One of the post golden-age pre-renaissance works of Disney, The Rescuers is an oddity of a film that doesn't quite fit with the other Disney works. It's not based on a fairy-tale, it has none of the classic Disney characters, there are no musical segments, no strong comic… More
One of the post golden-age pre-renaissance works of Disney, The Rescuers is an oddity of a film that doesn't quite fit with the other Disney works. It's not based on a fairy-tale, it has none of the classic Disney characters, there are no musical segments, no strong comic relief, and the majority of the film takes place in very unpleasant settings. Not to mention that the story and tone of the film are quite dark, involving a plot surrounding kidnapping, and plenty of scenes that are just designed to make you cry (I know a lot of Disney films have their tearjerker scenes, but half of this damn movie is one of those scenes). Does this make it a bad movie? Hell no! I loved this movie when I was a wee little one, and watching it again for the first time in years I still love it!
The film opens with what I consider one of the greatest openings in animation. A hideous looking swamp is shown, the middle of which is a rundown boathouse. Out of the door appears a young girl clutching a teddy bear, spied on by a pair of maniacal looking alligators, as she goes to the edge of the house and drops a message in a bottle into the water. The film's beautiful theme song, "The Journey," then plays over the opening credits. Who is this girl? What's in her message? Why is she in the middle of a swamp? All good questions, and the movie takes its time to answer them.
First it introduces us to a new set of characters, a group of mice who find the bottle. Turns out mice have their own miniature world and culture, and part of it is the Rescue Aid Society, which answers out to calls such as this. One of the members, Bianca, raises her desire to be the one to answer the call, and decides to take the janitor, Bernard, with her as her partner. Speaking of which, I'd just like to take a moment to say how much I love the fact that Bernard's janitor outfit looks strikingly similar to the outfit worn by Super Mario, which is odd considering this movie came out 4 years before Mario's first appearance. But I'm getting distracted, where was I? Ah yes, the story. Bianca and Bernard do some detective work to find out who sent the message and where she was taken too. Their investigation leads them to find out that the girl, named Penny, was taken by Madame Medusa for reasons yet unknown from an orphanage, and they go off on their adventure to rescue her from the swamp and the clutches of Medusa.
This leads me to my favorite thing about this movie: Madame Medusa. Simply put, she is one of the most deliciously evil characters animation has ever been graced with. I read somewhere that the animator who designed the character based her appearance off his ex-wife whom he was not too fond of, and his hatred shines through. Sort of like a twisted Cruella Devile, Medusa is disgusting, vile, cruel, and someone you simply love to hate. She's not trying to take over the world or kill anybody, she's just systematically destroying the adorable Penny's spirits as she uses her for her own selfish means. No where else is this summed up better than in a scene where Penny asks if Medusa will ever return her to the orphanage so she can be adopted, to which Medusa replies "oh my dear girl, what makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?" You just want to reach into the screen and strangle this woman, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Along with Medusa we see a slew of memorable characters such as Rufus the elderly orphanage cat, Orville the albatross who flies them to the swamp, Evinrude the dragonfly who never says a word but still manages to be loveable, and an assortment of swamp-dwelling animals including a mouse that appears to be drinking alcohol that has the effect of Red Bull.
Despite all my praise, The Rescuers isn't perfect. The biggest issue is regarding the oftentimes slow pace. This is regularly a film of mood, and usually it works. There are some scenes that serve no real purpose to the overall narrative, but are still very well done and emotional scenes. However, there are also some scenes that are simply pointless, and do nothing to enhance the plot, characters, or mood.
The Rescuers feels like something of a fluke in the line of Disney classics, with its unusual and unpredictable nature. Sort of an animated drama more in vein of The Land Before Time or Disney's own Bambi more than an adventure-comedy, the likes of which we've gotten used to from Disney in recent years. It's an experience of a film, one loved by children and adults alike.