Rescuers Down Under review

If you were expecting the next review to be Beauty and the Beast, you're not alone. For some reason everybody seems to forget about this film, sandwiched as it is between two huge classics, but that's a real shame because it's a well-made, action-packed adventure that deserves much more attention. The idea of creating a sequel to The Rescuers had been floating around the studio for quite a while, with many other films starting out as such before being retooled into other stories. The Rescuers Down Under was conceived as a low-budget, cost-saving project akin to Dumbo, but there was some initial reluctance to go ahead with the project due to fears that it wouldn't be able to top the first one. Despite this, the first film's popularity motivated the studio to finally begin writing the sequel in 1986, as another of those post-Black Cauldron ideas. Mike Gabriel was sceptical about directing at first, because he thought the job had looked pretty stressful when he'd seen George Scribner directing Oliver & Company; he basically had to be talked into it. Meanwhile, it was Hendel Butoy's work on the popular character of Tito in that same film which netted him his position alongside Gabriel. Thomas Schumacher was brought in as the producer by Peter Schneider as they both had similar theatrical backgrounds, while Joe Ranft was made the story supervisor.

This film re-started the tradition of having a group of the film's core team take a research trip abroad for inspiration, something which became much more common in future productions as Disney started to explore foreign cultures. (Although such trips weren't unheard of before, with Walt's 1935 European tour and the 1941 "Goodwill Tour" of Latin America, this was the first time that the idea for the film came first rather than being inspired by the trip.) Schumacher, Gabriel, Butoy, Ranft and art director Maurice Hunt headed down to Australia for around two weeks, travelling over 4,000 miles through the Nitmiluk and Kakadu national parks and visiting Uluru (then known as Ayers Rock), while gathering plenty of sketches, photographs and memories which all proved invaluable to the film's aesthetic.

Released in 1990 to mixed reviews, the film has since been buried by the avalanche of accolades received by its peers, but in recent years it has started to enjoy something of a comeback as the kids who saw it back then become adult critics who are better able to appreciate the filmmaking (Doug Walker - a.k.a. the Nostalgia Critic - is a notable proponent of it). As for me, this is yet another one that I didn't get to see as a kid, but I discovered it in my teens and was blown away by the animation - it just looks so different from anything else in the canon. It's not perfect, that has to be said, but there's certainly plenty to like about it, so let's take a trip to the land down under and give this film some much needed TLC.



Characters and Vocal Performances

Bernard and Bianca at dinner

This film was the first sequel in the Disney canon, so it benefits from being able to bring back established characters and doesn't have to waste time introducing them to us. In late 1988, Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor agreed to reprise their roles as Bernard and Miss Bianca and thank goodness; the two of them have some really wonderful chemistry which is due in large part to the vocal performances. They sound like old friends who've been through a lot together, which is exactly what you'd hope since their main subplot here is about their impending engagement. Their relationship is nicely developed and stands out as a good example of a more "natural" courtship, at least compared to the usual three-day Disney romances we see in the princess films. When was the last time we saw a Disney princess getting engaged (apart from Anna, of course)? Usually, we cut from the early stages of love to marriage without so much as a glimpse of the in-between phase.

Bernard singing anthem

Bernard with the eggs

Whereas the last film could be seen as being more about Bianca and her struggle as a woman to be taken seriously in a "man's world," the focus this time around is on Bernard, because he is planning to propose to her. Naturally, this doesn't go according to plan and becomes something of a running gag throughout the film as Murphy's Law kicks in, preventing him from asking the question until the very end of the film. To make matters worse, Bernard now has some competition for Bianca's attention, the tough-guy kangaroo rat Jake. I have to admit, I found the love triangle thing a little forced; there's never any indication that Bianca is really interested in Jake, so the whole thing feels like an awkward attempt to jam in some drama. Still, it's nice to see Bernard triumph in the end (not that I'm suggesting Bianca is a "prize to be won"), especially since he has such a strongly established relationship with Bianca.

I do have a little criticism of the handling of Bernard's character here, though. Somehow, I found him a bit less likeable in this film than the previous one - it's as if he's been Flanderized to some extent. A lot of his endearing vulnerability and nervousness seems to have been removed, not to mention the entire superstitious angle that was so prominent in the last film (whatever you do, don't tell Bernard how many years it's been since the last film was released). Instead, he comes across as downright insecure, always looking annoyed if Bianca so much as talks to another male (even Wilbur, who's an entirely different class of animal). You'd think he'd know her better than that by now!

Still, despite this, Bernard does maintain that old stubborn determination that we so loved about him in the first film, coming through for his friends when they're relying on him and being largely responsible for saving Cody near the end. You get the sense that he's now more prepared when danger strikes, as he should be with several cases under his belt (he and Bianca are regarded as the RAS's "very finest", after all), because he displays much less hesitance about doing what needs to be done in the climax. I stand by what I said about him in my earlier review; it's refreshing to have such an unconventional male lead, especially in an action-adventure film like this, so even if he's not at his best here I still really like him.

Bianca choosing her partner

Miss Bianca disembarking

This second turn as Miss Bianca turned out to be Eva Gabor's last film role before her death in 1995, so it's rather poignant - you can tell from the warmth of her vocal performance how much affection she had for the character. (She was also around 70 when she voiced the part, but you'd never know it from her youthful voice!) Bianca is a very enjoyable character, friendly, self-assured and confident, able to enjoy Jake's flattery without being remotely tempted by it and clearly very loyal to Bernard, which is touching to see. I greatly enjoyed Bianca as the heroine in the last film; she was very active and was given plenty to do, presented as an equal to Bernard (even as his superior in some ways), yet was also allowed to embrace her feminine nature without it being seen as a detractor.

Given that, I can't help feeling like she was somewhat wasted here. I'm sure it wasn't deliberate as the nature of the plot dictates that the focus is more on Bernard this time, but still, it's a shame that Bianca doesn't get to rescue him or play much of a role in the climax like before. Her role feels more limited, although it's worth noting that she is still the more famous member of the couple as we see when Wilbur becomes a little star struck upon meeting her. To be fair, both characters actually feel less central to this film than they did in the first one - it's packed with so many characters and subplots that even identifying who the main characters are supposed to be can be tricky. This is likely the result of the characters needing less set-up and development; because we're already familiar with them, the filmmakers must have felt that they had leeway to spend more time with the supporting cast, but whether or not this is a good thing is definitely debatable (I would have liked to have seen more of Bernard and Bianca and less of the trapped animals, personally). Bernard and Bianca are no longer the underdogs, having long since proved their worth and skill as agents, but the idea that they were up against the world in the first film made it easier to root for them. Now that they're famous, a major element that made them so appealing in the original film has been lost.

Jake approves the proposal

In the role of Jake, the kangaroo rat air traffic controller who acts as the couple's guide in the Outback, we have Tristan Rogers, who was the only Australian voice actor in the film (strangely). Jake's main reason for existing is to create the love triangle - as we see earlier, the Rescue Aid Society already have connections in Australia like the Baitmouse, so there were other options for guides. The other reason he's here is presumably to try and tap into the popularity of characters like Indiana Jones and Crocodile Dundee, although the filmmakers apparently wanted to avoid making him too similar to them (this is only partially successful as Jake strongly resembles both of them). Although his brazen flirting with the obviously-not-single Bianca gets pretty annoying after a while, he acts as a good foil for the more timid Bernard and his cockiness helps to draw out Bernard's tougher side. It also has to be said that he does his bit in helping the two rescuers get to Cody; they would likely be dead if not for Jake's efforts. He gets some good lines here and there about "crazy Yanks" and he's clearly a good guy at heart, as we see from his support of Bernard and Bianca's engagement at the end. In fact, his expression suggests that he never really thought he had a chance with her in the first place; perhaps the whole thing was just a game