''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American
animated adventure comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film produced by
Walt Disney Productions and released by
Buena Vista Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
. The 23rd
Disney animated feature film, its story follows Bernard and Bianca, two members of the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world. The two mice must free young orphan Penny from two treasure hunters, who intend to use her to help them obtain a giant diamond. The film is based on a series of books by
Margery Sharp, most notably ''
The Rescuers'' (1959) and ''Miss Bianca'' (1962).
''The Rescuers'' entered development in 1962, but was shelved due to
Walt Disney's dislike of the project's political overtones. During the 1970s, the film was revived as a project for the younger animators, but it was taken over by the senior animation staff following the release of ''
Robin Hood'' (1973). ''The Rescuers'' was released on June 22, 1977, to positive critical reception and became a box office success. The film was also successful throughout the world, including
France and
West Germany. Due to the film's success, a sequel titled ''
The Rescuers Down Under'' was released in 1990, which made this film the first Disney animated film to have a sequel.
Plot
In an abandoned riverboat in Devil's Bayou,
Louisiana, a young orphan named Penny drops a
message in a bottle, containing a plea for help, into the river. The Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization inside the
United Nations, finds the bottle when it washes up in
New York City. The
Hungarian representative, Miss Bianca, volunteers to accept the case. She chooses Bernard, a stammering janitor, as her co-agent. The two visit Morningside Orphanage, where Penny lived, and meet an old
cat named Rufus. He tells them about a sketchy woman named Madame Medusa who once tried to lure Penny into her car, and may have succeeded in abducting Penny this time.
The mice travel to Medusa's
pawn shop, where they discover that she and her partner, Mr. Snoops, are on a quest to find the world's largest
diamond, the Devil's Eye. The mice learn that Medusa and Snoops are currently at the Devil's Bayou with Penny, whom they have indeed kidnapped and placed under the guard of two trained crocodiles, Brutus and Nero. With the help of an
albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
named Orville and a
dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
named Evinrude, the mice follow Medusa to the
bayou
In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...
. There, they learn that Medusa plans to force Penny to enter a small
blowhole
Blowhole may refer to:
* Blowhole (anatomy), the hole at the top of a whale's or other cetacean's head
*Blowhole (geology), a hole at the inland end of a sea cave
**Kiama Blowhole in Kiama, Australia
**The Blow Hole, a marine passage between Minst ...
that leads down into a blocked-off
pirates' cave where the Devil's Eye is located.
Bernard and Bianca find Penny and devise a plan of escape. They send Evinrude to alert the local animals, who loathe Medusa, but Evinrude is delayed when he is forced to take shelter from a cloud of
bats. The following morning, Medusa and Snoops send Penny down into the cave to find the gem. Unbeknownst to Medusa, Bianca and Bernard are hiding in Penny's skirt pocket. The three soon find the Devil's Eye within a pirate skull. As Penny pries the mouth open with a sword, the mice push the gem through it, but soon the oceanic tide rises and floods the cave. The three barely manage to retrieve the diamond and escape.
Medusa betrays Snoops and hides the diamond in Penny's teddy bear, while holding Penny and Snoops at gunpoint. When she trips over a cable set as a trap by Bernard and Bianca, Medusa loses the bear and the diamond to Penny, who runs away with them. The local animals arrive at the riverboat and aid Bernard and Bianca in trapping Brutus and Nero, then set off Mr. Snoops's
fireworks to create more chaos. Meanwhile, Penny and the mice commandeer Medusa's swamp-mobile, a makeshift
airboat. Medusa unsuccessfully pursues them, using Brutus and Nero as water-skis. As the riverboat sinks from the fireworks' damage, Medusa crashes and is left clinging to the boat's smoke stacks. Mr. Snoops escapes on a
raft and laughs at her, while the irritated Brutus and Nero turn on her and circle below.
Back in New York City, the Rescue Aid Society watch a news report of how Penny found the Devil's Eye, which has been given to the
Smithsonian Institution. Penny has also been
adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
. The meeting is interrupted when Evinrude arrives with a call for help, sending Bernard and Bianca on a new adventure.
Cast
*
Bob Newhart as Bernard, Rescue Aid Society's timid janitor, who reluctantly tags along with Miss Bianca on her journey to the Devil's Bayou to rescue Penny. He is highly superstitious about the number 13 and dislikes flying (the latter being a personality trait of Newhart).
*
Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca, the Hungarian representative of the Rescue Aid Society. She is sophisticated and adventurous, and fond of Bernard, choosing him as her co-agent as she sets out to rescue Penny. Her Hungarian nationality was derived from that of her voice actress.
*
Geraldine Page
Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acade ...
as Madame Medusa, a greedy, redheaded, wicked pawn-shop owner. Upon discovering the Devil's Eye diamond hidden in a
blowhole
Blowhole may refer to:
* Blowhole (anatomy), the hole at the top of a whale's or other cetacean's head
*Blowhole (geology), a hole at the inland end of a sea cave
**Kiama Blowhole in Kiama, Australia
**The Blow Hole, a marine passage between Minst ...
, she kidnaps the small orphan, Penny, to retrieve it for her, as Penny is the only one small enough to fit in it. She has two pet crocodiles, who turn on her after she is thwarted by Bernard, Bianca, and Penny.
* Michelle Stacy as Penny, a lonely six-year-old orphan girl, residing at Morningside Orphanage in New York City. She is kidnapped by Medusa in an attempt to retrieve the world's largest diamond, the Devil's Eye.
*
Joe Flynn as Mr. Snoops, Medusa's clumsy and incompetent business partner, who obeys his boss's orders to steal the Devil's Eye in exchange for half of it. Upon being betrayed by Medusa, however, he turns on her and flees by raft, laughing at her. This was Flynn's final role before his death in 1974.
*
Jim Jordan as Orville (named after Orville Wright of the
Wright brothers, the inventors of the
airplane; most likely influenced from Bob Newhart's stand-up sketch "
Merchandising the Wright Brothers"), an albatross who gives Bernard and Bianca a ride to Devil's Bayou. Jordan, 80 years old by the time the film was completed, had been lured out of retirement and had not performed since the death of his wife and comic partner
Marian
Marian may refer to:
People
* Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia
* Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name
* Marian (surname), a list of people so named
Places
*Marian, Iran (disambiguation)
* Marian, Queensla ...
in 1961; it would serve as Jordan's last public performance.
*
John McIntire as Rufus, an elderly cat who resides at Morningside Orphanage and comforts Penny when she is sad. Although his time onscreen is rather brief, he provides the film's most important theme, faith. He was designed by animator
Ollie Johnston, who retired after the film following a 40-year career with Disney.
*
Jeanette Nolan as Ellie Mae and
Pat Buttram as Luke, two
muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
s who reside in a Southern-style home on a patch of land in Devil's Bayou. Luke drinks very strong, homemade
liquor
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
, which is used to help Bernard and Evinrude regain energy when they need it. Its most important usage is for fuel for powering Medusa's swamp-mobile in the film's climax.
*
James MacDonald as Evinrude (named after a
brand of outboard motors), a
dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
who mans a
leaf boat across Devil's Bayou, giving Bernard and Miss Bianca a ride across the swamp waters.
*
Bernard Fox as Mr. Chairman, the chairman to the Rescue Aid Society.
*
George Lindsey as Deadeye, a fisher rabbit who is one of Luke and Ellie Mae's friends.
* Larry Clemmons as Gramps, a grumpy, yet kind old turtle who carries a brown cane.
*
Dub Taylor as Digger, a mole.
*
John Fiedler as Deacon Owl
*
Shelby Flint as Singer, Bottle
* Bill McMillian as TV Announcer
Production
In 1959, the book ''
The Rescuers'' by Margery Sharp had been published to considerable success. In 1962, Sharp followed up with a sequel titled ''Miss Bianca''. That same year, the books were optioned by
Walt Disney, who began developing an animated film adaptation. In January 1963, story artist Otto Englander wrote a
treatment based on the first book, centering on a Norwegian poet unfairly imprisoned in a
Siberia-like stronghold known as the Black Castle. The story was revised with the location changed to
Cuba, in which the mice would help the poet escape into the United States. However, as the story became overtly involved in international intrigue, Disney shelved the project as he was unhappy with the political overtones. In August 1968, Englander wrote another treatment featuring Bernard and Bianca rescuing
Richard the Lionheart during the
Middle Ages.
During the early 1970s, the project was revived as a project for the young animators, led by
Don Bluth, as the studio would alternate between full-scale "A pictures" and smaller, scaled-back "B pictures" with simpler animation. The animators had selected the most recent book, ''Miss Bianca in the Antarctic'', to adapt from. The new story involved a
King penguin deceiving a captured polar bear into performing in shows aboard a
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, causing the unsatisfied bear to place a bottle that would reach the mice. This version of the story was later dropped because Fred Lucky, a storyboard artist, explained that the Arctic setting "was too stark a background for the animators." Mattinson later explained, "Our problem was that the penguin wasn't formidable or evil enough for the audience to believe he would dominate the big bear. We struggled with that for a year or so. We changed the locale to somewhere in America and it was now a regular zoo and we tried to come up with something with the bear in the zoo and needing to be rescued but that didn't work either."
In that version, the bear character was still retained, but was renamed Louie the Bear. Jazz singer
Louis Prima was cast in the role and had recorded most of the dialogue and multiple songs that were composed by
Floyd Huddleston
Floyd Huddleston (August 19, 1918 - September 27, 1991) was an American songwriter, screenwriter, and television producer.
Career
Huddleston was born in Leland, Mississippi, and would later sing and write songs for Glenn Miller's Army Air Force ...
. The writers also expanded the role of his best friend, Gus the Lion. Huddleston had stated, "It's about two animals. One is Louis Prima — he's the polar bear — and
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...
is the lion ...Louis gets cornered into leaving and going to the South Pole where he can make himself a bigger star. But he gets homesick; he feels fooled. They send out little mice as 'rescuers'." According to storyboard artist
Vance Gerry, director
Wolfgang Reitherman had stated, It's too complicated. I want a simple story: A little girl gets kidnapped and the mice try to get her back, period. By November 1973, the role of Louie the Bear had been heavily scaled back and then eliminated. In one version, the bear was meant to be Bernard and Bianca's connection to Penny. Gerry explained, "We developed the sequence where, while the two mice are searching for clues as to where Penny has been taken, they come across this bear who she had been friends with because the orphanage where Penny was living was near the zoo." In the final film, the idea was reduced to a simple scene where Bernard enters a zoo and hears a lion's roar that scares him away.
In
Europe, while promoting the release of ''
Robin Hood'' (1973), Reitherman stated: "I took Margery Sharp's books along and there was in there a mean woman in a crystal palace. When I got back I called some of the guys together and I said, 'We've got to get a villain in this thing. The villainess and her motive to steal a diamond was adapted from the Diamond Duchess in ''Miss Bianca''. The setting was then changed to the bayous found in the
Southern United States. By August 1973, the villainess was named the Grand Duchess with
Phyllis Diller cast in the role. A month later, conceptual artist
Ken Anderson began depicting
Cruella de Vil, the villainess from ''
One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), as the main antagonist of the film. Anderson had drawn several sketches of Cruella de Vil sporting alligator-leathered
chic attire and sunglasses; one sketch depicted her wearing
bell-bottom pants and
platform shoes. However, several staff members such as animator
Ollie Johnston stated it felt wrong to attempt a sequel for the character.
Furthermore, Mattinson explained that
Milt Kahl did not want to animate Cruella de Vil. "Milt, of course, was very strong against that, 'Oh, no no. We're gonna have a new character. I'm not gonna do Cruella'," Mattinson recalled, "Because he felt that
Marc avis had animated
Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to:
Aviation
*Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project)
* Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane
*Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...
Cruella beautifully. He was not gonna go and take his character."
The new version of the character was renamed Madame Medusa, and her appearance was based on Kahl's then-wife, Phyllis Bounds (who was the niece of
Lillian Disney
Lillian Marie Disney ( Bounds; February 15, 1899December 16, 1997) was an American ink artist at the Disney Studios and the wife of Walt Disney from 1925 until his death in 1966. Born in Spalding, Idaho, Disney graduated from high school in La ...
), whom he divorced in 1978. This was Kahl's last film for the studio, and he wanted his final character to be his best; he was so insistent on perfecting Madame Medusa that he ended up doing almost all the animation for the character himself. The kidnapped child Penny was inspired by Patience, the orphan in the novel. The alligator characters Brutus and Nero was based on the two bloodhounds, Tyrant and Torment, in the novels. For the henchman, the filmmakers adapted the character, Mandrake, into Mr. Snoops. His appearance was caricatured from John Culhane, a journalist, who had been interviewing animators at the Disney studios.
Culhane claimed he was practically tricked into posing for various reactions, and his movements were imitated on Mr. Snoops's model sheet. However, he stated, "Becoming a Disney character was beyond my wildest dreams of glory."
Also, the writers had considered developing Bernard and Bianca into married professional
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
s, though they decided that leaving the characters as unmarried novices was more romantic. For the supporting characters, a pint-sized swamp mobile for the mice—a leaf powered by a dragonfly—was created. As they developed the comedic potential of displaying his exhaustion through buzzing, the dragonfly grew from an incidental into a major character. Veteran sound effects artist and voice actor
Jimmy MacDonald came out of retirement to provide the effects. Additionally, the local swamp creatures were originally written as a dedicated home guard that drilled and marched incessantly. However, the writers rewrote them into a volunteer group of helpful little bayou creatures. Their leader, a singing bullfrog, voiced by
Phil Harris, was deleted from the film. A pigeon was originally proposed to serve as transportation for Bernard and Bianca until Johnston remembered a ''
True-Life Adventures'' episode that featured albatrosses and their clumsy take-offs and landings. He then suggested the ungainly bird instead.
On February 13, 1976, co-director
John Lounsbery died of a heart attack during production.
Art Stevens
Arthur Stevens (May 1, 1915 – May 22, 2007) was an animator, director and producer for Walt Disney Productions.
Career
Art Stevens was an animator at Walt Disney Productions during the Golden Age of American Animation. Stevens began his ca ...
, an animator, was then selected as the new co-director.
Animation
After the commercial success of ''
The Aristocats'' (1970), then-vice president
Ron Miller pledged that new animators should be hired to ensure "a continuity of quality Disney animated films for another generation."
Eric Larson, one of the "
Nine Old Men" animators, scouted for potential artists who were studying at art schools and colleges throughout the United States. More than 60 artists were brought into the training program.
Then, the selected trainees were to create a black-and-white animation test, which were reviewed at the end of the month. The process would continue for several months, in which the few finalists were first employed as
in-betweeners working only on nights and weekends. By 1977, more than 25 artists were hired during the training program. Among those selected were
Glen Keane,
Ron Clements, and Andy Gaskill, all of whom would play crucial roles in the
Disney Renaissance.
Because of this, ''The Rescuers'' was the first collaboration between the newly recruited trainees and the senior animators. It would also mark the last joint effort by Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston, and
Frank Thomas, and the first Disney film Don Bluth had worked on as a directing animator, instead of as an assistant animator.
Ever since ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), animation for theatrical Disney animated films had been done by
xerography, which had only been able to produce black outlines. By the time ''The Rescuers'' was in production, the technology had been improved for the cel artists to use a medium-grey toner in order to create a softer-looking line.
Music
The songwriting team of
Carol Connors and
Ayn Robbins first met in 1973 on a double date. Before then, Connors had co-composed and sang successful songs such as "
To Know Him Is to Love Him" and "
Hey Little Cobra" with
the Teddy Bears. Meanwhile, Robbins worked as a personal secretary to actors
George Kennedy
George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...
and
Eva Gabor and wrote unpublished poetry. On their first collaboration, they composed eleven songs for a Christmas show for an unproduced animated film. In spite of this, they were offered an interview from Walt Disney Productions to compose songs for ''The Rescuers''. Describing their collaborative process, Robbins noted "...Carol plays the piano and I play the pencil." During production, both women were nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
for "
Gonna Fly Now" from ''
Rocky'' (1976) with
Bill Conti.
Additionally, Connors and Robbins collaborated with composer
Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. ...
on the song, "Someone's Waiting for You". Most of the songs they had written for the film were performed by
Shelby Flint.
Also, notably for the first time since ''
Bambi'' (1942), all the most significant songs were sung as part of a narrative, as opposed to by the film's characters as in most Disney animated films.
Songs
Original songs performed in the film include:
Songs heard in the film but not released on the soundtrack include:
* "Faith is a Bluebird" – Although not an actual song, it is a poem recited by Rufus and partially by Penny in a
flashback the old cat has to when he last saw the small orphan girl, and comforted her through the poem, about having
faith. The titular
bluebird that appears in this sequence originally appeared in ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' (1951).
* "
The U.S. Air Force" – Serves as the
leitmotif
A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
for Orville.
* "For Penny's a Jolly Good Fellow" – Sung by the orphan children at the end of the film, as a variation of the song "
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".
Release
On June 19, 1977, ''The Rescuers'' premiered at the
AFI Silver
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center or commonly known as AFI Silver is a three-screen movie theater complex in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, north of Washington, D.C. Its main auditorium hosts the DC Metro area's third-largest commercial ...
Theatre in
Washington, D.C. During the film's initial theatrical run, the film was released as a
double feature
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
with the live-action nature documentary film, ''
A Tale of Two Critters
''A Tale of Two Critters'' is a 1977 American adventure documentary film produced by Walt Disney Productions, written and directed by Jack Speirs and released theatrically by Buena Vista Distribution on June 20, 1977.
Premise
A glimpse at the rel ...
''.
On December 16, 1983, ''The Rescuers'' was re-released to theaters accompanied with the new
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
featurette, ''
Mickey's Christmas Carol'', which marked the character's first theatrical appearance after a 30-year absence. In anticipation of its upcoming theatrically released sequel in 1990, ''The Rescuers Down Under'', ''The Rescuers'' saw another successful theatrical run on March 17, 1989.
Marketing
To tie in with the film's 25th anniversary, ''The Rescuers'' debuted in the
Walt Disney Classics Collection
The Walt Disney Classics Collection (WDCC) is a series of collectible sculptures of Walt Disney characters and scenes. The sculptures were initially done under the supervision of the Disney animators, and were hand painted and produced in limited ...
line in 2002, with three different figures featuring three of the film's characters, as well as the opening title scroll. The three figures were sculpted by Dusty Horner and they were: ''Brave Bianca'', featuring Miss Bianca the heroine and priced at $75,
''Bold Bernard'', featuring hero Bernard, priced also at $75
and ''Evinrude Base'', featuring Evinrude the dragonfly and priced at $85.
The title scroll featuring the film's name, ''The Rescuers'', and from the opening song sequence, "The Journey," was priced at $30. All figures were retired in March 2005, except for the opening title scroll which was suspended in December 2012.
''The Rescuers'' was the inspiration for another Walt Disney Classics Collection figure in 2003. Ken Melton was the sculptor of ''Teddy Goes With Me, My Dear'', a limited-edition, 8-inch sculpture featuring the evil Madame Medusa, the orphan girl Penny, her teddy bear "Teddy" and the Devil's Eye diamond. Exactly 1,977 of these sculptures were made, in reference to the film's release year, 1977. The sculpture was priced at $299 and instantly declared retired in 2003.
In November 2008, a sixth sculpture inspired by the film was released. Made with
pewter and
resin, ''Cleared For Take Off'' introduced the character of Orville into the collection and featured Bernard and Bianca a second time. The piece, inspired by Orville's take-off scene in the film, was sculpted by
Ruben Procopio
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.
Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese ...
.
Home media
''The Rescuers'' premiered on
VHS and
LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
on September 18, 1992 as part of the
Walt Disney Classics series. The release went into
moratorium on April 30, 1993. It was re-released on VHS as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection on January 5, 1999, but was recalled three days later and reissued on March 23, 1999 (see "
Nudity scandal").
''The Rescuers'' was released on
DVD on May 20, 2003, as a standard edition, which was discontinued in November 2011.
On August 21, 2012, a 35th-anniversary edition of ''The Rescuers'' was released on
Blu-ray alongside its sequel in a "2-Movie Collection".
Nudity scandal
On January 8, 1999, three days after the film's second release on home video, The Walt Disney Company announced a recall of about 3.4 million copies of the videotapes because there was an objectionable image in one of the film's backgrounds.
The image in question is a blurry image of a topless woman with breasts and nipples showing. The image appears twice in non-consecutive
frames
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (co ...
during the scene in which Miss Bianca and Bernard are flying on Orville's back through New York City. The two images could not be seen in ordinary viewing because the film runs too fast—at 24 frames per second.
On January 10, 1999, two days after the recall was announced, the London newspaper ''
The Independent'' reported:
A Disney spokeswoman said that the images in ''The Rescuers'' were placed in the film during post-production, but she declined to say what they were or who placed them... The company said the aim of the recall was to keep its promise to families that they can trust and rely on the Disney brand to provide the best in family entertainment.
''The Rescuers'' home video was reissued on March 23, 1999, with the inappropriate nudity edited and blocked out.
Reception
Box office
''The Rescuers'' was successful upon its original theatrical release earning worldwide gross rentals of $48 million at the box office. During its initial release in
France, it out-grossed ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' (1977) receiving admissions of 7.2 million. The film also became the highest-grossing film in
West Germany at the time with admissions of 9.7 million.
By the end of its theatrical run, the
distributor rentals amounted to $19 million in the United States and Canada while its international rentals totaled $41 million.
''The Rescuers'' was re-released in 1983 in which it grossed $21 million domestically. The film was again re-released in 1989 and grossed $21.2 million domestically. In its total lifetime domestic gross, the film has grossed $71.2 million, and its total lifetime worldwide gross is $169 million.
Critical reaction
''The Rescuers'' was said to be Disney's greatest film since ''
Mary Poppins'' (1964), and seemed to signal a new golden age for Disney animation.
Charles Champlin of the ''
Los Angeles Times'' praised the film as "the best feature-length animated film from Disney in a decade or more—the funniest, the most inventive, the least self-conscious, the most coherent, and moving from start to finish, and probably most important of all, it is also the most touching in that unique way fantasy has of carrying vibrations of real life and real feelings." Gary Arnold of ''
The Washington Post'' wrote the film "is one of the most rousing and appealing animated features ever made by the Disney studio. The last production for several members of the original feature animation unit assembled by Walt Disney in the late '30s, the film is both a triumphant swan song and gladdening act of regeneration." ''
Variety'' magazine wrote the film was "the best work by Disney animators in many years, restoring the craft to its former glories. In addition, it has a more adventurous approach to color and background stylization than previous Disney efforts have displayed, with a delicate pastel palette used to wide-ranging effect."
Vincent Canby of ''
The New York Times'' wrote that the film "doesn't belong in the same category as the great Disney cartoon features (''
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs,'' ''
Bambi,'' ''
Fantasia
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'') but it's a reminder of a kind of slickly cheerful, animated entertainment that has become all but extinct."
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four writing, "To see any Disney animated film these days is to compare it with Disney classics released 30 or 40 years ago. Judged against ''Pinocchio,'' for example. ''The Rescuers'' is lightweight, indeed. Its themes are forgettable. It's mostly an adventure story."
[Siskel, Gene (July 6, 1977)]
"Orphan, teddy bear rescue Disney film"
''Chicago Tribune''. Section 2, p. 6. Retrieved October 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. ''
TV Guide'' gave the film three stars out of five, opining that ''The Rescuers'' "is a beautifully animated film that showed Disney still knew a lot about making quality children's fare even as their track record was weakening." They also praised the
voice acting of the characters, and stated that the film is "a delight for children as well as adults who appreciate good animation and brisk storytelling." Ellen MacKay of
Common Sense Media gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "Great adventure, but too dark for preschoolers".
In his book, ''The Disney Films'', film historian
Leonard Maltin refers to ''The Rescuers'' as "a breath of fresh air for everyone who had been concerned about the future of animation at Walt Disney's," praises its "humor and imagination and
hat it isexpertly woven into a solid story structure
..with a delightful cast of characters." Finally, he declares the film "the most satisfying animated feature to come from the studio since ''
101 Dalmatians 101 Dalmatians may refer to:
* ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'', a 1956 novel written by Dodie Smith
* 101 Dalmatians (franchise), a Disney film franchise based on the novel
** ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'', a 1961 animated film based on the ...
''." He also briefly mentions the ease with which the film surpassed other animated films of its time. The film's own animators
Frank Thomas and
Ollie Johnston stated on their website that ''The Rescuers'' had been their return to a film with heart and also considered it their best film without Walt Disney.
The
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received approval rating, with an average rating of based on reviews. The website's consensus states: "Featuring superlative animation, off-kilter characters, and affectionate voice work by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor, ''The Rescuers'' represents a bright spot in Disney's post-golden age." On
Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 8 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Jack Shaheen, in his study of Hollywood portrayals and stereotypes of
Arabs, noted the inclusion of delegates from Arab countries in the Rescue Aid Society.
Accolades
In 2008, the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
nominated ''The Rescuers'' for its
Top 10 Animated Films list.
Legacy
Bernard and Bianca made appearances as meet-and-greet characters at
Walt Disney World and
Disneyland in the years following the original film's release. While they currently don't make regular appearances at the American parks, both continue to appear regularly at
Tokyo Disney Resort.
In the ''
Disney Infinity'' video games, Medusa's Swamp Mobile was introduced as a vehicle in ''
Disney Infinity 2.0
''Disney Infinity 2.0'' (also known as ''Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes'') is an action-adventure game, action-adventure Nonlinear gameplay#Sandbox mode, sandbox toys-to-life video game developed by Avalanche Software and Heavy Iron Studios ...
''.
In the
world builder
World Builder is a game creation system for point-and-click adventure games. It was released in 1986 by Silicon Beach Software and had already been used for creating Enchanted Scepters in 1984. On August 7, 1995, developer William C. Appleton ...
video game ''
Disney Magic Kingdoms'', Bernard, Miss Bianca, Penny, Madame Medusa, and Orville appear as playable characters in the main storyline of the game, along with The Rescue Aid Society and Madame Medusa's Riverboat as attractions.
Sequel
''The Rescuers'' was the first Disney animated film to have a sequel. After three successful theatrical releases of the original film, ''The Rescuers Down Under'' was released theatrically on November 16, 1990.
''The Rescuers Down Under'' takes place in the Australian
Outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
, and involves Bernard and Bianca trying to rescue a boy named Cody and a giant
golden eagle called Marahute from a greedy
poacher named Percival C. McLeach. Both Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor reprised their lead roles. Since Jim Jordan, who had voiced Orville, had since died, a new character, Wilbur (Orville's brother, another albatross), was created and voiced by
John Candy.
See also
*
1977 in film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1977 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Events
* February 23 – During a press conference at Sardi's in Manh ...
*
List of American films of 1977
*
List of animated feature films of 1977
*
List of highest-grossing animated films
*
List of highest-grossing films in France
*
List of Walt Disney Pictures films
*
List of Disney theatrical animated feature films
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rescuers
1970s American animated films
1970s children's animated films
1977 comedy-drama films
1970s crime drama films
1970s crime comedy films
1970s fantasy adventure films
1970s English-language films
1977 animated films
1977 films
American adventure drama films
American buddy films
American children's animated adventure films
American children's animated comedy films
American children's animated drama films
American children's animated fantasy films
American comedy-drama films
American coming-of-age films
American fantasy adventure films
Animated buddy films
Animated coming-of-age films
Animated films about birds
Animated films about cats
Animated films about mice
Animated films about reptiles and amphibians
Animated films about orphans
Animated films based on children's books
Animated films set in New York City
Film controversies
Disney controversies
Films based on works by Margery Sharp
Films about child abduction in the United States
Films about the United Nations
Films based on multiple works of a series
Films directed by John Lounsbery
Films directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Films directed by Art Stevens
Films produced by Ron W. Miller
Films set in Louisiana
Obscenity controversies in film
Obscenity controversies in animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios films
Walt Disney Pictures animated films