Bernard the mouse is the janitor at the Rescue Aid Society, an organization comprised entirely of mice and dedicated to the rescuing of prisoners, wherever they may be. Representatives from all over the world join together at meetings of this group and divide the assignments between them, forming a highly effective task force. You wouldn’t think so much could be accomplished by a bunch of rodents, but then, you underestimate!
Penny is a little orphan girl who has been kidnapped by a crazy woman named Medusa who is in search of a giant diamond. This diamond is down a hole in the ground and only Penny is small enough to fetch it. The plan – send Penny down in a bucket to get the diamond, and then do away with Penny. But Penny writes a note asking for help and puts it in a bottle, and the note is found by mouse scouts from the Aid Society. The mice are on the job!
Miss Bianca, the most elegant of mouse volunteers (voiced by Eva Gabor) asks if she may take the case. She chooses Bernard (Bob Newhart) as her partner, and the two of them go off to rescue Penny from the evil connivings of that mad madame Medusa (Geraldine Page.)
Okay, I admit I’m a stinker, but I really hated this movie. And there are a lot of reasons why. It was absolutely nothing like the book, which I loved. It drives me insane when a movie claims to be based on a book and barely gives a nod to the original story. This is one of the reasons I’m glad I’m also the media reviews blogger – I do believe I’ll write a blog about the book and then you can enjoy the real story for yourself.
I also found the plot to be too scary. Kidnappings are on the rise and the way things are now, if a child is taken, you hardly ever hear of them returning safely. I just don’t find the subject of kidnapping to be an entertaining plot device.
Additionally, for a movie that is supposed to be an adventure, it sure moved slowly. I was bored to tears before the mice even met up with the girl.
Now, it’s entirely possible that this is your favorite movie of all time and I grant you that right. But I won’t be adding it to our collection.
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