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The Rescuers Down Under

The Rescuers Down Under

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $15.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bernard and Miss Bianca Do It Again!
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Probably the only good sequel Disney has done
Review: The first Rescuers was released way back in 1977. Disney had this idea to bring it back for Disney's first sequel. They brought back Bob Newhart(who sounds slightly different) and Eva Gabor(I love listening to this woman's voice) to reprise their roles as Bernard and Bianca and it's still quite good.

Pretty much like another reviewer said it's kind of a rehash of the original but using different events. Cody, a kind of animal liberator let's say, rescues animals in traps that would otherwise end up at the hands-and then down the barrel of a shotgun-of poachers. He finds a massive rare golden eagle and quickly befriends it(and just FYI: turn your brain off slightly, the bird apparently understands English). Mcleach, a poacher finds the boy and a golden feather so he kidnaps Cody in hopes of finding Cody's eagle.

In come Bernard and Bianca, mice part of the Rescue Aid Society. The former of which is actually trying to propose but always gets interrupted. They meet up with Wilbur, the cousin of Orville from the original and fly to Australia and meet Jake, a kind of tough mice in a way. Which sets up a love triangle between the 3 mice over Bianca.

First, 2 things stood out for me: the score. It's a really great score and especially love the opening theme. The "Mcleach" theme is nice but it sounds like everytime Mcleach arrives with his massive truck, the score repeats itself, kind of like how the Imperial Theme always showed up whenever Darth Vader was around.

Second is the animation. You can see the transition Disney would make into more detailed and complex animation that they would do in the Lion King or the Deep Canvas system from Tarzan and Hercules's Hydra fight. Personally my favorite is either entering Australia with the Opera House or Orville's dive in-between New York buildings.

Too bad Disney couldn't replicate this type of film cause the rest of the sequels were just god awful. They even made 2 Aladdin sequels, nevermind one. But this was the first one and oddly enough, it's the only good one despite advancing technologies. Go figure.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply adorable!
Review: I have always enjoyed Disney's animated films, but there are some that stand out. The Little Mermaid (both of them), The Lion King 2 (that's right, I said the sequel!), The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Cinderella, and the two Rescuer movies are the ones that come to mind. Now, the first Rescuer film is a hands-down favorite, but I love the sequel even more. Why? Because it has something the first one didn't--Jake the daring kangaroo rat. He has a crush on Bianca, and this upsets Bernard, whose trying to gather the courage to ask Bianca to marry him! So, the two boys end up glaring at each other and competing for the girl's attention, and she apparently doesn't notice the animosity. But it's just so cute! Jake is one of my all-time favorite characters, even if he is a stereotype of a guy from the Australian Outback. I love Jake!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Rescuers Down Under
Review: man, this is such a good movie. it was so awesome. i remember LOVING it from my childhood, and recently pulled it up 10 years later. still awesome. buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not as Good as the first one, but still fantastic!!!
Review: The first thing you notice that is different between The Rescuers Down Under and The Rescuers is the quality of the movie. The Rescuers Down Under is definitely a higher quality viewing in terms of animation. You definitely can see the 3D transformation of the characters. The artwork in this movie is top notch, right there w/Lion King.

I love the fact they brought back the voices of Bob Newhart as Bernard and Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca. They also do a nice job of replacing Jim Jordan as Orville w/John Candy as Orville's cousin Wilbur. It is always nice to hear/see John Candy in movies again (I had forgot he was in this to be honest).

That said, the story is not as good as the first one. The Rescuers had a truly depressing story that is a real pick-me-up at the end. The Rescuers really makes you feel what an orphan must have to go through, then she's kidnapped making her life that much more depressing, then they stick her down a dark hole to work all day. The story line is nowhere near as dark in this film.

In addition, I, for one, truly appreciate the story of this movie. It is a movie where you get to see the story, and the story isn't cut into by song and dance. People who may trash this movie may love Disney movies for the song and dance aspects instead of the story line. The story and plot is why I love the Rescuer movies.

In addition, this is still the best Disney animated sequel to date. The Little Mermaid sequel, Lion King sequels, and so forth are junk. I do not want to compare this to Toy Story 2, because as I said, I am talking about the animated sequels, not the pixar sequels.

If you liked the first one, you will like this one. If you were not a big fan of the first one, you probably will not like this one. Nevertheless, the continued story is a delight to watch, and this is definitely a joy to view, at any age.

Grade: A-


Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ouch!
Review: In the sequel to the Rescuers the animation is far better than the original film. This is a perfect example that sequels can be just as good as the originals. The voice casting is back, but this time John Candy comes along, and makes the film even more enjoyable. George C. Scott is a really good villainous character once again. The location is more outrageous and exotic and far more exciting. One of Disney best adventure films. A good reccomendation.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I didn't make it all the way through 3rd grade for nothing!
Review: The line above is spoken with delicious and wicked glee by George C. Scott as the film's villain "McLeach", one of the outstanding vocal contributions to this under-appreciated 1990 release. Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart reprise their respective roles of "Miss Bianca" and "Bernard" from the first "Rescuers" film and are joined by John Candy as an aeronautically challenged albatross. Other winning performances are Frank Welker as a McLeach's loony sidekick "Joanna" and a lizard "Frank", voiced respectively by Frank Welker and Wayne Robson. Young Adam Ryen is the voice of the child hero, "Cody".

This lighthearted adventure takes place in the Australian outback and the animators have taken great care in depicting its combination of breathtaking beauty and harsh desert areas.

There are some "tense" moments but they are few and far between, not too intense to frighten small viewers.

Bruce Broughton's score is dynamic and ranks as one of the best for a Disney animated film.

"The Rescuers Down Under" may not go down as one of the Disney Studios classic films, but it is still a well-made production and worthy of addition to a family's film library.


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