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The Rescuers Down Under

The Rescuers Down Under

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $15.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good addition to a Disney DVD collection
Review: Although not one of the best Disney animated features, The Rescuers Down Under is a nice addition to anyone's Disney DVD collection. There is some bonus material on the DVD, but nothing spectacular. The picture and sound quality are better on the DVD than the VHS version though.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The best of Disney's recent animated adventures
Review: Though not as well known as other recent Disney features, this animated sequel (the first in Disney history) has much to recommend it -- excellent computer-aided animation, unusually fluid camera movement, a clever script, and a rousing musical score by Bruce Broughton.

Sadly, it doesn't have memorable or engaging characters. The large cast of Australian animals never gets enough screen time to make an impression. But to be fair, the two stars of the original _Rescuers_, Bernard and Bianca, fare no better; they don't even appear until twenty minutes into the film, and then have only a few scenes together. The voice talents of Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor, whose easygoing chemistry and comic aplomb made the first film a pleasant romp, are utterly wasted here.

Still, this sequel was never meant to be character-driven. In this respect and many others, it's a departure from what audiences have come to expect from a Disney cartoon. There are no songs, not much dancing, and surprisingly little comic relief. Instead, this cartoon is a straightforward, unpretentious action-adventure, guaranteed to satisfy a family audience.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well made and long awaited sequel
Review: Great computeranimation, a good voicecast, unforgettable characters, and lot of action and humor saves this overlooked Disney sequel, that seems to get more popular, as it's released on DVD.
Bernard and Bianca must travel to the wilderness in Australia, to save the boy Cody, and the eagle Marahute from the flamboyant villian McLeach, and his clumsy sidekick, the iguana Joanna, and they get help from the kangaroo-mouse Jake.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Over Priced
Review: What a shock it was for me to find this video at Babies R Us for 14.99.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Rescuers Down Under Gold Collection DVD
Review: Out of the 40 Disney animated "classics", the two Rescuers films are some of the few that I haven't paid much attention to. This is not to say that they are bad films, becuase they are not. They just didn't grab my attention, and they still don't completley.

Disney's 1990 sequel to the 1977 original, does offer the viewer a great Action/Adventure flick, with some great and exciting scenes. However, mixed in are a little too many scenes that make my mind start wandering off and forget for a minute that Im watching a movie.

The subplot, in which Bernard wants to ask Bianca to marry him, but never has the chance, is amusing to watch. Especially with the addition of a possible rival, Jake. Wilbur, the albatross provides that comic relief, and does it well.

Still a nice addition to a DVD Collection for Disney fans, but may not come off good on others.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Intriguing Story About Animal Rights
Review: Excellent production. Intriguing story illustrates poaching and teaches subtle lessons about learning right from wrong, courage and teamwork. Charming supporting characters and novel setting. Fun animation, great music. Scary kidnapping scene. Some comments made by younger viewers: "Cool." "There was neat music and the pictures were made really well." Understood the concept of animal rights. "I am like the boy and would try to save the eagle." "There are lots of great scenes. The good animals are brave and work together."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The way a Sequel is supposed to be.
Review: Sequels are supposed to be the next chapter in the characters life. They are supposed to be a continuation of the previous movie, not a way to rake in some extra cash by straight to video flicks such as "Pocohantas Journey to a New World" or "The Little Mermaid 2". The Rescuers was a good movie, it had all of the right things to a plot to make it enjoyable. The Rescuers Down Under on the other hand, was not simply a movie to say "AACK! A sequel" to. It surpassed the greatness of the first, the plot was gripping, the characters were believable, and the Disney animation was of course spectacular! Unfortunatley, if you walk up to someone on the street and say "What did you think of the Rescuers Down Under?" they will most likely reply "The what? When did THAT come out? Last year sometime?".

It has always been one of my absolute favorite movies, and I clearly remember wearing out the video a few times. The biggest kept secret in Disney history.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Disney's first animated sequel.
Review: "The Rescuers Down Under" is Disney's first sequel [released theatrically] to an animated feature, and it is very decent. The animation looks and feels spectacular, with considerable computer-animation thrown in. In fact, the animation in this movie looks better than in the first one. The movie also introduces some new characters, while keeping Miss Bianca and Bernard from the first movie. My favorite sequence in this movie is when the eagle flies with Cody in the clouds. That scene is stunning, enhanced by the uplifting music by Bruce Broughton, who did the score to "Silverado". I think the original "Rescuers" film is better in terms of character development. The second film has better animation as I mentioned, and the villain McLeach is voiced with zest by the late, great George C. Scott. I like both "Rescuers" movies a lot, but I find the first one better because of the story and memorable characters.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than the original by far!
Review: I am a die hard Disney fan, especially when it comes to animation, but I'm always hearing how wonderful the original Rescuers is when it is one of the two big screen Disney animated features that never really impressed me much. The other one is Pocahontas, but the Rescuers was much better than Pocahontas (except technically). Anyway, this sequel is one of the best animated films of all time! The first one was a good movie, but the poor quality of the backgrounds and character designs, the drab colors and all of that other art stuff made it difficult to watch for me, and I never got that special copy with the naked lady in the window. The sequel is such an amazing improvement. This movie followed the Little Mermaid, so we're talking about the time when Disney animation was becoming worthwhile simply for it's amazing new technical achievements! Luckily most of the time they have good writing, character design and everything else too! Bernard and Bianca look much better in this sequel. Much cleaner, cuter, and brighter, just like the rest of this movie. It's got an amazing scope, and frankly, I thought McLeach was a very worthy Disney villain, even though I've actually read that his supervising animator wasn't at all satisfied with him. Go fig! The music, the art, the story, John Candy's comic relief, all add up to an amazing, breathtaking adventure that Disney should be very proud of! I know I have more than a room full of Disney memorabilia already, but I still wish they'd do a little more with these great lesser known Disney films! I want my stuffed Joanna and Wilbur! I want Bernard and Bianca figures! Do yourself a favor and get this movie!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An overlooked gem
Review: 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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