I ran across this on Netflix searching for Rescuers Down Under after playing the music for an orchestra concert, and decided to watch them both again. I remembered loving both movies growing up, and I think they are highly underrated Disney classics. The opening of The Rescuers is interesting, after the initial introduction to Penny it becomes a series of still images. They're very nicely done, and something unique is that the sound design still sounds as if it's an animated sequence.
Most of the characters are very enjoyable to watch. I very much enjoyed Miss Bianca growing up, for a reason I didn't realize then. Eva Gabor lends her voice to the character, and her manner of speaking reminded me a lot of my German-Hungarian grandmother and great-aunt. Miss Bianca's character is a very kind and determined character, never giving up on accomplishing the mission that she insisted on taking. Bernard is enjoyable as well, voiced by Bob Newhart. One thing I found curious was his superstitious nature, and watching the movie again makes me wonder just what triggered it. There's never any explanation of why he is so afraid of the number thirteen. But he's very determined, and that helps save the day more than once. Penny... I found to be a bit annoying. I think it was partly from how she spoke, though now it's not as bad. It's never explained how she can speak with the mice and the orphanage cat, though it might be in the books.
There are a few villains, Madame Medusa, Mr. Snoops, and the two alligators that Medusa keeps as pets. Geraldine Page voices Medusa, and does a very entertaining job of it. It's funny to listen how she can switch very quickly from calm and charming to utterly psychotic. Mr. Snoops is the incompetant henchman to Medusa, who also has an obsession with fireworks. That both helps and hinders he and Medusa at times, and always to comedic effect. Brutus and Nero are the alligators, and their animators must have had a lot of fun with their work.
There are several minor characters, and many are very memorable. The first that come to mind are the swamp dwellers. Luke, a muskrat I think, is voiced by Pat Buttram, who also voiced the Sheriff of Nottingham in Disney's Robin Hood. Something I didn't think about when I was little was that his jug was full of moonshine. Minor, but something that makes me chuckle now. The other neighbors of the swamp are interesting in their own right, Evinrude the dragonfly serves as the engine of a boat, another reference I get now that I'm older. There's also a turtle wearing a Confederate hat, very crotchety old sort. There's an owl preacher, which strikes me odd now, given that I didn't think animals were religious. It's clear the group of swamp animals are meant to be akin to rednecks, especially in how they speak and the music when they're on screen. Orville the Albatross is pretty fun to watch as well, even if he only shows up a handful of times.
Something I noticed, again now that I'm older, was the international board of mice, and how it was done. Some are a bit strange now that I know about the wider world. One mouse represents all of Africa, rather than a few for the different nations. There's a mouse for Vienna, as well as one for Austria. And the way they're represented... is a bit interesting. The Turkish mouse is wearing a fez and dark glasses, while the Arabian mouse wears a sheikh's robe and the same sort of glasses. The Scottish mouse is in a kilt, while the Austrian mouse is wearing a Tyrolean hat. The African mouse has an afro. They aren't really offensive, just very distinctive. In my mind, it's what you would expect to see in a kid's cartoon.
The animation throughout is quite good, and there are a couple moments that really jump out for the quality. Whenever Snoops sets off fireworks, it looks quite spectacular, especially for the time. The facial expressions of the various characters are fun to watch, especially when things start going wrong for the two mice. There's a scene where Bernard and Bianca are hiding in a pipe organ from the two alligators, and it's a great deal of fun to watch.
All in all, it's still a good movie, and one of Disney's that isn't all that well known. It's definitely worth a viewing in my mind if you haven't seen it, and worth watching it again if you haven't seen it in a long time. My next movie review will be of The Rescuers Down Under, one of the best Disney sequels in my opinion. Stay tuned!
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