The Rescuers (1983)

Critics rave about this film being one of the better films of the Dark Ages, but I don't really believe them. After seeing it on Blu-Ray, I was a mess of simultaneous satisfaction and disappointment. The story has some engaging action and edge-of-the-seat thrilling moments, but the humor is less successful at landing strikes on the funny bone than other Disney movies, and there are plenty of predictably boring moments (Please don't make me talk about the erotic image in the 1999 VHS that forced it to be recalled). I could just barely sit through this assorted bag of whimsy like Cinderella is, with not enough action to keep me fueled for the next scenes despite the nice amount of darkness it has (Madame Medusa is one of my mid-tier villains, for how she doesn't precisely entertain or scare, but prefers to be absolutely cruel to Penny, something that works sometimes and doesn't work sometimes). It isn't the pinnacle of Disney mediocrity that Cinderella is, due to its obscurity, but it's only an okay film compared to its sequel or The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

The Rescuers, at least in my opinion, is one of the forgotten Disney films. Though perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it's one of the most overlooked Disney films. Most people know that it exists, certainly, it's part of Disney canon, and I'd even say that most people have even seen it. But not all that many people talk about it. I've never met any person who claims this as one of their favourites.And yeah, I can see why. The Rescuers is a fine movie, perfectly good children's entertainment. But, it's not very memorable. The characters range from slightly below average to merely good. The animation, while impressive in certain ways, is rather dark in its style and doesn't even try to reach for the stars like so many other Disney films. The music is okay, the story is okay and that's about it. It's okay. Which for a Disney film is not really a compliment.I truly think they should have made Cruella De Vil the villain. Yeah, this was going to be a sequel to One Hundred and One Dalmatians. But, alas, someone decided that the audience would feel confused. Disney, making baffling executive decisions since the 70s. Because, while Madame Medusa is not the worst Disney villain we've seen, she just feels like a poor man's Cruella De Vil, or perhaps like something of a practice run for Ursula from The Little Mermaid. In a word she's okay, but something's missing.Then again, Bernard and Biance, the eponymous rescuing mice, are both very good characters, the backgrounds do look gorgeous, the story does some interesting things we haven't seen in Disney films before this one, and as stated, it isn't bad in any way. It just isn't great. Certainly worth a watch for all fans of Disney, but personally I rate it pretty low on my list of canon films.

The Rescuers (1977): Dir: Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Art Stevens / Voices: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, Joe Flynn, Michelle Stacy: Disney animation about small factors making a big difference. The heroes are rodents who tackle larger than life challenges and they have just received bottled messages from a kidnapped orphan named Penny held by the evil Madam Medusa. Of these mice there is the humble and resourceful Bernard and the charming Bianca. They are assisted by Orville the wise-cracking Albatross who flies them to the everglades where Penny is being held. Meduca is searching for the biggest diamond in the world and using Penny to find it. Adventurous plot with dazzling images that only goes astray during its chaotic climax. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor voice Bernard and Bianca who lead the mission and take a variety of risks. Geraldine Page voices Madam Meduca as an intimidating villain. Penny seems unsympathetic though. Other voices include Joe Flynn voicing Meduca's standard henchman who ends up the product of deception. Michelle Stacy voices that dimwit Penny who sabotages more of the film than not. Fine directing by Wolfgang Reitherman and John Lounsbery with colourful animated spectacular. Entertaining Disney adventure that renders a bold statement about the fact that size does count, even if it isn't very big. Score: 7 ½ / 10

The Rescuers is part of the classic Disney animation feature canon, but it looks more like a Don Bluth movie, its mouse protagonists bringing to mind Mrs. Brisby and Fievel and its overall animation style being a little sketchy (but not so sketchy as to be from the Jungle Book - 101 Dalmatians era) and having plenty of dark colors.The story is very urgent with high stakes (for a Disney animation) and at times scary for small children - there are terrifying scenes of cramped underwater caves, emotional abuse of a little girl, even a human skull being torn to bits.I liked the 70's-style romantic ballads, too. But the look, sound and pacing might be a little old-timey for the kids these days.