The Magical World Of Disney #357: Top 100 Disney Movies, Part 27

48. The Rescuers (1977)

The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977 by Buena Vista Distribution. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York 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. Due to the film’s success, a sequel entitled The Rescuers Down Under was released in 1990, which made this film the first Disney animated film to have a sequel.

While Disney was not putting out its’ greatest work at this time, many people not only said that this was Disney’s greatest movie since Mary Poppins BUT that it would also usher a new golden age of Disney animation…unfortunately, that didn’t happen, at least not with this movie, we’ll get to what happened 12 years later very soon.

Regardless, I love this movie, I loved it as a kid and it still holds up to this very day. Bob Newhart & Eva Gabor work really well together as Bernard & Bianca, the animation is very good, the rest of the cast is very well put together, the story works, the music is really good, it’s a good fun Disney animated adventure where you go in and you just have a good time and you definitely get that here.

47. Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins is a 1964 American musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. The screenplay is by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on P. L. Travers’s book series Mary Poppins. The film, which combines live-action and animation, stars Julie Andrews in her feature film debut as Mary Poppins, who visits a dysfunctional family in London and employs her unique brand of lifestyle to improve the family’s dynamic. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns are featured in supporting roles. The film was shot entirely at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California using painted London background scenes.

Mary Poppins was released on August 27, 1964, to critical acclaim. It received a total of 13 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture – a record for any other film released by Walt Disney Studios – and won five; Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee”. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Mary Poppins is considered Walt Disney’s crowning live-action achievement, and is the only film that earned a Best Picture nomination in his lifetime.

A sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, was released in 2018.

It took me a long time to finally watch Mary Poppins in full, as a kid, I always saw bits and pieces of the movie but never the whole thing. Only recently did I get to see Mary Poppins in full, in preparation for the new movie, and my overall reactions are about what you would expect for this movie, it’s a really good movie.

There’s some great visuals that still hold up over 50 years after the film’s release, the cast is excellent, Julie Andrews is great as Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke is really good in this, the music is classic, the story is well told. What else more do I even need to say? It’s a Disney classic.

#100 & #99

#98 & #97

#96 & #95

#94 & #93

#92 & #91

#90 & #89

#88 & #87

#86 & #85

#84 & #83

#82 & #81

#80 & #79

#78 & #77

#76 & #75

#74 & #73

#72 & #71

#70 & #69

#68 & #67

#66 & #65

#64 & #63

#62 & #61

#60 & #59

#58 & #57

#56 & #55

#54 & #53

#52 & #51

#50 & #49

Follow The Reviewing Network at our Facebook page at Facebook.com/TheReviewingNetwork for continuing updates and debuts for new blog posts and also follow my Twitter feed so you can see new postings right as they are posted.

‹ Time About The Movies – October 24, 1997

He’s A Family Guy #353: Con Heiress ›

Tagged with: MagicalWorldOfDisney, TheReviewingNetwork
Posted in The Magical World Of Disney