The Rescuers and its sequel The Rescuers Down Under are both fun action-adventure films for both kids and adults alike with some great voice talents headlined by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor
The Rescuers/The Rescuers Down Under (1977/1990)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Animation, Family, Adventure
Disney | G – 78 min. / 78 min. – $39.99 | August 21, 2012
MOVIE INFO (The Rescuers):
Directed by: John Lounsbery, Art Stevens
Writer(s): Margery Sharp (books); Larry Clemmons & Ken Anderson & Frank Thomas & Vance Gerry & David Michener & Ted Berman & Fred Lucky & Burny Mattinson & Dick Sebast (story)
Cast: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page
Theatrical Release Date: June 22, 1977
MOVIE INFO (The Rescuers Down Under):
Directed by: Hendel Butoy, Mike Gabriel
Writer(s): Margery Sharp (characters); Jim Cox & Karey Kirkpatrick & Byron Simpson & Joe Ranft (screenplay)
Cast: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, John Candy, George C. Scott
Theatrical Release Date: November 16, 1990
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Deleted Song, Sing-Along, DVD Copies
Number of Discs: 3
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.66
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Disc Size: 43.0 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A, B, C
THE MOVIES
The Rescuers (1977) — ****/*****
Join the shy but brave mouse Bernard and his glamorous partner Miss Bianca – two tiny heroes on a great big mission to save Penny, a young girl who has sent an urgent call for help! Taking off on the wings of the albatross Orville, together they soar to the marshy swamp of Devil’s Bayou. There, they find themselves on the riverboat hideout of the hilariously evil Madame Medusa, who wants to use Penny to steal the world’s largest diamond!
The Rescuers Down Under (1990) — ***½/*****
Deep within Australia’s vast and unpredictable Outback, a young boy named Cody forges an incredible friendship with a great golden eagle. But when a ruthless poacher sets out to capture the eagle, Cody steps in to protect him. Knowing he can’t do it alone, a call for help goes out that’s answered by the world’s bravest mice, Bernard and Bianca. Flying in on the wings of their hilarious albatross friend Wilbur, these top mouse agents are ready to tackle their biggest, most dangerous mission yet
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
The Blu-ray release comes in a glossy, reflective slip cover. As far as I know, all the features from previous DVD releases are included.
“Peoplitis” Deleted Song (4:41; SD) – An animator explains the background for the song.
“Three Blind Musketeers” – Silly Symphony Animated Short (8:46; SD) – The classic short, that I even remember watching as a kid, is included.
“Water Birds – A Walt Disney True Life Adventure” (30:42; SD) – This short film presents “true life adventures presenting strange facts about the world we live in.”
“Someone’s Waiting for You” Sing-Along Song – If you’re brave enough, you can sing with your friends to this song…
The Making of The Rescuers Down Under (10:33; SD) is a real basic ‘making-of’ featurette made more as a way to advertise the film rather than give any insights into how it was made.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
The Rescuers arrives on Blu-ray presented in its original 1.66 widescreen aspect ratio although the film is now 35 years old, it looks pretty darn good in high-definition. The colors are nice and bright and the picture seems to be free of normal wear and tear.
Similarly, The Rescuers Down Under, released in 1990, was also animated with a 1.66 AR (to match the original) and is also clean, vibrant and all around looks very good in 1080p HD.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
Both movies have been given nice 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks. For obvious reasons, the sequel sounds a bit better, more encompassing but the first film is also nice and well rounded. The dialogue levels are fine and the background elements are decent.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, The Rescuers and its sequel The Rescuers Down Under are both fun action-adventure films for both kids and adults alike with some great voice talents headlined by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor. The Blu-ray offers up good video/audio transfers but the features are much to be desired.
Published: 08/28/2012