Product: The Rescuers Down Under [VHS] (1990)
Rating: 2.0
Weak, un-original and incomplete.
"The Rescuers Down Under" is the sequel to the 1977 hit film, 'The Rescuers,' a personal favorite, but it doesn't have the originality, charm and simplicity of the first one. Most viewers will be fooled by the dazzling animation and pay more attention to that rather than the content of the film. This sequel seems out of place, rushed and not very interesting, once you see it, you'll hardly want to revisit it.Very few new things happen here, once again, Bernard and Miss Bianca, voiced once again by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor take off to save a young boy from an evil kidnapper. Like I said, nothing original, many gags from the first film are repeated here, for example the two rescuers fly on an albatross once again (Apparently a lost brother of Orville named Wilbur, voiced by John Candy). There are many new characters, however, most of these were rushed and never develop any real personality. The new boy, Cody is a bland character, not half as sweet and adorable as the little orphan girl, Penny in The Rescuers, other main characters for example Joanna, the lizard-like animal is probably the funniest and most entertaining character in the film (Which is pretty sad), however her design and mouse-hungry intentions seem too similar to the ferocious aligators Brutus and Nero (Also from The Rescuers) and the rather uninteresting villain seems like a spin-off of not Madame Medusa (Funny enough, like another reviewer pointed out) but of Amos Slade, the villain in the 1981 classic, The Fox and the Hound. Other small characters, like a group of captured animals seem to have been added to literally "make a scene" which is all they do as they serve no real purpose, shameful compared to the brilliant use of minor characters in the final battle in the first film.As I said, this movie feels incomplete, there are no songs, no soft bittersweet moments, no charm, no originality which is pretty pathetic, since sequels should at least show some form of originality. The ending feels rushed, we never get to see the expression of Cody's mom in his return (We never get to see her at all!), we never see a final meeting of the Rescue Aid Society and we never see the wild animals I mentioned before getting rescued, no, everything is tied up and "Let's all go home!"The film itself can be pretty entertaining, it isn't necessarily bad but you probably won't be finding yourself wanting to go back to it, maybe you'll rewatch a few of the "breathtaking" scenes but nothing more. Everyone's got their different opinions, perhaps you might read my review, watch the film and love it and that's why I am not going to say that you shouldn't give the film a try, In personally have the film in my collection, it will be there, but I feel no real desire to re-watch it, although I'm sure I will soon.If I may make a recommendation, don't buy either one of the DVD releases for this two films, this and the 1977 film, The Rescuers. Their current DVD releases are poor, one has horrifying picture quality and the other lacks content, not worth your money. Hopefully the Disney marketing department will give us a better release, at least of the first film.