Movies

Reel Rumbles: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh vs The Rescuers

04 October, 2022

We’re when at it in the Unconfined Disney Reel Rumble Retrospective! We protract on through the Bronze Age as we imbricate the first time Disney released two full-length films in the same year. Without remoter ado, let’s swoop in.

The History of the Films

While The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, as a film, did not have any involvement from Walt Disney, it is the last mucosa that can requirement technical involvement from Walt. Disney obtained the rights to the Winnie the Pooh stories when in 1961. Walt had wanted to make works based on these stories as far when as 1938. He found his daughter reading the books one day and laughing at their whimsical joy. Walt finally succeeded without several decades in getting the rights. While initially wanting to make a full-length film, Disney ultimately decided to legation shorts instead, tying to live-action features. This mucosa is comprised of three previously-made shorts, including ones that Walt had involvement with.

Walt was a fan of Stephen Slesinger’s red-shirted depiction of Pooh, and he uninventive those rights as well. Pooh’s iconic squint in this mucosa is a uncontrived result of this acquisition. Another wing from Disney himself was the weft of Gopher, who does not towards in tragedian A.A. Milne’s original stories. Walt felt that a increasingly comedic and relatable weft was needed to entice American children into the increasingly staid British children’s work.

The shorts selected that fill out the mucosa were made over a series of years from 1966-1974. The first short was one Walt supervised surpassing handing it over to director Wolfgang Reitherman who was told to Americanize the piece, expressly without the recent failure of Alice in Wonderland. The second short was the last one that Walt had involvement with, with the Nine Old Men and other Disney honchos deciding to make it the first post-Walt production, though priorities sooner shifted. Paul Winchell earned the famous voice role of Tigger due to his reputation as a ventriloquist.

While each of the shorts was successful on its own, the compilation into a full mucosa did a lot to perpetuate the reputation of Pooh Bear. It released theatrically on March 11, 1977 to instant hair-trigger success. Though a few critics felt Disney improperly pilfered the whimsy of these children’s tales, most were favorable. No information is misogynist on the box office success of the film, but it presumably did well. It has maintained a strong hair-trigger prestige throughout the years and is thoroughly integrated into Disney culture. With a ride at Disney parks, and notation showing up in cross-Disney properties such as Kingdom Hearts and other video games, Winnie the Pooh has maintained its reputation and staying power. Remoter Pooh Bear movies have been made, including one that this series will imbricate far lanugo the line.

Released later in 1977, The Rescuers also began minutiae over a decade older when in 1962. The initial treatment of the story was too overtly political for Walt, but was revived in the early 70s as a project for young animators such as Don Bluth to earn their stripes. Like most other Disney properties, this one was based on preexisting children’s books, and the studio chose to wiring the story on the most recent Rescuers book. Louis Prima was originally brought in, pursuit his voiceover success in The Jungle Book, but without Prima became seriously ill in 1975 the unshortened project was scrapped.

The Rescuers would be rescued again, though, as the hairdo finished up Robin Hood and looked to start the next project. Production began all over again. Cruella de Vil was initially considered to be the villain of the piece, but the animators decided to stave trying to make it a semi-sequel, so they selected Miss Diamond from one of the Rescuer books and retouched her look. Animator Milt Kahl was leaving the studio and decided to make her his send-off, personally doing much of the animation.

Other notation were selected from wideness many novels and combined into one piece. The dragonfly weft initially began as a one-off comedic bit, but the animators were so giddy that his role expanded into a major sidekick for the leads Bianca and Bernard, whose relationship became a romantic subplot.

While the black-line xerography method of volatility unfurled to be used in this work, The Rescuers marked the first big upgrade from that style. The xerography methods were improved to indulge use of a medium-grey toner, permitting the cel artists to create softer lines and a less harsh look. This production was notable for stuff one of the last efforts from many Disney veteran animators and the first to full-length Don Bluth as directing animator. Other notable animators stepped up who would end up rhadamanthine big parts of the Disney Renaissance period, making this a truly transitional mucosa in the history of the studio.

The Rescuers was originally released as a double full-length with the nature documentary A Tale of Two Critters. On a upkeep of $7 million, the mucosa managed to gross virtually $41 million by the end of its international run, making it a fairly big hit. Despite the reputation of the Bronze Era as a lanugo period, this one bucked versus trends somewhat. The mucosa was moreover notable for a small scandal without a home video release where frames containing nudity were found. Regardless, initial hair-trigger reviews were fairly upper with some finding it as a sign of a new golden age of Disney to come. Reviews have cooled somewhat since, but many still credit this one as a unexceptionable spot among this era of Disney.

It has not quite endured in popular culture as much as other Disney works. Though it sooner garnered a sequel, the Rescuer notation do not quite have a huge cultural footprint. The notation do not show up in many video games, and their presence in the Disney Parks is moreover fairly minimal. For whatever reason, despite the hair-trigger accolades and box office, The Rescuers has faded.

Round 1: Story

Many of the Disney films without Walt’s death were fairly episodic in their plots, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the nonpareil of that storytelling style. The mucosa does thread the shorts together with a connecting story well-nigh Winnie the Pooh stuff in a storybook that’s explored by a child, but this is mostly window-dressing.

Mostly is the operative phrase though, as this thread does come to a satisfying payoff with the ending sequence. It features one of the most emotionally-powerful moments in Disney history with Christopher Robin and Pooh discussing their time together and the importance of memories shared. Despite the hinted imminence of Robin leaving diaper behind, the warming confirmation that Pooh will unchangingly live in Christopher’s heart is the stuff that Disney nostalgia is built on.

As for the various sequences themselves, they are witty in their own right. Full of whimsical humor, fueled mostly by the silliness of the characters, there is an innocence to it all that is quite charming. This isn’t quite A storytelling, but one can’t help chuckling throughout. The mucosa introduces a summery element of scariness with the Heffalump sequence (one that gave me nightmares as a very young child, leading to fast-forwarding on subsequent viewings), but it is a sequence of psychedelic bemusement.

This isn’t the weightier Disney has to offer, but when its strong emotional cadre shines through, Winnie the Pooh grabs hold of your heart and doesn’t let go. Its recreate and whimsy shines through many decades later.

The Rescuers has increasingly of a full story. It features two mice as the titular heroes who receive a mission to find an orphan girl held by a vindictive older woman, Madam Medusa. This is a archetype venture story, which lends itself to moreover stuff fairly episodic. Still, the story does weave the whole full-length together.

The relationship between Bernard and Bianca, the two mice, is well-developed and charming. Seeing Bianca lead the way for the bumbling Bernard, and seeing them fall for each other as they navigate a series of obstacles and unprepossessing allies, gives the mucosa a strong arc. The villain, Madam Medusa, feels a tad pointless despite a few zany sequences. Her alligator servants are scrutinizingly increasingly distinctive, as she is just generically midpoint to the orphan Penny in a way that other Disney villains do better.

The heart of The Rescuers makes it work, despite some parts of the venture stuff increasingly unrewarding than others. The lead notation are interesting, and they finger at home among their venture mucosa compatriots from the 70s. This isn’t a stand-out mucosa compared to Golden Age Disney, but it stands whilom many of the films covered in the project so far.

While both of these films are episodic in parts, and both have uneven storytelling, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh has the slight advantage. The ultimate theme of the mucosa is among the most emotionally-powerful storytelling moments in the canon, and there is unbearable humor to whet out The Rescuers.

Winner: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Round 2: Music

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh has a number of iconic tunes. The titular track “Winnie the Pooh” has a rich choral opening that instantly launches you into the heart of the story surpassing picking up with a unexceptionable and cheery sing-along style that encapsulates the tone of the film. Even years later, your smart-ass will randomly vellicate withal to this wonderfully happy melody.

Other cheerful songs include “The Wonderful Thing Well-nigh Tiggers,” a quick-paced quipping tune that has moreover withstood the test of time fairly well. Its clever lyrics and fast-paced introduction to the weft of Tigger has kept it among the hallmarks of Disney tracks. Less popular but still unconfined are “Rumbly in my Tumbly” and “Heffalumps and Woozles,” both of which have their charms. These all add up to Winnie the Pooh reviving the idea of the musical mucosa without a few films with less songs.

The music in The Rescuers is a tad less iconic. That’s not to say there isn’t good music. “Tomorrow is Another Day” is a trappy tune in the pop style of the 70s, elevated by the svelte voice of Shelby Flint. In fact, most of the music in this is increasingly of its period than any other Disney music. Perhaps that’s why these songs haven’t endured as long. Still, they are decent and trappy in their own way.

But nothing in The Rescuers really adds up to “Winnie the Pooh” or any of the other songs in the Pooh Bear-led films. Those numbers have withstood the test of time due to their clever lyrics and excellently synthetic melodies. They stand among the highlights of Disney music.

Winner: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Round 3: Volatility & Direction

While there a few notable sequences in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the overall volatility quality is nothing to write home about. The zany colors and sequencing in the Heffalumps sequences is one of those highlights, nearly evoking some of the strong sequences in other works such as Alice in Wonderland. The unexceptionable and warm colors of the ending of the mucosa moreover work quite well. The rest of the preliminaries volatility though is rather plain and simple, heavy with the visionless lines spoken well-nigh before.

The individual designs of the notation themselves are strong. Winnie the Pooh’s diamond works due to its remarkable simplicity, with the unexceptionable red shirt helping him stand out. The scrutinizingly sock-animal tideway to several other animals such as Eeyore and Piglet adds to the toybox aesthetic.

The Rescuers volatility is strong as well. The notation themselves may not have wilt iconic, but their diamond isn’t at. Madam Medusa’s squint accentuates her unforgiving and vindictive nature, and while some of the unprepossessing designs finger lifted out of The Jungle Book, others such as the dragonfly convey spectacle and weft well.

The backgrounds are moreover distinctive and beautiful. The xerography upgrade helps, and sequences such as the two lead mice flying wideness water on a bird are lovely. The bayou wiring of the villains moreover suitably conveys the dreariness of the setting.

While the weft designs of Winnie the Pooh have stood the test of time well, the whet will go to The Rescuers. The volatility isn’t quite as strong as the upcoming Disney Renaissance level, but it is a marked resurgence on its Bronze Age predecessors. Increasingly detailed backgrounds go a long way towards improving the squint of a Disney film.

Winner: The Rescuers

And the winner is….

The Rescuers holds an interesting spot in Disney history. It’s a underpass mucosa between the beginnings of the studio and its future ahead. It was critically well-liked, yet it feels like an odd man out in the weltanschauung of Disney. There are qualities to enjoy well-nigh this venture story, but it never quite hits as deep as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh came be a bit goofy and empty at times, but its strong emotional cadre makes it the winner. The pinnacle of this mucosa is among the highlights of all of Disney canon.