The Rescuers

The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated adventure comedy-drama produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The 23rd Disney animated feature film, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York City and shadowing the United Nations, dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world at large. Two of these mice, jittery janitor Bernard (Bob Newhart) and his co-agent, the elegant Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), set out to rescue Penny (Michelle Stacy), an orphan girl being held prisoner in the Devil's Bayou by treasure huntress Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page). The film is based on a series of books by Margery Sharp, most notably The Rescuers and Miss Bianca.

Plot
Bernard (Bob Newhart) and Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), two New York City mice, are members of the Rescue Aid Society, an international team that operates beneath the United Nations and comes to the aid of those in need. After receiving word that Penny (Michelle Stacy), a young orphan, has been abducted by Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page), an evil woman seeking a precious diamond, the two set out to bring her back home, with help from other animal friends.

Why It's A Rescuer!

 * 1) Nicely done, smooth animation, even for the late 1970s, which is a huge step-up from previous animated films produced in the 1960s and early 1970s.
 * 2) There are a couple of funny moments.
 * 3) The action scenes are a total thrill ride.
 * 4) The voice actors give brilliant performances, mainly from Bob Newhart as Bernard and Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca.
 * 5) The music is pretty well done, and despite this not being a musical, there are some decent songs like "The Journey", "Rescue Aid Society", "Tomorrow Is Another Day", and "Someone's Waiting For You".
 * 6) A very original, well-thought out and nicely developed story line.
 * 7) Bernard and Bianca share amazing chemistry with each other through out the film.
 * 8) Madame Medusa is an entertaining villain with original motives and Geraldine Page does a great job voicing her. In fact, Medusa was such an amazing villain, she would later be partial inspiration for another Disney villain, Ursula in The Little Mermaid.
 * 9) Excellent character development.
 * 10) There's a great amount of suspense.
 * 11) The backstories with Rufus is well-done.
 * 12) Likable, unforgettable and sympathetic characters, especially the young orphan, Penny.
 * 13) Many memorable, well-executed moments, such as the final battle scene and the villain’s defeat.
 * 14) Considering the anti-Eastern European bias so many movies have (showing them as criminals and evil, especially at this time), Bianca is a refreshing subversion, as she is one of the first Eastern European heroes in a major Hollywood film.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The infamous blink-and-you'll-miss-it naked woman in the window scene which was later cut during a re-release.
 * 2) The pirates' cave scene can be somewhat intense to some children.
 * 3) The film reuses animation in some parts. Thankfully, this is the last one that did that.
 * 4) For an action-adventure film, it's way too slow paced.
 * 5) In 1992 the huge rip-off of this movie called Tom and Jerry: The Movie was released

Box office
The Rescuers was successful upon its original theatrical release earning worldwide rentals of $48 million at the box office. During its initial release in France, it out-grossed Star Wars and has total admissions of 7.2 million. and became the highest-grossing film in West Germany at the time. The film is the eighteenth most popular film of all time in Germany with admissions of 9.7 million.

After the 1983 re-issue, the distributor rentals amounted to $19 million in the U.S. and Canada while its international rentals totaled $41 million.

The Rescuers was re-issued in 1989 and grossed $21.2 million in the United States and Canada. In its total lifetime domestic gross, the film has made $71.2 million, and its total lifetime worldwide gross is $169 million.

Critical reception
The Rescuers was said to be Disney's greatest film since Mary Poppins (1964), and seemed to signal a new golden age for Disney animation. Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film "doesn't belong in the same category as the great Disney cartoon features (Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Fantasia) but it's a reminder of a kind of slickly cheerful, animated entertainment that has become all but extinct." TV Guide gave the film three stars out of five, opining that The Rescuers "is a beautifully animated film that showed Disney still knew a lot about making quality children's fare even as their track record was weakening." They also praised the voice acting of the characters, and stated that the film is "a delight for children as well as adults who appreciate good animation and brisk storytelling." Ellen MacKay of Common Sense Media gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "Great adventure, but too dark for preschoolers".

In his book, The Disney Films, film historian Leonard Maltin refers to The Rescuers as "a breath of fresh air for everyone who had been concerned about the future of animation at Walt Disney's," praises its "humor and imagination and [that it is] expertly woven into a solid story structure [...] with a delightful cast of characters." Finally, he declares the film "the most satisfying animated feature to come from the studio since 101 Dalmatians." He also briefly mentions the ease with which the film surpassed other animated films of its time. The film's own animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston stated in their website that The Rescuers had been their return to a film with heart and also considered it their best film without Walt Disney. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 83% approval rating with an average rating of 6.6/10 based on 26 reviews. The website's consensus states that "Featuring superlative animation, off-kilter characters, and affectionate voice work by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor, The Rescuers represents a bright spot in Disney's post-golden age."

Jack Shaheen, in his study of Hollywood portrayals and stereotypes of Arabs, noted the inclusion of delegates from Arab countries in the Rescue Aid Society.