Bernardo y Bianca

"The Rescuers" is my all time favorite Disney film. The story of a little orphaned girl, Penny, and the two brave mice who save her is sweet and touching. Miss Bianca is the head-turning beauty with the charming accent, and Bernard the shy janitor for the Rescue Aid Society. The voices are wonderful - Geraldine Page plays the evil Madame Medusa with such passion you can tell she loves doing it. The first movie is simply incomparable to the second one - the story about the golden eagle and the poacher just really couldn't capture my attention.

THE RESCUERS (ANIMATED) **** A little orphan girl, who has been kidnapped by a heartless treasure hunter intending to use her to search for diamonds underground, is whom two lovable Disney characters rescue in this film. 'The Rescuers' touches on the topics of bravery and survival as the two adventurers - in the form of mice - try to take the little girl out of harm's way. For children, this is a cinematic adventure that entertains. For adult viewers, you too may find it enjoyable.

Rating System

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'The Rescuers' marked the advent of a new team of Disney animators taking over in 1977 as nine of the "old men" faced retirement. Under the guidance of the old pros, they turned out a charming fantasy about two adventurous mice (Bianca and Bernard) who set about to rescue a young girl (Penny) from the clutches of the villainess (Madame Medusa). As voiced by Geraldine Page, she all but steals the show--although Bianca and Bernard are perfectly voiced by Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart. A completely delightful Disney hit, welcome after some let-downs, and fortunately there would be more hits in the '80s and '90s. Don't underestimate this one. It has plenty of action, suspense and even a few nice songs--nothing spectacular, in keeping with the quiet nature of much of the story. This was a big box-office hit at time of release and led to a sequel, 'The Rescuers Down Under'. It may not be Disney's best, but it has a good amount of humor and charm. The animation is superb.

There is something really nice about seeing a cartoon film that you know was hand drawn, without a speck of CGI anyplace(too early!). The voices here carry the day-Newhart, Gabor, Page, Fibber MaGee, little turns by Pat Buttram, Dub Taylor, Jeannette Nolan, etc. All fine.

Film still has a lotta heart, the songs aren't bad, the backgrounds muted and not in your face. I remember seeing the sequel (in Aussie from '90)-the character held up but it wasn't as involving.

Test for a flick like this is to see if it holds up after some years. Well I had not seen it for about 24 years or so, and ya know what? It still works very well.

Came from the mid-period team of Disney, post-Jungle Book and pre-Mermaid, a rather hit and miss era-this one stands out quite well.

*** outta ****

I may be the only person to say this but I think The Rescuers was a LOT better than the sequel. Oh don't get me wrong, Down Under's pretty good. But, to me, The Rescuers is the best.

Since I was a little kid, I have had a short attention span so movies with more action generally held my attention. The Rescuers and the Pooh films were the two exceptions for me. This isn't a very fast moving film, at times it's quite slow. But that's when the tension builds. You feel a certain warmth watching it, similar to the warm fuzzies you would get from a Pooh film. It's sweet. It's fun. The characters are lovable and the villains are detestable (I mean Madame Medusa kidnaps an innocent little girl and then forces her to go into a dangerous pirate cave, if that isn't evil, I don't know what is). Even the supporting cast is awesome, if not entirely memorable. I think there were too many critters at Devil's Bayou, had they cut the cast down a bit, perhaps I could remember them all. But that's literally my only complaint.

The film is slow but it doesn't feel slow. It doesn't lag at all. It keeps you completely focused on the characters. By the way, the acting is superb, particularly Michelle Stacy as Penny. Usually child actors are hit and miss but she does an excellent job, she really makes you feel for Penny and that's the most important part. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor as Bernard and Bianca. They really bring the characters to life.

The animation is beautiful as well. It all seems like a painting come to life. I am particularly impressed with Bernard and Bianca's animation because they look a lot like their voice actors. So you can't imagine a better voice for them. You often forget that they're mice. And that's really impressive.

So, all in all, this is one of Disney's best. Ever. It's proof that the animation studio was still going strong after Walt Disney's death. And it's still one of my all time favorite movies. I say, check it out. There's something for everyone in it.