The Rescuers (1977)

Two mice of the Rescue Aid Society search for a little girl kidnapped by unscrupulous treasure hunters.

Directors:

John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman

Writers:

Margery Sharp (suggested by "The Rescuers" and "Miss Bianca" by), Larry Clemmons (story)

Stars:

Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Newhart	...	Bernard (voice)
Eva Gabor	...	Miss Bianca (voice)
Geraldine Page	...	Madame Medusa (voice)
Joe Flynn	...	Mr. Snoops (voice)
Jeanette Nolan	...	Ellie Mae (voice)
Pat Buttram	...	Luke (voice)
Jim Jordan	...	Orville (voice)
John McIntire	...	Rufus (voice)
Michelle Stacy	...	Penny (voice)
Bernard Fox	...	The Chairman (voice)
Larry Clemmons	...	Gramps (voice)
James MacDonald	...	Evinrude (voice) (as James Macdonald)
George Lindsey	...	Rabbit (voice)
Bill McMillian	...	TV Announcer (voice) (as Bill McMillan)
Dub Taylor	...	Digger (voice)

Storyline

When a bottle containing a plea for help from a little girl named Penny makes its way to the Rescue Aid Society, a mouse organization in the basement of the United Nations building dedicated to the rescue and well-being of anyone in need, it is up to the brave mouse Miss Bianca and her chosen partner, the shy janitor Bernard, to rescue the girl. Searching for clues at Penny's home at Morningside Orphanage in New York City, the two mice discover that the girl has been kidnapped by the evil pawn shop owner Madame Medusa and her companion Mr. Snoops. On the back of Orville the albatross, Miss Bianca and Bernard travel to the terrifyingly gloomy Devil's Bayou where they learn the shocking truth: the innocent young girl is being forced down into a dangerous, dark underground pirate's cave where she must find the Devil's Eye, the world's largest diamond and Madame Medusa's greatest obsession. Before returning safely home, Miss Bianca, Bernard, and Penny will have to combat Madame Medusa's ...

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Plot Keywords:

bayou | rescue | bottle | little girl | mouse | 

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Taglines:

Two tiny heroes, one big adventure!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bernardo y Bianca

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,111,582, 16 December 1983, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$71,215,869

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Bernard, Miss Bianca and Evinrude are passed unnoticed by Brutus and Nero is reminiscent to a scene in Father Goose (1964) where a dinghy gets passed unnoticed by two warships at night, to include being tossed around in the ships' wakes, resulting in the dinghy taking on water.

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Goofs

The radio used to communicate with Orville at the airport has a switch that shows On & Off settings before changing to having On & On, then back to On & Off.

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Quotes

Bernard: [reading a pamphlet] Listen to this - it says here, 'Devil's Bayou is uncharted and hazardous. Each day's operations... '
Miss Bianca: [sleepy] Mmm, interesting.
Bernard: '... must be-'
Miss Bianca: Good night, dear.
[falls asleep on his shoulder]
Bernard: '... planned with care and... '
[he puts his arm around her]
Bernard: Good night, Bianca.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits describe the journey of Penny's bottle through raging ocean waters. The entire sequence is made up of still paintings.

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Alternate Versions

On 8 January 1999, Disney issued a recall of 3.4 million copies of the home video version because two frames included an "objectionable background image", probably inserted without permission during production as an in-joke. The offending frames appear in a scene featuring a pan across an apartment: in one of the apartment windows, a picture of a topless woman can be glimpsed. This scene was intact for the original theatrical release in 1977. However, it was not in the 1992 video version because that was "made from a different print" according to a Disney spokesperson.

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Connections

Referenced in Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: Here Comes Peter Cottontail (2015)

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Soundtracks

Someone's Waiting for You
(1977)
Music by Sammy Fain
Lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins
Sung by Shelby Flint

User Reviews

Highly underrated

Movies like The Rescuers are simply not made anymore. Nowadays, it's all CGI with retarded, unfunny jokes, with no real seriousness or conflict to be found. The Rescuers has all that it says in the tagline - Mystery, Fun and Intrigue! Despite what others say, this truly deserves to be called a masterpiece.

The very idea of two little mice saving an orphan girl sounds very juvenile and slushy - but here, it isn't. The Rescuers combines dark themes such as child exploitation to light refreshing comedy which does not detract from the seriousness of the whole film. Benard and Bianca are very admirable characters, and the swamp creatures are hilarious. Madame Medusa is an excellent villainness. She's intimidating and funny at the same time. There are plenty of colourful characters, Brutus and Nero, the two crocodiles, Orville the albatross and Penny, the sweet yet strong spirited little girl.

The very idea of two little mice saving an orphan girl sounds very juvenile and slushy - but here, it isn't. The Rescuers combines dark themes such as child exploitation to light refreshing comedy which does not detract from the seriousness of the whole film. Benard and Bianca are very admirable characters, and the swamp creatures are hilarious. Madame Medusa is an excellent villainness. She's intimidating and funny at the same time. There are plenty of colourful characters, Brutus and Nero, the two crocodiles, Orville the albatross and Penny, the sweet yet strong spirited little girl.

The animation is typical scratchy 70s style, but the backgrounds are really top-notch, especially in the swamp scenes. They portray a foreboding atmosphere that works well in the appropriate scenes. The paintings shown in the opening credits were inspirational. There are not many songs in The Rescuers, which is probably one of the reasons why it's such a serious film. The soundtrack is fits in well, and nobody bursts into song. 'Someone's waiting for You' is one of the fews songs that moves me to tears. It is just so touching and beautiful.

Sure, it's not entirely loyal to Magery Sharp's books, but who cares? You might as well just get mad at 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' because that doesn't stay loyal to the original Arthurian legend. The Rescuers is a true delight, and deserves a much better DVD than Disney has given it.