
McLeach captures Cody, hoping the boy can lead him to Marahute, holding him hostage along with a menagerie of Australian critters. Douglas Seale, who played the Sultan in Aladdindoes a great job of presenting the stakes in the form of a pessimistic koala who explains how all of McLeach's prisoners will be turned into fashion accessories.
Luckily, the Rescue Rangers are on the case, and their Indiana Jones map stunt shows how a plea for help in Australia makes its way to New York. The film delightfully depicts the parallel world of rodents and insects that exist alongside humanity, especially in a charming scene set in a fancy restaurant where the cricket cooks use a fallen pea to make pea soup for American rescue worker Bernard (Bob Newhart) and his Hungarian partner Bianca (Eva Gabor).
This duo is the perfect odd couple. Bianca is both glamorous and adventurous, while Bernard is constantly anxious and insecure due to the fact that Bianca charms everyone she meets. He is especially jealous of their local guide, Jake, a bouncing mouse voiced by Australian actor Tristan Rogers, the only one in the film who speaks with an Australian accent.
John Candy delivers a more absurd, kid-friendly comedy as Wilbur, the albatross the mice ride on to reach Australia. His arrogance leads to one of the funniest scenes in the film, when the airport mouse has to frantically build a runway big enough for a bird to land on.
Although most of the animals in the film speak, some of them are just as expressive without dialogue. Marahute is beautifully animated as she fluffs up her feathers and proudly shows Cody her balls. It's easy to see why Cody and all his animal friends did everything they could to protect her. Animation stalwart Frank Welker introduced her signature squeals, as well as the hissing of the film's best character: McLeach's beloved goanna Joanna.
The Disney Renaissance filmmakers loved to give villains animal helpers, such as Scar's hyenas in Lion King Jafar Iago's parrot Aladdin Ursula's electric eels Flotsam and Jetsam in Little Mermaid. They are all at least moderately useful lieutenants, but Joanna is less reliable. She repeatedly prevents Cody and McLeach's other captives from escaping, but she is also a constant nuisance to McLeach as she steals his eggs and chases mice. Their strange love-hate relationship adds personality to the villain, but doesn't make him any less scary.
Without any big musical numbers, Rescuers below moves at breakneck speed, filled with chase scenes involving a huge number of animals and McLeach's tank-like truck. Although it never received the love of the other films that rejuvenated Disney and restored its international reputation, it remains a sweet film about conservation and courage. It also helped prove that Disney films didn't need big musical numbers to work, setting the stage for other adventure films that would become cult classics such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire And Treasure Planet. Rescuers below was a box office flop, but it deserves to find a new audience 35 years later.
Rescuers below is available to stream on Disney Plus and to rent or purchase on Amazon, Apple and other VOD platforms.
