Reviews for The Rescuers Down Under

When a boy named Cody is kidnapped by the poacher McLeach, the Rescue Aid Society sends Bernard and Miss Bianca to the wilds of the Australian outback to find him. The two mice discover, with a little help from their local guide, Jake, that McLeach took Cody because he's a friend of Marahute, the rare golden eagle. Now the mice not only have to rescue Cody, but keep Marahute and her vulnerable eggs away from McLeach and his greedy pet lizard, Joanna. They won't be short of help, however, as the gallant kangaroo-mouse, Jake, the buffonish albatross, Wilbur, and many of the native creatures of the outback decide to lend them a hand.

"The Rescuers Down Under" was the first official follow-up to any animated Disney feature, and quite different from the original 70s production. Where the first "Rescuers" was a low-key, traditional affair, the sequel raided the technological toolbox and played with all sorts of fancy computer assisted animation, moving shots, and digital coloring. It was the first Disney feature designed and marketed to be a summer action movie, with no songs, little whimsy, and plenty of fast-paced action. The finished product is a fun, fast, satisfying piece of pure entertainment that breaks new ground and yet also stays true to its roots. Brought back from the original are Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor as Bernard and Bianca, who make the thirteen years between the films seem to virtually disappear.

The strengths of the film are mainly visual, utilizing the new technology of the modern era to its utmost. This is especially apparent in the stunning sequences where Marahute takes Cody flying, something that could never have been done in live-action. Among the characters, Bernard is once again the reluctant hero and Miss Bianca the fearless leading lady. The share their screentime with the amiably roguish Jake, a fairly engaging Cody, the hapless Wilbur, and the awe-inspiring Marahute. In the villains' camp, McLeach is a thoroughly unpleasant character, who gets a good deal of his menace from a rousing vocal performance by George C. Scott himself. The gluttonous Joanna also does a good job at being funny or scary as the occasion warrants. But though the cast is well-utilized and the plot is mostly solid, the movie feels a bit rushed by the end. The pacing is a little off in places and I suspect there may have been deleted sequences here and there.