Devil's Bayou

Devil's Bayou is a swampland in New Orleans, Louisiana and the hideout of the evil Madame Medusa and her henchman Mr. Snoops, featured in Disney's 1977 animated feature film The Rescuers.
==Background==
The Devil's Bayou is an uncharted and hazardous marsh ruled by nature; the only manmade structure anywhere in the bayou's vicinity is a half-sunken riverboat that Medusa and Snoops use as a base of operations. On the outskirts of the bayou is a rock structure with a dead tree atop it, which hides the 'Black Hole,' an underground cave once used as a treasure trove by pirates. The entrance is too narrow for an adult to fit through; hence, Medusa and Snoops kidnapped Penny, an orphan girl, and used her to search the cave for the world's largest diamond, the Devil's Eye.
Native inhabitants of the swamp include couple Ellie Mae and Luke, Evinrude the dragonfly, and the rest of the Swamp Folk, as well as a flock of feral bats. Brutus and Nero are presumably native to the bayou as well.
==Description==
The river boat hideout is three floors high and has an elevator. It is moored to a rock by the river and the stern is partially underwater. Penny's room is the pilot-house where the boat's wheel once stood, as the wheel and the compass had been removed to make Penny's fold-up bed.
The only thing standing is the telegram that sends messages to the boiler room. The lounge is where the staircase and pipe organ are, as well as the main lounge. Also on the ship is Medusa's room, and presumably Mr. Snoops has his own bunk aboard too. The boiler room is full of Mr. Snoop's fireworks.
The two funnels in front of the riverboat are used as chimneys from the cargo hold to light up Fourth of July fireworks to find Penny if she escapes from the ship. Medusa's Swampmobile is moored to the side of the vessel for when she must navigate through the swamplands. Finally, the riverboat houses an elevator, presumably inoperable, that is large enough to house the two crocodiles Brutus and Nero.
The vessel is in a state of decay and disrepair, yet is still able to support electricity and Medusa and Snoops have made it a livable space in spite of its poor condition.
==Role in the film==
Mr. Snoops maintains the vessel and forces Penny to find the Devil's Eye on Medusa's orders while the latter is in New York. Medusa rushes to the scene to speed up the search after Snoops caught her sending messages for help in bottles. Two members of the Rescue Aid Society, Bernard and Miss Bianca track her down to the Bayou and tell Penny that they intend to help her escape. However, Medusa prompts another search for the diamond and so the duo help Penny find the diamond, ordering their friends in the swamp to rush to the ship on Evinrude's signal.
Medusa tries to escape the Bayou with the diamond in hand, holding up Snoops and Penny until she has fled the scene alone. However Bernard, Bianca, and the swamp animals help Penny to escape with the diamond, during which they set off Snoops' fireworks as a diversion. Penny and her friends escape on the Swampmobile while the riverboat sinks into the Bayou, set ablaze by the fireworks. During the chaos, the riverboat explodes, launching the elevator trapping Brutus and Nero into the air. The ship was then completely submerged with only the smokestacks above the waterline as Penny and the others flee the swamp. Snoops manages to escape, leaving Medusa stranded and clutching to the smokestacks of the sunken ship.
== Gallery ==
Tumblr n9jmrgERGs1r3jmn6o1 1280.png|The bayou at night.
Tumblr n9jmthcqg41r3jmn6o1 1280.png|Penny sneaking away
Tumblr nahacapOzW1r3jmn6o1 1280.png|Bright stars shine down on the gloomy bayou
Tumblr nb6reh2aqT1r3jmn6o1 1280.png
Tumblr nandeuHTJM1r3jmn6o1 1280.png
Disney's The Rescuers - Devil's Bayou Before the Fireworks.jpg|The Devil's Bayou before the fireworks was set by the Swamp Folk.
Riverboat explodes.jpg|The riverboat explodes
The-rescuers-disneyscreencaps.com-8559.jpg|Medusa finally getting her due.
== Trivia ==
* The exact location of Devil's Bayou within a real world context has long been the subject of discussion among Disney animation fans, with Louisiana becoming an often-considered possibility, and the 1983 theatrical reissue trailer mentioning the Florida Everglades. In reality, it is a completely fictional place sitting on an equally fictional island (as Mr. Snoops points out) located somewhere off the Atlantic coast. Miss Bianca and Bernard are seen flying eastbound into the Atlantic Ocean during the song "Tomorrow is Another Day".
*In the late 90s Mouse Works Classic Storybook, the location is renamed Bottomless Bayou, possibly due to religious references.
*According to an article read by Bernard, Devil's Bayou is said to be uncharted and hazardous. It is perhaps for this reason that Medusa chose it as her hideout, as the impassable terrain (which includes the foliage and treacherous waterways) would make it nearly impossible for the authorities to track her down.
Category:Locations
Category:Villain's lair
Category:The Rescuers locations