The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under are both fun movies, but Down Under is a little more re-watchable. I think this is partly because the mood is more up-beat. Lots of bright sunshine as opposed to the swamps of The Rescuers, but the biggest thing, I think, is the endings.
The Rescuers ending is (in my opinion) flawed. We have this incredibly tense scene in the underground treasure trove with skeletons for atmosphere, a ticking clock provided by the rising water, and the villains showing exactly how evil they can get. It feels like the climax -but it isn't. The story moves into the actual end involving fireworks and fuzzy animals running every which way. The general high-jinx feels anti-climatic.
The Rescuers Down Under is smart enough to keep the ending streamline. Once Marahute is captured, everything narrows down to keeping Cody from getting killed now that he's no longer useful to the villain. There is no lengthy scene after the climax at the waterfall. In fact, the comic relief (Wilber) is stuck on baby-sitting duty and out for the count.
Endings are, in my opinion, the toughest things to write. Everything is supposed to come together, but often there's a few bits poking out higgly-piggly, that just don't want to be braided in. And then there are all those minor characters, and what happened to them? Sometimes you need an aftermath. `Watership Down,' for example, wouldn't be nearly as awesome to read if it didn't go on to explain how the events of the story shaped the future. But Richard Adams didn't kill his tension with it. His climax is still the most suspenseful part of the book -and that's what the climax should be.
The second movie does sound like a more satisfying ending. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteI really need to check out Watership Down someday. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
`Watership Down' is such an awesome book. It's actually one of those that took a little to get into, but was really worth it. (Oh, but there are some very dark moments. If you can't stand to see animals in pain, approach with caution.)
ReplyDeleteThe first Rescuers movie does have its strengths -there's more focus on Bernard and Miss Bianca's characters, and more detective work, which I enjoy a lot- but I do think the second movie is stronger.
One problem with writing a post on endings is that now if I have a bad one people will notice more. They'll say `but isn't that what you said NOT to do...?' Ach well. If endings weren't hard, I wouldn't be watching movies trying to figure out how they pull good ones off.
I keep hearing good things about "Watership Down." I think I had trouble getting into it... I'll probably try again, since you had the same problem, and found it worth it. I had the same trouble with Lord of the Rings, so I know that good books aren't always easy to get into the first time. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteSo both movies are worth watching, but for different reasons? That often happens. {Smile}
Yeah. Unfortunately recognizing a problem in someone else's writing is one thing, and avoiding it in my own writing is another. Sometimes when I'm writing, things don't turn out the way I think they ought to. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
`Watership down' and `The Lord of the Rings' are a good comparison to each other, actually. Not that they're really alike- I just mean that both have a way of caring very deeply about the setting that can be off-putting at first. With `Watership Down' you don't really catch a glimmer of the main plot until at least a third of the way into the story. But yes, it is totally worth plowing past the first third to reach the actual story. And the world-building is incredible.
ReplyDeleteI like both movies a lot. Of course, I'm partial to stories about talking mice... :)
It would be nice if one could always see how to fix one's own problems as clearly as you can see it in someone else's work. :) You mean things only don't turn out the way you plan sometimes? What is your secret? (Joking. :))
I notice that both books have a lot of very dedicated fans. I'm not surprised they're comparable in other ways, too. _Lord of the Rings_ worked out well enough when I finally did get into it, I really should check _Watership Down_ out, too. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteI tend to also compare Watership Down to Les Mis, which probably just means my brain connects odd things, but is mostly because both books tend to digress a lot.
ReplyDeleteOne of the awesome things in Watership Down is the fact that the rabbits have this whole culture, complete with legends. The first time they paused for a bit of storytelling, I was less than impressed. As the book went on and I saw how the legends interwove with the story being told, I was just blown away.
The story interweaves with the legends? That does sound neat. I will have to track this down and read it. {SMILE}
ReplyDeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
It ends up being very awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteIt certainly sounds awesome. A lot of books don't even try for that kind of depth, let alone succeed at it. {SMILE}
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