The Rescuers
From The Film Guide
| The Rescuers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Directed by | Wolfgang Reitherman John Lounsbery Art Stevens | |
| Produced by | Wolfgang Reitherman | |
| Written by | Screenplay: Larry Clemmons Burny Mattinson Vance Gerry Ken Anderson Frank Thomas Dave Michenear Dick Sebast Books: Margery Sharp | |
| Starring | Bob Newhart Eva Gabor Michelle Stacy Geraldine Page Joe Flynn Jim Jordan John McIntire Jeanette Nolan Pat Buttram Bernard Fox | |
| Music by | Artie Butler | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Distribution | |
| Release date(s) | June 22, 1977 | |
| Running time | 77 minutes | |
| Country | United States | |
| Language | English | |
| Preceded by | Watership Down (1977) | |
| Followed by | The Fox and the Hound (1981) | |
| IMDb profile | ||
| Looking for more? Try the fan page! | ||
The Rescuers is the twenty-third full-length animated feature film in the Disney animated features canon. The story involves to mouse rescue agents, the timid Bernard, and the Hungarian Miss Bianca, setting out to rescue a young girl, named Penny, who is being held captive in Devil's Bayou by treasure huntress, Madame Medusa.
The film was based on a series of books by Margery Sharp, particularly The Rescuers and Miss Bianca. It was first released on video in 1992. However the Feature Presentation logo had a navy blue and black gradient it was also the first to have an electronically muffled version of the 1988 Walt Disney Classics jingle. A potential Platinum Edition DVD has been announced for 2013.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Cast and Characters
- Bernard, voiced by Bob Newhart. Bernard is the Rescue Aid Society's timid janitor. He shows a high case of triskaidekaphobia (fear of number 13), but is haplessly devoted to Miss Bianca. Bernard is also shown to fear flying, a reference to another character played by Newhart on his show.
- Miss Bianca, voiced by Eva Gabor. Miss Bianca is the Hungarian delegate at the Rescue Aid Society and chooses Bernard as her co-agent when setting out to Devil's Bayou. Her Hungarian origin was derived from that of her voice actress, Eva Gabor.
- Penny, voiced by Michelle Stacy. Penny is a lonely orphan girl, who gets kidnapped by Madame Medusa to search for the world's largest diamond within in a pirate's cave in Devil's Bayou. She often feels lonely, but is very close to Rufus and her teddy bear.
- Rufus, voiced by John McIntire. Rufus is the orphanage's elderly cat, who tells Penny to have faith, when she needs it. His is a caricature of Disney animator, Ollie Johnston.
- Madame Medusa, voiced by Geraldine Page. The lead antagonist of The Rescuers, an evil pawnshop owner, who tries to use Penny to help her find the Devil's Eye, from within Devil's Bayou.
- Mr. Snoops, voiced by Joe Flynn. Ally of Madame Medusa, who, through trying to be threatening like her, fails to succeed. He eventually turns on Medusa, when she refuses to share the Devil's Eye diamond with him. He is also notable for being a caricature of film historian, John Culhane.
- Albitude, voiced by Jimmy MacDonald. An albatross who gives Bernard and Bianca a ride to Devil's Bayou.
- Brutus and Nero, voiced by Candy Candido[2] Madame Medusa's two pet alligators, who are assigned to prevent Penny from escaping from Medusa's sight.
- The Chairman, voiced by Bernard Fox. He is head of the Rescue Aid Society, and it is he who assigns the missions to the international mouse delegates.
- Deacon Owl, voiced by John Fiedler. A villainous, mouse-eating owl, from Devil's Bayou, who pursues Bernard and Bianca through the swamp forest upon their arrival.
[edit] Significance
- The film was the last to be worked on by Disney veteran, John Lounsbery, who, in a sad coincidence to Bernard’s triskaidekaphobia, died Friday, February 13, 1976.
- The last film for Joe Flynn, who drowned in a swimming pool accident in 1974, nearly three whole years before the film's release.
- The Rescuers would go on to become the first Disney animated feature to influence a theatrically released sequel, The Rescuers Down Under in 1990.
- The last film to feature animation by Milt Kahl, who animated Madame Medusa almost entirely on his own.
- The film’s story of the two mice setting out to rescue the girl, Penny, brought back the interest for animation, which had been lost by both critics and audiences throughout the 1970’s.
- During the 1960’s and 70’s the Disney animators had been releasing comedy-esque films. The Rescuers was their return to a film with “heart” and story, as had previously been done with Dumbo and Bambi. Veteran animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston consider it to be the best film they worked on without Walt Disney’s personal supervision.
[edit] Trivia
- Originally, the Disney animators were considering reusing Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians as the villainess for The Rescuers. However, due to concerns that reusing Cruella would make The Rescuers seem like a sequel to an otherwise unrelated film, Madame Medusa was created in her place. Medusa actually inherited very little from Cruella, other than perhaps the tendency to
- The infamous Goofy holler is heard twice in the film; both times by Albitude: once upon being accidentally sucked into Medusa's swamp mobile, and a second time after accidentally falling off an air tower, towards the end of the film. The growling noises made by Brutus and Nero, would then be reused in The Fox and the Hound as the growling made by the villainous black bear.
[edit] Sequels
The Rescuers Down Under was released in 1990, marking the first sequel to a Disney animated feature. However, in direct contrast to the first film’s success, the sequel suffered from a less successful theatrical run. Although part of the Disney Renaissance, it is often considered the black sheep of the era, since unlike most other films of the time, such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, it had a more contemporary setting, as opposed to the fantasy worlds of the other films, and was the only film of the Renaissance not to be a musical film. As a result, most future Disney sequels went straight to video.
The 1988 Disney animated feature, Oliver & Company was originally supposed to be a follow-up of Penny’s life, following her adoption at the end of the first film. However, due to concerns that the story wouldn’t have been convincing, Penny was replaced by a similar girl, Jenny.
However, the story of Penny’s adoption has been rumored to be back in production, with Penny and Rufus, now living with Penny’s adoptive parents, Juan and Sandra. After Penny, now 13 years old, has trouble with her stepparents and her younger brother, Toby, she decides to runaway with Rufus, and soon finds a life on Broadway.
[edit] Rumored Cast
- Morgan Lily as Penny
- Jim Cummings as Rufus
- Paul Westerberg as Danny
- Brittany Murphy as Princess
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ↑ Los Rescatadores - Edición Platino. ZonaDVD. Retrieved on 2009-06-23.
- ↑ The Rescuers' Disney Animated Voices Profile. Disney's Animated Voices. Retrieved on 2009-06-25.
[edit] External links
- The Rescuers at the Big Cartoon DataBase
