Product: The Rescuers Down Under [VHS] (1990)
Rating: 5.0
Disney's Greatest Animated Adventure Classic!
Disney's 29th animated feature "The Rescuers Down Under" is the follow up to Disney's 23rd animated feature "The Rescuers". It was also the first official sequel to a Disney animated feature. And we're not talking about a straight to video sequel here, we're talking about a full blown effort designed for the big screen from Walt Disney Pictures.What you have essentially is a Masterpiece that did not receive the recognition it deserved. This may partly be due to the fact that it was not a musical unlike "The Little Mermaid" that came just before it. It also originally opened opposite the most successful box office comedy smash "Home Alone", so it had a bit of a tough break. In addition, when we look back at the renaissance of animation in the late 1980s and 1990s we think of "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty & The Beast", "Aladdin" and "The Lion King", sometimes forgetting the wonder that came between mermaid and beauty, and that was "The Rescuers Down Under".Here we continue the adventures of the two little mice Bernard (voiced by Bob Newhart) and Bianca (voiced by Eva Gabor) from "The Rescuers". This time they are off to save a boy called Cody who has been kidnapped by a poacher named McLeach in Australia. Of course to get there, they require the help of their albatross friend Orville from "The Rescuers". Unfortunately, he's out of town. This time around we have fellow family member Wilbur (voiced by the hilarious late great John Candy) flying them there. Or at least they travel part of the way on Wilbur. See the thing is, it's a bit of a long flight for an albatross from the USA to Australia, and so they make connections with a bigger bird (aka an aeroplane). Meanwhile in Australia Cody is trying to escape McLeach with the help of his animal friends. McLeach has kept hold of Cody because Cody knows where a big golden eagle's eggs are, and McLeach wants them. Cody though is friends with the golden eagle (they both helped each other out early on in the movie) and so refuses. Bernard and Bianca essentially come to the rescue.The animation is beautiful, especially the backgrounds of the outback, and the music is extremely exhilirating. Great animation and music, combined with great characters, humor and storytelling, add up to this very exciting adventure.The movie on this DVD is in the aspect ratio that it was originally presented in. There are some extras such as a theatrical trailer, but nothing to write home about. However the quality of picture on the DVD version is vastly superior to the VHS version. Go discover this underrated gem that is Disney's greatest animated adventure classic!