# The Rescuers

The Rescuers in 94 minutes release is a 1977 and 1981 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Disney animated features canon, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing the United Nations, dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world at large. Two of these mice, jittery janitor Bernard (Bob Newhart) and his co-agent, the elegant Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), set out to rescue Penny (Michelle Stacy), an orphan girl being held prisoner in the Devil's Bayou by treasure huntress Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page).
    Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, and Art Stevens. Written by Larry Clemmons, Ken Anderson, Frank Thomas, Burny Mattinson, Dick Sebast, and Ted Berman.

## Dialogue

    Madame Medusa: I want that diamond. I've got to have the Devil's Eye! You didn't leave the girl down in the cave long enough.
    Mr. Snoops: She won't take orders.
    Madame Medusa: You are too soft!
    Mr. Snoops: But the water was rising and the tide was coming in, and all she did down there was fuss about her teddy bear getting wet.
    Madame Medusa: Snoops, you don't have a way with children. You must gain their confidence. Make them like you.
    Mr. Snoops: Yeah? How do you do that?
    Madame Medusa: You force them to like you, idiot! At the next low tide, I'm going to put her down there myself, and keep her there, until she finds it. And it is as simple as that!
    Mr. Snoops: Oh, as simple as that, is it? Well, you're the boss, boss.
    Madame Medusa: Yes.
    Penny: The water's coming in! Please pull me up!
    Madame Medusa: [voice echoes from the cave] Not until you get the diamond!
    [after escaped the zoo]
    Bernard: How 'bout trying the three blocks down and four blocks over?
    Miss Bianca: What did you do to make him so mad?
    Bernard: Nothing. He's just a grumpy old lion.
    Miss Bianca: Well, after all, waking him up in the middle of the night. Wouldn't you be grumpy, too?
    Bernard: I didn't wake him up in the middle of the night. I just walked into a thing- [fade to black]
    Orville: Say, bud, read the checklist to me.
    Bernard: Uh, oh, yeah. Goggles down.
    Orville: [dons his goggles] Check.
    Bernard: Wing flaps down.
    Orville: Check.
    Bernard: Tail feathers.
    Orville: Double check.
    Bernard: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". [looks apprehensive]
    Orville: [takes off] And here we go!
    Mr. Snoops: Welsher! Swindler! Chiseler!
    Madame Medusa: [holds Penny and Snoops at gunpoint] Shut up, Snoops! And don't move. If either of you try to follow me, you'll get BLASTED!
    Penny: [walks towards Medusa] You gimme my teddy bear. You promised.
    Madame Medusa: Teddy goes with me, my dear. I've become quite attached to him.
    Mr. Snoops: [sulked] (Hey,) I don't you sass me. [?] Uh, boys, the take this not right little girl to your room.
    Bernard: Sir, could you tell us what happened to a little girl named Penny?
    Rufus: I sure can. But you ain't gonna find her 'round here. See, poor little thing ran away.
    Orville: [after he gets sucked into Medusa’s swamp mobile] Holy smoke! [coughs] Why don't you watch where you're goin'?! [continues coughing as he flies away]
    Ellie Mae: Are you ready to help rescue that little young 'un?
    Deadeye: Sure enough, Ellie Mae!
    Deacon Owl: Hallelujah!
    Ellie Mae: [notices Luke fast asleep] Luke! On your feet, you lazy critter!
    [Luke awakens]
    Luke: Oh! Shucks, Ellie Mae. I was just a-waitin' for someone to holler "Charge"!
    Gramps: Dagnabbit! Let's cut out the jawin' and get it goin'.
    Deadeye: [laughs] When old Gramps gets head up, his nose gets plum out of joint.
    Ellie Mae: Take it easy, Gramps! We gotta stay here till Evinrude brings us word from them mice.
    Gramps: If that bug don't get here soon, they'll put that poor little girl down the black hole again!
    [after evading Medusa and Snoops]
    Bernard: Are you all right, dear?
    Miss Bianca: She tried to kill us. That terrible woman! Oh, if I was only a 10-foot mouse, I'd show her.
    Madame Medusa: High tide or not, that little brat is going to find me that diamond tomorrow, or ELSE!
    Mr. Chairman: [reads Penny's message and clears throat] "To Morningside Orphanage, New York." Hmm. Most difficult to decipher. I can't make it out.
    Miss Bianca: [reads the rest of the message] "I am... In a terrible... terrible trouble." Oh. Oh, dear. It's all watered out. "H-h-hurry! Help! Penny."
    Mr. Chairman: Penny? Morningside Orphanage? Dash it all! It's not much to go on, is it?
    Miss Bianca: Oh, that poor little girl. Oh, Mr. Chairman. Please! Please, may I have this assignment?
    Mr. Chairman: You? Miss Bianca? [laughs] Dear lady, this is absolutely without precedent. I mean, it's not like the old days, when it was a man's world. However, I suppose there has to be a first time.
    Bernard: [buckles up] Miss Bianca, make sure it's fastened good and tight.
    Miss Bianca: I can't. It'll wrinkle my dress.
    Bernard: [looks at the departure time] Flight leaves 6:45. [looks at the clock, which indicates that it's 7:00] Oh, no! We missed the flight! Miss Bianca, if you hadn't...
    Miss Bianca: [laughs] You worry too much. You know that flights are always late.
    Orville: [through radio] Albatross flight 13 to tower! Albatross 13!
    Miss Bianca: Now, what did I tell you? We are lucky, Mr. Bernard!
    Bernard: Luck? Flight 13? Maybe we'd better take the train.
    Orville: [through radio] Wake up!
    [Bernard stops]
    Orville: Dad-drat it! Somebody answer down there! Get off the dime! Hello! Hello! Is anybody down there?!
    Bernard: [responds through microphone] Uh, say- Uh, hello.
    Orville: Where in tuck have you been, huh, ya lazy knucklehead?
    Bernard: Well, we just got here, sir. You see, my co-agent insisted on packing her, uh...
    Orville: [whilst the sound of a helicopter is heard] Look, bud. Am I clear to land? Traffic up here's thicker than fleas on a hound dog!
    [the loud sound of the helicopter drowns him out and blares through the radio, blowing Bernard off-balance]
    Orville: WOW! WOW! [angrily] Dad-blast, you dirty road-hog! Road hog! Crazy! See, look! What is-! You stupid lunk-headed...
    [Bernard turns down the volume of the radio]
    Miss Bianca: What did he say, Mr. Bernard?
    Bernard: I wouldn't dare repeat it.
    Bianca: Well, then give him the permission to land.
    Bernard: [to microphone] Uh, Captain? You, uh, you have our permission to land.
    Orville: Well, it's about time, bud!
    [due to the erratic nature of Medusa’s fireworks, one of them ignites Orville’s tail feathers]
    Orville: Sufferin' sassafras! My rudder's on fire! Bail out! Bail out! Mayday! Mayday!
    [the office telephone rings]
    Madame Medusa: [enters her office in a huff] Who could be ringing at this time of night? [answers; kindly] Madame Medusa's Pawn Shop Boutique.
    Mr. Snoops: Hello, Boss!
    Madame Medusa: [excitedly] Snoops! Don't tell me, Snoops. Let me guess! You've found it! [laughs like crazy] You've found the diamond!
    Mr. Snoops: [speaks indistinctly through the phone]
    Madame Medusa: [in fury] Give you time?! You bungler! You have been down there for 3 months!
    Mr. Snoops: [indistinctly continues]
    Madame Medusa: [firmly] Bottles? What bottles? [seethes] You caught Penny sending messages... in BOTTLES?! [lividly] You blundering fool! Can't you control a little girl?! SHUT UP! I am taking the next flight down to Devil's Bayou! [hangs up hard in a huff and prepares to pack her bags]
    Rufus: [after telling Bernard and Miss Bianca about when he last saw Penny] She seemed happy enough, but the next thing I heard, Penny was gone.
    Bernard: Well, aren't the police still looking for her?
    Rufus: No. They gave up weeks ago.
    Miss Bianca: This is terrible. That poor little girl.
    Bernard: I just can't believe that Penny would run away. Mr. Rufus, please think. There must be something else.
    Rufus: Well, come to think of it, there was. [pauses] (Pause: Oops!) No. No. It's nothing. Penny wouldn't get in with her.
    Bernard: Get in what? With who?
    Rufus: A weird lady tried to give Penny a ride, but she wouldn't have anything to do with trashy people like them.
    Miss Bianca: Trashy people? Who?
    Rufus: She and her partner run a sleazy pawn shop down the street.
    Bernard: Miss Bianca, we must go down there and investigate.
    Rufus: Suit yourself. But you'd be wasting your time goin' down there.
    Bernard: She could be in real trouble. We gotta find her and help her.
    Rufus: [laughs a bit] Yeah. But, two little mice. What can you do?
    Penny: [prays] Please bless Rufus and Teddy, and all the kids at the orphanage: Jennifer, Bobby, Mary, Julie. And please let someone find my bottle. There's a message in it. Because running away isn't working. Amen. [to her stuffed bear] Don't worry, Teddy. We'll... We'll be... [tearfully] ...all right.
    [she sobs on her bed, until Bernard and Miss Bianca walk up to her]
    Miss Bianca: [tries to awaken Penny] Penny? Penny?
    Penny: [awakens in tears] Yes?
    Miss Bianca: Penny. Penny, dear, now don't cry. We are here to help you.
    Penny: Wait. Hi! Where'd you come from?
    Bernard: We found the bottle with your message, and we've come to rescue you.
    Penny: [with joy] Did you hear that, Teddy?! Our bottle worked! [to the two mice] Didn't you bring somebody big with you? Like the police?
    Bernard: Uh, no. There's just the 2 of us.
    Miss Bianca: But if the 3 of us work together, and we have a little faith...
    Penny: That's what Rufus said! "Faith makes things turn out right".

### Deluxe Edition Release

    Penny: I got the violin. [grabs the violin and playing]
    Bernard and Bianca: No! Stop! You could you wrong note!

## Taglines

* Mystery - Fun - Intrigue!
* Two tiny agents vs. the world's wickedest woman in a dazzling animated adventure!
* A girl in danger... A cry for help... And two marvelous mice who will risk anything to save her!
* Two tiny heroes, one big adventure!

## About The Rescuers

* [In] the first 'Rescuers' there was the nudey picture. If somebody had asked an artist, he would say, 'Oh yeah, there’s a naked picture in there. I mean, the Playboy centerfold. Everybody knows that.' Everybody who was in animation knew about the centerfold. But nobody asked us.
** Tom Sito Disney Sexual Message Huffington Post (2015)

## External links

* The Rescuers quotes at the Internet Movie Database