The Rescuers

Voices of: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, Michelle Stacy, Joe Flynn, Jeanette Nolan
Directed by: John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, Art Stevens
Rating: G
Genre: Animated, Action, Adventure
1977

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:Two mice (Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor) frantically search for a young kidnapped girl.

Review:

Tim: I expected to like The Rescuers more than I actually did. I think it's a decent animated film, but it feels a bit overrated in my mind. This film came out when Walt Disney Productions had been going through a bit of a tough period. Walt had died, and their last few films weren't runaway successes. This film turned their fortunes around a bit- it was a critical and commercial success, and it represented a bit of a return to form for Disney. I think all those things gave this movie a little more shine than it deserved. It has some really strong parts, but it feels a long way away from the top echelon of Disney films.

I actually love the basic idea of a secret society of mice, whose job it is to rescue people in trouble. The concept is a little ridiculous, but it's fun to consider. However, there are some questions about this whole concept. The little girl in the film at one point asks the mice if they brought any police. They replied that they hadn't. Would this not have been an easier route than trying to break the girl out herself? I'm not exactly sure how they would have accomplished this, but it made the whole scenario feel a little silly. Still, the basic idea is a fun one to consider.

I also like the pairing of Miss Bianca, the experienced rescuer, with a mouse that doesn't have any experience in this regard. Bernard is a fun character, and it's his introduction to adventure that really allows the audience to access the story. And yet, does it make any sense that in a meeting of rescuers, they would elect to send a janitor with no experience? Sure, Miss Bianca volunteered him, but wouldn't it have been in the best interest of the kidnapped little girl to have two experienced rescuers on her case? Now, you might be saying, "Boy, you're really overthinking this." The problem is that when there are obvious flaws in the story, it causes you to overthink everything you see. I felt like these were story issues (and there's many more where these came from).

I liked Bianca and Bernard as characters, and Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor do a fairly good job bringing them to life. Gabor certainly brings a sense of class and charm to the role, although her voice felt a little too fragile for the character. Still, as a whole, these two do good voice work.

I was mostly a fan of the story. We have a little girl kidnapped to find a pirate's diamond in a narrow cave. We have the evil, redheaded woman and her bumbling sidekick. We have two alligators/crocodies that represent the enforcers. We have a humorous albatross who represents their travel means. We even have a cute little dragonfly that adds to the story. I really liked all those elements. I was less excited about the stereotypical hillbilly creatures, especially because we're led to believe an owl, a turtle, and a rabbit are the exact same size as the mice. Did anyone else recognize the scaling issues with those animals? It just made no sense to me.

The story was pretty good, and the characters were solid, but as a whole, the film left a good deal to be desired. I never felt any emotional connection to the characters. The best animated films tell stories children will love, but connect to deeper themes that adults can appreciate. I like that this film tackled a tough subject matter like kidnapped children, but I didn't really feel like it had any themes or lessons that I could contemplate. It just felt a little too light to me. The story was interesting, but it didn't have enough depth. I will say that there were a few fantastic scenes. The highlight was probably when the two alligators/crocodiles are trying to capture Bernard and Bianca. This was a very tense, nerve-racking scenes. I really loved how the film tackled this in a suspenseful, intense manner. I really liked that scene.

As a whole, though, The Rescuers doesn't have enough of these. The film was decent, but it would be way down the list of my favorite Disney movies. It's certainly not among the worst films, but it just gets lost somewhere in the middle.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Rescuers Down Under, The Fox and the Hound