Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #23: The Rescuers (1977)

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #22: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The best film of its decade, The Rescuers is also an underrated classic and one which deserves far more attention than it currently receives. Not only is the animation better and more inspired than in previous offerings, but the story packs much more heart and the characters are strongly characterized by a wonderful voice cast (led by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor) and great character animation from veteran animators like Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. This is also the last film the “Nine Old Men” worked on before retirement (they helped a little in the transition with The Fox and the Hound but this was their last full job) and like The Jungle Book was Walt’s swan song, this wonderful little film is the proper goodbye from the studios’ top artists. Not only do you care about these little mice and their quest to rescue a young orphan, but you will also be very entertained by action-packed scenes, humorous moments and touching scenes. The 70s may not have been the brightest decade in the studios’ history, but The Rescuers is certainly one of the brighter spots from this era. Rating: 4.5/5.

Next Week: Animated Classic #24 Review: The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Silver Age (Part 3) Introduction

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #19: The Jungle Book (1967)

Silver Age (1950-1977)
The 70s

Overview

With Walt gone, the animation studio entered the 70s filled with uncertainty. The “Nine Old Men” took charge of the studio but it's undeniable that some of the ‘magic’ was lost in this decade. Carried by the motto “What Would Walt Do?" (a motto that was used until the mid-80s when the company made big changes and went for a different direction, the animators played it “safe” and produced animated features that, while fun, didn't break new ground story-wise or technologically speaking. Many refer to this decade as the beginning of the “Dark Age” that was prevalent at the company until the late 80s, but I think that, while the films released in this era can’t (for the most part) surpass their predecessors, they were still made by the same men and women that made all the Walt-era classics and are pretty entertaining and often heartfelt too. For that reason, these films represent the final batch of the classic era that started in the 1930s with Snow White.