ANI-MOVIES, *The Rescuers Down Under

Where the original movie didn't make as much of an impact in its initial premiere, the sequel that came out over a decade later was able to ride off the success of the previous Disney release of The Little Mermaid. The Rescuers Down Under had a broader canvas to fill in along with it being one of the first Disney animated films that started taking CGI technology seriously as well as the world's first fully digitally created movie, plus it was the first theatrical animated continuation of a prior production before Disney began making a cold fortune in made-for-video sequels. Being still released at the dawn of the Disney Renaissance, it didn't bring in the numbers at the box office as audiences wanted something flavored to Disney's earlier animated tales instead of a follow up to a less than memorable outing, but coming out the same weekend as the original Home Alone wasn't helpful either.

Since mice only live for about a maximum of two years, the sequel probably didn't take place too long after the first movie, so Miss Bianca and Bernard are still in the Rescue Aid Society which is an international organization of mice dedicated to saving children from threats around the world. Their latest case is a young boy in Australia named Cody who secretly helps out the animals of the outback. He finds a golden eagle called Marahute which is unusual as that breed of bird is regularly located in the Norther Hemisphere. The eagle is being hunted by the nasty poacher McCleach and his reptile sidekick Joanna who have already killed the eagle's mate, and now Cody is dedicated to keeping Marahute and her eggs safe. Our young hero falls into one of McCleach's traps as he discovers one of the eagle's feathers on him, so the poacher kidnaps him with word of this making all the way to the RAS in New York. Bianca and Bernard are given the mission to save Cody, and they hire the albatross Wilbur who in this movie is the brother of the previous film's Orville so they can get to the outback. Once finally in Australia, the rescuers get help from the Crocodile Dundee wannabee mouse Jake to find Cody while Orville spends some time under the medical care of an extreme doctor after the bird hurts his back on landing. Cody tries to break out of McCleach's hideout with some of the other captured animals as he can communicate with animals, but McCleach tricks him into thinking that Marahute was already shot by a different hunter knowing that the boy would lead him to the eagle's nest. McCleach catches the eagle along with the Cody again as wells as Bianca and Jake, leaving the staggered Bernard to man up and convince a razorback to ride him to a crocodile den where McCleach plans to do away with Cody. Bernard does free his friends with McCleach falling to his supposed death similar to several other Disney villains. The film ends with Marahute's eggs being hatched by Orville, but also with Cody's animal friends still being imprisoned in McCleach's lair.

The Rescuers sequel seriously revved up Disney animation for their renaissance of the 90s at least as far as their emerging into the digital age. The cast is amazing with Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor returning to reprise their roles, as well as John Candy in one his funniest performances as Orville, plus George C. Scott as McCleach is truly underrated in his portrayal of McCleac as one the more despicable Disney villains. The Rescuers Down Under doesn't require you to watch the lackluster original installment in order to enjoy it as the 180 turn it takes in quality and entertainment make this an incredible evolution for theatrical animation.