The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
Does Bernard and Bianca’s encore triumph over the first like everyone says?
Brief Backstory
Starting in the mid 80s (at least 4+ years of work according to a behind the scenes sequence from a release of Peter Pan in the early 90s), Disney decided to try making a sequel (probably inspired by Empire Strikes Back) using the Rescuers as the franchise to do so. On release the Rescuers Down Under was given better reception than the original, however it was no better in the box office than Fantasia. Nevertheless most people who have seen this tend to put this higher than the first movie.
Story
Cody frees a giant eagle, and is taken hostage and tortured by the inhumane poacher Percival C. McLeach as a means of trying to find out where the eagle is. Bernard and Bianca, rush to Australia and meet up with Jake to save Cody before McLeach turns the eagle’s species into extinction and drops Cody off in a lake full of man-eating crocodiles.
Random Facts
Since Orville’s voice died before this was in the works, Wilbur was brought in as a replacement, voiced by John Candy.
A third movie was considered, but because Eva Gabor and John Candy passed away, the idea was scrapped. Probably for the better anyway.
First Disney movie to be done exclusively in CAPS animation. The Little Mermaid used CAPS animation only for the final scene.
John Candy also had a part in Home Alone which came out the same day (which probably explains why the Rescuers Down Under suffered financially).
Originally a 25ish minute Mickey Mouse cartoon, the Prince and the Pauper, preceded the Rescuers Down Under in theaters.
During the montage of the RAS relay, the distance between Denver and St. Louis isn’t as far as it really is. In reality it’s a 12 hour drive on I-70 – much longer than how the film shows the relay. Doing a distance comparison between St. Louis and Denver puts Denver only 10 minutes closer than St. Louis to Baltimore.
George C. Scott, known for his roles in Dr. Strangelove and Patton, voices McLeach.
Bruce Broughton, who composed the theme to one of the greatest live action series of the 90s, JAG (yeah yeah yeah, I know some people are willing to contest this and that’s fine; I’m a naval man and JAG was an instant classic in the 90s), composed the entire soundtrack.
Random Opinions
McLeach is easily one of, if not, the darkest 90s Disney villain. Not only does he have no problem with disposing Cody by giving him to the crocodiles, but he’s gloating about how much he loves flaying innocent animals! Talk about a Genghis Khan wannabe! Frollo however comes pretty close too, potentially even more evil but Frollo had some sort of morality, if any. McLeach doesn’t have any morality whatsoever, almost like the Joker from Batman.
Cody’s more warlike than Penny.
Seems like Wilbur’s a little more careful than Orville. Whereas Orville didn’t hesitate to fly in a blizzard, Wilbur pretty much states that flights are cancelled due to the weather.
McLeach looks like John Wayne on a murderous rampage.
I’ve seen this one way more as a child than the original.
Pros
- Much better animation than The Rescuers. This was the first Disney movie to be completely done in the new CAPS animation system.
- McLeach is better than Madame Medusa as a villain and is one of the darkest Disney villains.
- The plot isn’t a retread of the original though it has some similarities.
- Cody incites the animals to launch a jailbreak and saves an eagle.
- Bernard and Bianca’s eyes look right this time.
Cons
- Bernard and Bianca don’t have much screen time as they did before, though this is mainly just because their characteristics were established enough.
- Despite taking place in Australia, most of the characters don’t have an Australian accent.
- While the animal prison scene is well made, it doesn’t have much of a purpose.
Rating: 8.5/10 – Great
A lot of people say this is better than the first, and I agree.
One response to “The Rescuers Down Under”
-
The Rescuers Down Under’s better than the first one, thank goodness Penny wasn’t in it. She’s annoying as fudge. Goodfellas is my favorite movie of 1990. I strongly recommend it. You think McLeash is one of the darkest villains of all time? Wait til you see Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained. That’s another must-see movie.
Leave a Reply