THE RESCUERS. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery and Art Stevens; written by Larry Clemmons and others; produced by Wolfgang Reitherman for Walt Disney. Animated. Rated G.
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The Rescuers is a re-release of the 1977 movie based on books by Margery Sharp. While not one of the Disney studio's masterpieces, it's nonetheless enjoyable entertainment. For most youngsters, anyway, and—at least if it's their first go-'round—their parents.
The characters of the title are a group of enterprising mice who find a message in a bottle from a kidnapped little girl. With the help of some other animals, most notably a plucky mosquito named Evinrude who steals the show without a line of dialogue, they live up to their name and rescue her.
The villains are the extravagantly nasty Madame Medusa (her voice is done by Geraldine Page) and her pet alligators.
Disney cartoon features seem to be given a G rating automatically. But The Rescuers ia a good example of how this isn't always a guarantee of completely trouble-free viewing, especially for the youngest moviegoers.
To take examples from more classic fare, Snow White has that truly terrifying sequence where the jealous queen changes into a hideous crone. And Sleeping Beauty's villainous fairy becomes a horrifying dragon trying to keep Prince Charming away from his true love.
And The Rescuers contains dark, disturbing undercurrents which may provoke questions about some uncomfortable subjects. Such as orphans and orphanages (yes, parents can die and leave their children with no one to care for them) and kidnapping (yes, evil people have used children in dangerous, illegal situations).
The darker side of this story—the reason the girl Penny needs rescuing in the first place—resembles a bit too closely stories of missing and exploited children that we know to be true. Frightening as they are, magical dragons and witches don't inspire fear of the real world, at least in adults. Abandonment, abduction and exploitation of children do.
So for all its cute animal characters and clever animation, I would have given The Rescuers a PG.
April 5, 1989
I like the sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, better. It came out in 1990.