Movie · 1977 · Fantasy, Family, Animation, Adventure · 1h 18m · G · English
Curator score: 5.0/10 (186.6K ratings)
Two tiny agents vs. the world's wickedest woman in a dazzling animated adventure!
Overview
Two agents of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society search for a little orphan girl kidnapped by sinister treasure hunters.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.0/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.45/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Metacritic: 74
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Art Stevens
Production
Walt Disney Productions
Cast
Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, Joe Flynn, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, Jim Jordan, John McIntire, Michelle Stacy, Bernard Fox, Larry Clemmons, James MacDonald, George Lindsey, Bill McMillian, Dub Taylor, John Fiedler, Robie Lester, Peter Renaday
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A scrappy, rain-soaked Disney adventure with more grit and menace than its cute premise suggests. It’s especially rewarding if you like old-school hand-drawn animation, oddball villains, and a surprisingly tense rescue story.
Best for
fans of classic Disney animation
viewers who like darker family adventure films
people who enjoy mouse-sized heroics and whimsical worldbuilding
those drawn to 1970s animation aesthetics
Skip if
you want a glossy, fast-paced modern family movie
you prefer lighter, joke-heavy Disney tone
you’re looking for a big musical showcase
you dislike stories that get surprisingly perilous for kids
Overview
The Rescuers is one of Disney’s most atmospheric animated features, trading bright fairy-tale polish for damp streets, murky bayous, and a genuine sense of danger. The film’s handmade charm is part of the appeal: it feels a little rougher, a little stranger, and a lot more alive than the studio’s more sanitized crowd-pleasers.
Worth noting
What stands out most is the tonal balance. The movie is sweet and funny, but it never forgets that this is a kidnapping story, and that gives the adventure real stakes. Bernard and Bianca make a winning pair, and the villainy has a nasty, memorable edge that keeps the film from drifting into pure comfort viewing.
Bottom line
It’s not among Disney’s most dazzling animated spectacles, and some stretches are modest by design. But if you appreciate craft, mood, and a family film with a little grime under its fingernails, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
I.V. (3.5★) · 1103 likes
I like how this box art goes out of its way to make this look bright and colorful, when it's in fact the dingiest, grimiest, rainiest animated feature that Disney ever released.
James (Schaffrillas) (3★) · 921 likes
Bernard out here cosplaying as Mario in his first scene
Christian Di Leo (4★) · 712 likes
Man, the 70s were fucking wild. A mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society? An albatross air service? An evil treasure huntress named Madame Medusa who owns two pet crocodiles and a swamp-mobile? A bunch of redneck, moonshine drinking swamp critters? An image of a topless woman snuck into a Disney children's film? (no, I'm not joking, click here for proof (scratch that part, I stand corrected. It was snuck into the 90s video release, holy shit, that's crazy)). Goddamn, I want… more Man, the 70s were fucking wild. A mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society? An albatross air service? An evil treasure huntress named Madame Medusa who owns two pet crocodiles and a swamp-mobile? A bunch of redneck, moonshine drinking swamp critters? An image of a topless woman snuck into a Disney children's film? (no, I'm not joking, click here for proof (scratch that part, I stand corrected. It was snuck into the 90s video release, holy shit, that's crazy)). Goddamn, I want… more
nadine 🔪 (3★) · 569 likes
Ukrainian queen Bianca walked into that emergency meeting and decided to be horny on main for the janitor, and I respect that. go get your stocky lil mans luv x
Logan Kenny (4★) · 454 likes
made me want a kid, best little girl character I’ve seen in ages, I want to protect her and her teddy bear forever