MovieChat Forums > The Rescuers (1977) Discussion > Production History

Production History

posted 13 years ago by idonnowho
11 replies | jump to latest

Just curious. When exactly did this film enter production? Around the time of "Robin Hood"'s completion in 1973, I'd estimate.

One thing about the production that kinda confuses me, though: Louis Prima was to have voiced a bear from in a zoo in an early film conception that was scrapped after he lapsed into a coma in late 1975. However, Joe Flynn, who voices Mr. Snoops IN THE FINISHED FILM, no less, died in mid-1974, WELL before Prima lapsed into the coma.

What's even more confusing is that Prima didn't even DIE until 1978, the year AFTER the film was released. Was Joe Flynn (along with Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, etc.) going to be in the "Louie the Bear" version of "The Rescuers", and therefore, archive audio of him featured in the finished film was lifted from the abandoned concept, or was the "Louie the Bear" concept dropped even BEFORE Prima lapsed into the coma?

Explanation on this, and a rough timeline on the film's production would be MOST appreciated. :)

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[–] Taran_Wanderer_2 13 years ago

The production history for The Rescuers is very complex and difficult to track fully. To be honest, I don't think that Louis Prima's character was dropped due to his comma; this is just an assumption. Louis Prima's character was probably cut out much, much earlier when the storyboard team decided that a story similar to the unsuccessful "Bongo" was not going to work. Some time during production, the main storyline was to follow the events from Margery Sharp's first "Miss Bianca" novel: The Rescuers (1959), but once again, the writers felt that the character of the Norwegian poet was too bland and difficult to mold in order to capture audiences. Finally, the second novel, Miss Bianca was consulted: the orphan girl Patience became Penny, the Diamond Duchess (and the 'diamond' theme) became Madame Medusa, Mandrake became Mr. Snoops, Tyrant and Torment became Brutus and Nero, etc. The final plot, though not borrowed directly from any of Margery Sharp's novels has many of the elements typical to their storylines.

http://www.petitiononline.com/drescuer/petition.html Sign petition, save The Rescuers!

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[–] idonnowho 13 years ago

Well, even if Mr. Snoops and/or Madame Medusa wasn't going to be in the "Louie the Bear" "Rescuers" conception, it would seem as though Penny was (concept art in some of Huston Huddleston's YouTube videos depict a little girl, who looks an AWFUL lot like her sitting on the bear's shoulders). That might have been cool to see Penny be friends with an interesting bear, much like Mowgli and Baloo from "The Jungle Book". However, yeah, it probably wouldn't've had the same emotional insight the final film had.

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[–] idonnowho 13 years ago

By the Way: I can't remember hearing anything about "The Rescuers" having a storyline identical to Margery Sharp's first novel from any source, except for you, Taran. Where did you find this out?

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[–] Taran_Wanderer_2 13 years ago

Well, the original "The Rescuers" published in 1959 was about Miss Bianca revolutionizing the Prisoners' Aid Society in order to attempt the rescue of a Norwegian poet from the Black Castle, which is what the original storyboard for the Disney film was about.

http://www.petitiononline.com/drescuer/petition.html Sign petition, save The Rescuers!

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[–] idonnowho 13 years ago

And where did someone like you find these storyboards, exactly?

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[–] Taran_Wanderer_2 13 years ago

I didn't find the actual storyboards, but I read about what they were about and I immediately recognize them as the plot from Margery Sharp's novel.

http://www.petitiononline.com/drescuer/petition.html Sign petition, save The Rescuers!

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[–] idonnowho 13 years ago

Speaking of which, what WOULD the "Louie the Bear" storyline have been like? I know there were several songs written for it, including, "Peoplitis", "Sittin' in My Favorite Position Doin' Nothin'", "All I Ever Do is Think of You", "I Never Had it So Good", and the original "Rescue(RS) Aid Society" pledge.

I initially heard that "Louie" (voiced by Louis Prima) was to have been a polar bear (and some of the YouTube concept art depicts him as such), but other concept art depicts him as a brown bear. Weird. Also, if he really was to have been a polar bear, like they say, would he have been kidnapped by tyrannical penguins and made to perform in a freak show in a giant schooner (as I read some of in "Mouse Under Glass", an interesting Disney book)? Also would Penny really have been in the story? If she were, how large a role would she have had? Who were the other animals in the (presumably Central Park or Bronx) zoo with Louie? There was "Gus" (mentioned in the "Sittin' in My Favorite Position Doin' Nothin'" song), whom Huston Huddleston believed to be a rhino pointing at Louie in a conceptional drawing, while someone else on YouTube contested it with him being a lion who was Louie's friend (possibly even the grumpy old lion Bernard wakes up in the finished film...LOL!!!)

On top of it all, (again), if Joe Flynn (Mr. Snoops) died before Louis Prima even went into his coma (let alone, before HE was declared dead), why was Flynn kept in the finished film and Prima not?

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[–] Taran_Wanderer_2 13 years ago

Joe Flynn's lines were completely recorded and part of a working script. Louis Prima's material was only a couple of demos for an abandoned script. That's why.

http://www.petitiononline.com/drescuer/petition.html Sign petition, save The Rescuers!

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[–] idonnowho 13 years ago

Joe Flynn's lines were completely recorded and part of a working script. Louis Prima's material was only a couple of demos for an abandoned script.

So now you're back to believing that Louis Prima was removed from the film even before he lapsed into the coma? Gee...You're kinda hard to keep track of...*

* First you believed Louis Prima was removed prior to his coma, allegedly due to Disney deciding that a plot similar to the unsuccessful "Bongo" segment of "Fun and Fancy Free" wasn't going to work (for whatever reason). Then, on the "Robin Hood" board, you said you were thrilled that both Prima and Phil Harris were removed from this film, as they would've "ruined" it (though from what I hear, Phil Harris's role would've quite small had he appeared, and undoubtedly would not have been enough to take away from the film completely; after all, Pat "Sheriff of Nottingham/CHIEF" Buttram was retained in the finished film but with a role so small, you still had nothing against "The Rescuers") though admitted you felt sorry for Prima, as "part of the reason for his removal was he went into a coma". And finally now, you're saying that while Joe Flynn (who died even before Louis Prima's coma) had completely recorded his lines for a working script prior to his death mid-1974, Louis Prima had recorded nothing more than a few demos for an abandoned script, hinting that, since he didn't go into the coma until late 1975, you're, again, back to the assumption that he was removed much earlier.

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[–] Taran_Wanderer_2 13 years ago

Speculation is the key word here. I don't know the actual facts, I'm just trying to fit the pieces together. Like I said, the production history is very complex and difficult to pin down.

http://www.petitiononline.com/drescuer/petition.html Sign petition, save The Rescuers!

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[–] idonnowho 13 years ago

Well, if Louis Prima really was still alive AND conscious at the time they decided against the "Louie the Bear" conception for the film, couldn't they at LEAST have given him some sort of role in the final film (like that of one of the local bayou critters or for that matter made him the voice of Penny's TEDDY BEAR, since the real bear character was omitted)?

It seems a shame that "The Jungle Book" was his only Disney film, since he allegedly had a blast voicing Louie the Orangutan and was, furthermore, disappointed that they didn't give him a role in "The Aristocats" or "Robin Hood". Even more to the point, it's been said that the "Louie the Bear" "Rescuers" storyline would have been to make it up to him for not casting him in those films.

Now, I can understand them getting rid of Phil Harris (as, unlike Prima, he had the dignity in appearing in BOTH "The Aristocats" and "Robin Hood", and, with "The Jungle Book" right before those two films and this film right after them, this would've his FOURTH DISNEY FILM IN A ROW, had he been kept), but I still feel that, if Louis Prima really WAS alive and well when the "Rescuers" was in its early stages, they shouldn't have gotten rid of him (even if the final film is the best animated Disney feature to date, as is). I wouldn't be surprised if he was absolutely CRUSHED when Disney detached him from the film (again, if it really IS true that he was fully conscious then; which, regarding the aforementioned Joe Flynn-related production issues, I'd imagine he very well WOULD'VE been).

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