Buy The Rescuers Down Under (A Walt Disney Classic) (1990)

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You hear a lot about this film being Disney's first sequal, but don't let that freak you out if you've never seen the original Rescuers film. There's really no need to have seen The Rescuers to appreciate The Rescuers Down Under. The only thing these films share are the two main characters (Binard and Bianca) and the plot point of saving a child in jeopardy. Where the original was a touchy-feely story of abandonment, this film tackles the very different issue of wildlife preservation. I find this to be a far better film than The Rescuers (although I loved it as a child and still hold a special place for it in my heart), and a welcome change of pace form the usual Disney fare.

This was the first film to use Disney's new CAPS system of filming animation and the results are truly stunning. Bright vivid colors, blending and shading, sharp crisp lines, and subtle use of computer animation are the hallmarks of the "new" Disney and it all began with this film. The opening sequence is a great example of what the system can do and remains one of the most thrilling openings to any Disney film. More breathtaking scenes, like the flights with Marahute, futher attest to the technological achievement of the film.

Story wise this film gives us Disney's most realistic depiction of childhood to date (B.A. before Andy from Toy Story, but he's really a PIXAR creation anyway), in the protagonist Cody. He's strong willed, bright, has a sense of adventure and never seems overly cute. He's just a boy who wants to save his friend, the last golden eagle Marahute, from the evil poacher. Some very fun and comic characters are introduced (notably Frank the lizzard) to offset one of the meanist villans ever, Percival McLeach. He's drawn in a realistic way that exaggerates his features just enough to give him a very menacing look. Believe me, when he yells at Cody you will recoil in fear!

With all this high praise you might be wondering why this isn't a more widely known film. Well it had the unfortunate distinction of following The Little Mermaid, which sent the studio in the direction of Broadway-styled musicals. I haven't mentioned music for the film because there isn't any. Althought the score is fantastic (and a hotly sought after collectors item), there isn't one song in the entire film. Simply put, it got lost under all the hoopla about Disney's new style. People were looking for more of the same from Disney and soon they would get it.

Rating the DVD itself, I'd give it a 5 for picture and sound, but only a 3 for bonus material. Disney has released a few DVD's with outstanding bonus', however this isn't one of them. All you get is a trivia game that will be really easy to win after you see the film and a mode that tells you the story in words or has a voice over read it to you. But don't let the meager bonus material stop you from getting this DVD. Now that time has passed and most of us are looking for something new from Disney, take a look at this overlooked gem. You'll be overwhelmed by it's adventure, granduer, beauty and most importantly, fun.

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You hear a lot of talk about this film being Disney's first sequal, but don't let that freak you out if you've never seen the original Rescuers film. There's really no need to have seen The Rescuers to appreciate The Rescuers Down Under. The only thing these films share are the two main characters (Binard and Bianca) and the plot point of saving a child in jeopardy. Where the original was a touchy-feely story of abandonment, this film takcles the very different issue of wildlife preservation. I find this to be a far better film than The Rescuers (although I loved it as a child and still hold a special place for it in my heart), and a welcome change of pace from the usual Disney fare.

This was the first film to use Disney's new CAPS system of filming animation and the results are truly stunning. Bright vivid colors, the blending of shades into one another, sharp crips lines, and subtle computer animation are the hallmarks of the "new" Disney and it all began with this film. The opening of the film is a great example of what the system can do and remains one of the most thrilling openings to any Disney film. More breathtaking scenes, like the flight with Marahute, further attest to the technical achievement of the film.

Story wise this film gives us Disney's most realistic depiction of childhood to date (B.A. before Andy from Toy Story, but he's really a PIXAR creation anyway), in the protagonist Cody. He's strong willed, bright, has a sense of adventure and never seems overly cute. He's just a boy who wants to stop the evil McLeach from killing the last of the great golden eagles, and his friend Marahute. The relationship between Bianca and Benard is expanded upon, but again you don't need to know their history from The Rescuers to understand what's happening. Some very fun and comic characters are indtroduced (notably, Frank the wacky lizzard) to offset one of the meanist villans ever, the poacher, Percival McLeach. He's drawn in a realistic way that exaggerates his feaures just enough to give him a very menacing look. Believe me, when he yells at Cody you will recoil in fear!

With all this high praise you might be wondering why this isn't a more widely known film. Well it had the distinction of follwing The Little Mermaid which sent Disney in the direction of Broadway-styled musicals. I haven't mentioned music for The Rescuers Down Under because there isn't any. Although the score is fantastic (and a hotly sought after collectors item), there isn't one song in the film. It got lost under all the hoopla about Disney's new style. People were looking for more of the same from Disney and soon they would get it.

Rating the DVD itself, I'd give it a 5 for picture and sound, but only a 3 for bonus features. Disney has relesed a few DVD's with outstanding bonus', however this isn't one of them. All you get is a trivia game that will be really easy to answer once you've seen the film and a mode that tells the story in words or has a voice over read it to you. But don't let that discourage you from getting this DVD. Now that some time has passed and most of us are looking for someting fresh from Disney, take a look at this overlooked gem. You'll be overwhelmed by it's adventure, granduer, beauty, and most importantly, fun.

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This movie has a wonderful message about friendship and how precious every life is, be it human or animal. The film has everything going for it; great animation, wonderful background music, and a story that combines humor and high drama. The story is about how an Australian boy named Cody comes to the aid of a beautiful eagle, that was illegally trapped by a poacher named McLeach (George C. Scott), only to find himself later kidnapped by McLeach. Woodland creatures send for help via an elaborate telegraph to a couple of UN delegate mice, named Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) and Bernard (Bob Newhart) in NYC. Bianca and Bernard enlist the services of a hilarious albatross named Wilbur (John Candy) and set off across the atlantic to...well, rescue Cody. The story even has a little romance between Miss Bianca and Bernard thrown in for good measure. The highlight of the film for me actually comes early. After Cody releases the eagle from the trap, he nearly falls to his death only to be swooped up and taken for the ride of his life by the grateful eagle. Believe me, everytime I view this sequence I get teary eyed. A beautiful film, one of Disney's best!

Honest reviews on The Rescuers Down Under (A Walt Disney Classic) (1990)

Released a full 13 years after the original, The Rescuers Down Under was the first Disney sequel, but was also considered a failure at the box office, which stopped Disney releasing later sequels theatrically. Hence, the reason why Disney now have a long line of straight-to-DVD sequels, which no one ever buys, and all end up in the bargain bin.

This is definitely my favourite out of the two Rescuers movies, mainly cos I was going through a fascination with Australian accents at the time and why I later moved on to watching Home & Away and Neighbours but it was so colourful, and bright. And the Australian accents. I remembered this more before seeing it than I did the original, even though it must have been the same amount of time (years) since I'd seen them.

It's a shame there were never more in the series, but because of the death of Eva Gabor (Miss Biana) in 1995, they were never made, and the two movies never became Disney classics.

Listen out also for the late and sorely missed John Candy, voicing Wilbur, the brother of Orville from the first one. He's hilarious as Wilbur.

Other reviewers have mentioned various flaws in the film (Cody's lack of Australian accent for example), but for me, I have to remain loyal. You can keep your Emperor's New Groove, Brother Bear, and the awful sequels to Cinderella & Little Mermaid (which are now two a piece by the way!), I'll have this over the rest of them any day.

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In Disney's "The Rescuers Down Under," Rescue Aid Society mice Bernard and Miss Bianca travel to Australia to help Mara Houte, the golden eagle. With the assistance of Wilbur, an albatross, and numerous other friends encountered along the way (such as a wise-cracking kangaroo rat), they hurry to help the endangered bird. Voice talents of Bob Newhart (Bernard), Eva Gabor (Miss Bianca) and John Candy (Wilbur) move the story along at a good pace. George C. Scott provides voice for the villain, a bounty hunter of endangered animals. Scott's sidekick is a goanna lizard called Joana and there is some fascinating interplay between the lizard and the man. A sidebar plot is Bernard's plan to propose marriage to Miss Bianca ... and all of the things that conspire to get in the way. This is a nice movie for the entire family, and one with a good message. I highly recommend it.