Review of The Rescuers (1977) by Raji K — 12 Nov 2016

Disney presents the animated film The Rescuers. The film opens up with a little girl sending a message in a bottle as a cry for help. The bottle floats its way to New York, where a young society of mice known as the Rescuers come across it. They read the note, and believe there is some foul play in the young girl who wrote the note, Penny. A young mouse named Bianca (Eva Gabor) agrees to take on the case, and volunteers the janitor of the club, Bernard (Bob Newhart) to be her co-agent.

As the two mice investigate they come across a malicious lady named Medusa who clearly knows the young girl's whereabouts. She is off to the Great Down Under in a small location named Devil's Bayou. As the rescuers, have missed the human flight, they decide to board a bird Orville to take them on the flight instead. They enter Devil's Bayou only to find that the land is filled with countless dangers including Medusa's partner Snoops, two killer alligators, and vicious bats. The two young mice must brave them all, as the villains continue to use Penny to go down a land mine looking for a large gem known as the Devil's Eye.

The Rescuers is one of Disney's darkest films. The colors of the bayou are filled dark water colors, murky greys, blacks and browns. Medusa and Snoops are less than savory characters not to mention the crocodiles as pets. Medusa's design and persona led to the inspiration of the classic villain Cruella Deville. Bianca and Bernard are great little heroes as they prove that even two little mice can help the girl humans have abandoned the search for. Orville provides some of the comedic relief that is surprisingly absent from the film. In this day in an age, a film such like this would never be made. The Rescuer's is one of the more forgotten films amongst the Disney classics, and is mostly warranted. Despite some of the film's shortcomings, the classic design and look of the film from animator Milt Kahl is one of my favorites.

-11.12.2016.