Cody (voiced by Adam Ryen) flies on the back of Marahute, the rare golden eagle he saved from a poacher's trap (Disney).
The output of Walt Disney Animation Studios–currently totaling 54 full-length films–has been cherished by audiences young and old for almost 80 years. In this weekly online feature, arts and entertainment editor Nathan Tucker will review and rank each of them.
Reviewing The Rescuers Down Under really means reviewing two movies at once. There is no better way to explain the fundamental disconnect between the eyes and the brain that occurs while watching Disney’s first-ever theatrical sequel.
In several ways, Down Under is a significant improvement on the first Rescuers. Made in the middle of Disney’s “dark ages,” the original had ambitions but lacked the focus and budget to make them happen. The sequel solves that problem, providing the most awe-inspiring, thrilling sequences Disney has animated yet. Down Under was a laboratory for new animation techniques, especially the integration of CGI alongside traditional animation. While not all of these experiments work, the overall effect is dazzling: the treads on the poacher’s tank, the eye-popping wilderness of the Australian Outback, and the majestic opening, which sees an Aussie boy fly a massive golden eagle, are particularly noteworthy.
Less notable is the film’s by-the-numbers story, which seems to become bored with itself about halfway through. Down Under continues the franchise’s themes of courage, adventure, and child endangerment but adds nothing new to that formula. Somehow, nearly every element of the plot feels like an afterthought, up to and including the titular characters. Bernard and Bianca have all but nothing to do until the last ten minutes, with the rest of the film being more concerned about the continuing adventures of Young Steve Irwin. By that, no offense is meant against the Australian version of Go Diego Go; his plotline is genuinely where the film is most interesting and affecting. But when considerably more time is spent on him and a useless albatross hospitalization subplot than the ostensible leads, Down Under starts to feel directionless.
“You can’t have it all,” the cliche goes, and The Rescuers Down Under certainly does not. It returns, albeit less starkly, to the Snow White problem: an animated gloss concealing a limp story.
The List:
Bambi
Sleeping Beauty
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Lady and the Tramp
The Little Mermaid
The Jungle Book
Alice in Wonderland
Fantasia
Pinocchio
The Great Mouse Detective
Robin Hood
The Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Peter Pan
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Cinderella
Dumbo
Oliver and Company
The Aristocats
The Fox and the Hound
The Sword in the Stone
Melody Time
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Fun and Fancy Free
Saludos Amigos
Make Mine Music
The Black Cauldron
The Three Caballeros