Bernard und Bianca im Känguruland

I saw this movie again today and I still can't understand why this movie became forgotten. I think it's unfair that "The Rescuers Down Under" didn't get the attention "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast" got. Don't get me wrong, I liked those movies too, but "The Rescuers Down Under" truly deserved to be among the 90's golden age (I know it's sounds like a cliché, but it's true).

This movie opens with a breathtaking, opening shot where the camera swoops over the Australian outback, which is alone worth the watch. One could think the movie would fail from there on, but fortunately it never does. After the prologue the movie offers a high paced action, adventure and humor that will get the kids amused - or a least it amused me when I saw this film at theaters as a child.

The character animation is great and the movie's visual look is beautiful and certainly realistic. I loved the layout and the epic scale. And Bruce Broughtons score is majestic as well.

While the story is quite simple, the characters portrays good personalities. My favorites are Wilbur, Jake, Frank, and Joanna. The fact that the latter character didn't speak made her more amusing. McLeach is a effective villain and Bernard and Bianca are two likable protagonists. And Marahute provides great majesty.

I remember seeing this film for the first time as a 7-year old in theaters - it was an amusing and spectacular experience. Several years have passed and I'm still enjoying it. Although the film's ingredients are enough to please the kids, I still think the action and excitement of would fit to the adults too. It's a film that nobody should miss and deserves to be everyone's childhood memory (or in a adult's memory, for that matter).

There is a lot to look at during the movie, but most kids don't watch animated films for the scenery. Characters are well developed at the expense of a satisfactory ending. Wilbur, voiced by John Candy & Frank, voice by Wayne Robson are great additions to the rescuers' cast. My beef with the film is at the end when Gordy says let's go home, there are the loose ends of the poor animals still in cages that we don't see freed and we never get to see joy on Gordy's Mother's face on his return from the dead. I guess they just ran out of ink.

The Rescuers Down Under is one of the few times when the sequel is better than the original. The animation is impressive, the plot is engaging and it doesn't have any boring musical interludes. It also has more humor than The Rescuers, which my kids (and my wife) appreciated.

It isn't as good as the immensely charming original, but I enjoyed this very much. You do realise that this was released 13 years after the original, and a lot of the characters had to be animated again. I forgive them for that though, as the animation was surprisingly good, especially the scenes with Marahute, who blew me away at the sight of her. Though Bianca does look different than she was in the original film, she had chubbier cheeks here. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor are great as Bernard and Bianca, although there was a significant change in both characters. John Candy was hilarious as Wilbur. If there is one element that is better than the original, but only marginally, it is that Wilbur is funnier than Orville. The plot was also very good, on a parallel with the original, but that was the intention, and the music by Bruce Broughton was appropriately fitting. Cody is very likable, but sometimes his dialogue is a bit unnatural, and I know that people commented on his accent. George C. Scott, a fine actor, was suitably menacing as McLeach, although his animation at times was a tad frightening. I really enjoyed this movie, it's not perfect, but it is one of the better animated sequels to come out. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"The Rescuers Down Under" is a wonderful tale, the rare film that surpasses its original in many, many ways. It has more flair, better animation and the characters are much more interesting. It is the sequel to "The Rescuers," which was released 13 years earlier. They took their time making this sequel - and it paid off. Cartoons can often be represented in a dull fashion, and others can take your breath away - this one takes your breath away.

The intrepid mouse explorers Bernard and Bianca (voices of Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor) from the original film return in "The Rescuers Down Under," when they hear word that a small boy in Australia has been kidnapped by a poacher named McLeach (voiced by the creepy George C. Scott). McLeach has also captured a large eagle, and the kidnapped boy, Cody, has a bond with the large beast.

The Rescuers fly Down Under by hitching a ride on the hilarious, never over-the-top albatross Wilbur (voiced by John Candy). Once there, they pick up a local Aussie "kangaroo mouse" named Jake, who indeed resembles a miniature kangaroo. There are also some other delightful new characters, including Frank, a numbskull lizard, and Joanna the goanna lizard, the sidekick of McLeach. The key to this film is that they know how to make great characters - Joanna is just as fun to watch as Frank, and Jake is just as fun to watch as Bernard and Bianca. You never feel any hate towards any characters. My personal favorite was Wilbur, the albatross. He appears at various points in the film, caught in a mouse hospital, caught watching over eagle eggs, and caught hatching eagle eggs. He awaits the return of Bernard and Bianca, and he's too good-natured to just fly away and forget about them. And John Candy's voice talents are priceless.

A lot of the amazing animation on this film takes place in the air, on the back of a soaring eagle. The animation in the original was raspy, dark and creepy. It wasn't nearly as breathtaking, or even enjoyable to watch. There also aren't any musical numbers in this film - at least not that I remember - and that also helps it out a bit. (I hated the original and its songs.) Maybe it's just me, but sometimes musical numbers don't fit into 'toons - and this is one of those.

"The Rescuers Down Under" is one of the best Disney films I have ever seen. The Disney animation of the 1970s, such as "The Rescuers," was the low-point of Disney. The high-point was films like "Pinnochio." And in all honesty, this film is more interesting than both combined. It's got great animation, an intriguing and fun story, and excellent, well-developed characters. Only one thing entered my head when the credits started to roll: Can this possibly be a cartoon?

4.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer