Like everything else, the animated features released by Walt Disney have had their peaks and valleys.  Its highest point was arguably under the man himself, who exercised tight control over production of the titles that millions around the world came to know and love.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) established the company as cinematic innovators, and laid the foundation for an empire he oversaw for the next thirty years.  Sure, Mickey Mouse came first, but the movies are where the money was made.  The number of hits they premiered during this period funded the establishment of a major motion pictures studio, the opening of two theme parks, and the steady in-flow of cash ever since.  Since Disney oversaw it all, how to keep it going was made unclear with his death in 1966.  Between then and the release of The Little Mermaid (1989), there is a decided lull in production.  You might recognize a title like Robin Hood (1973), but does anybody remember The Rescuers (1977)?  Hardcore Disney fans undoubtedly have it firmly fixed in their catalog, but the average tourist walking down Main Street, USA, in either Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom might say, huh?  It is a bewildering little film that will probably seem doubly so as I describe it, but will undoubtedly be old hat to the diehard Disney-ites.

Somewhere in the South, there is a swampy place called Devil’s Bayou, and a little girl named Penny (voiced by Michelle Stacy) is in need of The Rescuers.  She does not know what form they will take when she drops a message in a bottle over the side of the dilapidated river boat on which she is being held captive.  This corked piece of glass floats through the opening credits and miraculously comes to rest on the shores of the Hudson River in New York.  It is found by mice and brought to the United Nations.  I am not joking.  With an incredulous eyebrow raised, I watched as rodent counterparts to the delegates to this world peace keeping organization jump from their hosts and sneak off to their own meeting, the Rescue Aid Society.  The note from Penny is read by the group’s chairman, the obviously named Mr. Chairman (voiced by Bernard Fox).  Though it is difficult to decipher, he nonetheless asks for volunteers to go after poor little Penny.  The thrill-seeking Hungarian representative, Ms. Bianca (voiced by Eva Gabor), is the first to volunteer.  While there is some handwringing over the fact that she is, um, a woman(?), they ultimately pick her.  She must choose a partner, so she turns to the janitor, Bernard (voiced by Bob Newhart), who is as surprised as anyone to hear his name called.  Still, he is committed to the society’s motto to do the right thing no matter what, and he agrees to go.  They decide to follow the first clue from the note, and that is the Morningside Orphanage where Penny had previously resided.  Once there, they meet Rufus (voiced by John McIntire), a cat that is too old to eat mice, thankfully.  Instead, he tells them about how Penny, sad that she was not getting adopted, decided to run away.  Doing so landed her in the pawn shop of the evil Madame Medusa (voiced by Geraldine Page), and with a name like that I probably need no other words of description.  Her store is Bernard and Ms. Bianca’s next destination.  They get there in time to overhear her yelling at her associate, Mr. Snoops (voiced by Joe Flynn), about his lack of progress in using the little girl to find the prized Devil’s Eye diamond.  It also gives Bernard and Ms. Bianca their next destination.  They get there, naturally, by way of Orville (voiced by Jim Jordan), and his aptly named Albatross Airlines, “aptly named,” because, yes, he is an albatross.  With some expected bumps along the way, Bernard and Ms. Bianca land in the swamp and near some friendly muskrats, Ellie Mae (voiced by Jeanette Nolan) and Luke (voiced by Pat Buttram), who agree to help the rescuers.  Bernard and Ms. Bianca also happen to get there during one of Penny’s many escape attempts, though she is tracked down by Madame Medusa’s two pet alligators.  Bernard and Ms. Bianca make it onto Madame Medusa’s hideout just as Penny is returned.  Eventually, they make it up to the little girl and tell her they are there to help her get away.  If you have been wondering how two mice are supposed to do this, especially when Madame Medusa has a literal gun (I cannot recall that in another Disney film), then Penny has the same thought.  What helps ease Penny’s doubts are Ms. Bianca’s suggestion that they work together to come up with a plan.  They also promise to keep Penny from having to go back into the hole in which she is being forced to look for the gem, but are unable to prevent this from happening.  Luckily, it proves fortuitous as the rodents are the ones that are able to find the treasure Madame Medusa seeks.  Now that she has her precious stone, Madame Medusa does not honor the promise she had made to return Penny or give her back her teddy, in which she has hidden the diamond.  This is when Bernard and Ms. Bianca spring their previously planned trap, and with a little help from the other swamp creatures, are able to get Ms. Penny to safety.  Somehow, they also manage to deliver her to New York with the Devil’s Eye.  The last thing we see is a news report watched by the Rescue Aid Society with Penny getting adopted and thanking her rescuers.  This excites Ms. Bianca so much that she volunteers her and Bernard for another mission.

I might have found the notion of a veritable secret society of animal benefactors in The Rescuers to be silly, but there are some moments that touched this Catholic heart.  It starts, of course, with Penny.  Though in films you often see orphanages run by the nuns, such is not the case here.  All the same, you feel for sweet Penny and her earnest desire to be adopted.  In his attempt to cheer the girl up, Rufus reminds her of one essential thing that she needs to maintain, and that is faith.  Indeed, he gives one of the best descriptions of faith that I have seen on film.  Specifically, points to a bird outside and says, “Faith is a bluebird, we see from afar.  It’s for real, and as sure as the evening star.  You can’t touch it, or buy it, or wrap it up tight, but it’s there just the same, making things turn out right.”  Well done, cat.  This is a great analogy for God.  He is there in our lives, and making sure that everything turns out for our benefit.  Additionally, He is not there simply to be gazed upon, but to be appreciated.  Faith is not something that we keep at a distance and simply note its existence.  It is an action that keeps us going, knowing that there is a reward in its pursuit.  Sometimes, it can turn out in such a way as it does for Penny, who sees the benefit of her persistence in one day having the mother and father she so desperately wanted.  Other times, what we get from faith is more difficult to see in the immediate moment.  Yet, like that proverbial bluebird, God is always there.

It is moments like that, and when we see Penny praying for her fellow orphans at Morningside, that lead me to recommend The Rescuers.  I can put aside the preposterousness of it all with those kinds of elements.  I also feel it should be more recognized by Disney and its legions of followers.  You have to search a bit for it on Disney+, and there is nary a whisper of it in any of the parks.  Yet, it made a lot of money in the box office, and was the first of their animated features to get a sequel.  This is all the more reason to watch it.