I don’t want to take discussion of late Disney to any insane lengths, but as a follow-up to my review of Steve Hulett’s Mouse in Transition, this highly enjoyable piece from almost 40 years ago warrants a web posting.
Mark Kausler tends to shy away from reviewing animated works, even if he’s always capable of thoughtful commentary based on his decades of industry experience and passionate knowledge of American animation history. I think everyone will agree that The Rescuers and Pete’s Dragon are not the finest examples of the Disney empire (“lame” is the word that comes immediately to mind). I also think everyone will agree that Mark’s joint review and assessment of the studio in that period for Funnyworld No. 18 (Summer 1978) is entirely mild, fair and astute.
(Posted with permission from Misters Kausler and Barrier.)
I didn’t think The Rescuers was that bad. Not among Disney’s best, sure, but it was decent enough. Aristocats, on the other hand, WAS lame.
He was a little hard on the pipe-organ sequence, at least. I think the gators are pretty funny in those scenes.