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DVD The Rescuers Down Under (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
No, this isn't a quickie, direct-to-video sequel, cashing in on the success of the 1977 animated hit about adventurous mice, but a full-blown theatrical effort. This time around, Bernard (voiced by Bob Newhart) is trying to pop the question to Bianca (Eva Gabor) when they're summoned to Australia, where a young boy has been kidnapped by a pallid, gray-faced poacher (who looks like and is voiced by George C. Scott). Wilbur, a chatterbox of an albatross (John Candy, replacing the late Jim Jordan's character Orville), and Jake (Tristan Rogers), a kangaroo mouse--Bernard is jealous of the dashing rodent--assist the Rescuers in saving the day and imparting a mild environmental message. The film opens with an absolutely breathtaking aerial sequence--this was made near the beginning of Disney's animation renaissance--so impressive it would seem the story, literally, has nowhere else to go but down, but some smart gags, excellent animation, and rollicking adventures ensue. So why isn't it better known? It had the bad luck to open, in 1990, opposite another kids' film--Home Alone. --David Kronke
Review(s): DVD The Rescuers Down Under (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Disappointing sequel...
Originally meant as a direct-to-video release, this sequel to The Rescuers (1977) barely has anything more to give than sharp, standard animation when compared to other sequel releases like Atlantis II - Milo's Return (Probably the worst sequel ever, since the original hadn't much to give either) but other than this The Rescuers 2 is nothing than yet another attempt (First attempt) to cash into the success of the original, which was one of the most successful Disney films in time of original release.
Story-wise, this movie left me flat, after putting two and two together I realized that it was nothing more than a rehash of the original. Imagine, two mice from the Rescue Aid Society fly on albatross to a faraway land to rescue a child who's been kidnapped and has sent a plea for help. It seems that the villain and his minions need the little boy to help him retrieve a valuable treasure. As you can see, the storyline is anything but original, that's why I was shocked when I read that the makers of this had thought the original had a weak story, but compared to this one, it had way more lust and charm.
The movie has too much of a modern setting to be memorable and the characters are uninteresting, especially the two main characters Bernard and Miss Bianca, who not only look old and awful but are boring and minor characters. The boy they are rescuing is rather bland and has almost no personality. Characters like the caged animals are only added for a longer running time (And don't even get rescued in the end!), happenings are sometimes ridiculously exagerated and the ending feels rushed and incomplete.
The original The Rescuers was a hands-down favorite, so I decided to give its sequel a chance, however for reasons I've stated above, I disliked it and don't feel like recommending it. Watch the original or other early Disney animated classic instead. 1/5.
I'd say that Marahute stole the show
What I like from this movie was the animation, the music, but what I like the best was Marahute. Look at the size of that beautiful bird. I found out that her wingspan is 20 feet and she is 5 feet tall. Cody only got a tail feather from the bird. He could have got a 4 foot long wing feather from her. There could be birds like Marahute today. People have seen encountered giant birds. One was the size of Marahute. People believe that these giant birds could be prehistoric birds (with wingspan 12 to 25 feet), unusually large modern birds, or unknown species of birds Marahute is that kind of giant bird.
Not as good as the first, but watcheable...
After having seen The Rescuers in theaters twice (One alone and then once with my kids), I decided to then go see the sequel when it was released in 1990, however, seeing the poster for it, I sort of hesitated, it seemed too much like an action movie and less of a heartwarming tale. I can safely say I was very disappointed with it, true, sequels are seldom as good as the first, but still, it was hard for me to consider this a sequel since the plot outline is really the same as the original, with different characters and different settings. No songs, boring, repeated music, less-than-interesting character and a very annoying protagonist boy.
The story is that a boy has been kidnapped by Percival McLeach who needs the boy in order to retrieve the great golden eagle Marahute, familiar? Yes, just like in the original, villain needs small, sweet person in order to retrieve a valuable thing. My biggest problem was the characters, so uninteresting, even Bernard and Miss Bianca were among the most boring characters in the film, not to mention that their original voices were too old to fit the same roles, so I could never believe that those were the same mice I had loved years prior to this movie. Story telling is as poor as the worst Disney has ever made, it even makes the story of Oliver & Company look good, too many lose ends, un-needed characters and ridiculous sequences, like the one in which a bunch of mice are operating the 'new' albatross Wilbur.
All in all, there are no memorable sequences, no pretty songs and no real classic scenes. It was the first Disney animated sequel and that's all there is to it. (Rent cheap before buying)
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