The late Bob Newhart's biggest movie roles were these Disney animated classics
The passing of a legend always brings with it appreciation of his past work. Yet among the many credits for the late, great Bob Newhart are arguably two of the most underappreciated Disney animated films ever!
Mention Bob Newhart and most will think of his storied TV career. He began there from his rise as a comic in clubs and numerous talk shows, showcasing a wonderful deadpan delivery making his jokes funnier. Like many of his time, Newhart landed his own show, The Bob Newhart Show, a terrific comedy hit that ran six seasons. In 1982, he starred in Newhart, another hit whose 1990 finale often ranks as one of the greatest TV show finales in history.
Newhart had a few other sitcoms and numerous TV show appearances. Surprisingly, with such a long and storied career, his only Emmy win was for a guest star role on The Big Bang Theory. He reprised it for the spin-off Young Sheldon in what now counts as his final role.
In movies, Newhart was never a leading man type but could pop in for a fun small supporting role such as In and Out and the holiday classic Elf. However, his biggest movie roles weren’t live-action at all but two Disney sleepers.
The Rescuers was one of the best Disney movies of its era
The 1970s were a tough time for Disney movies. The changing culture seemed to leave Disney behind and the animation suffered with the classic Disney animators retiring and families not as open to their wares. That’s likely why The Rescuers slipped under the radar a bit.
Adapting a book, the movie focuses on young Penny, a girl in Louisiana who discovers a priceless diamond. She’s hunted by the twisted Madame Medusa, basically a second-rate Cruella De Ville (in fact, they briefly considered having Cruella in this). Penny drops a message in a bottle that makes its way to New York City where the Rescue Aid Society, a band of talking mice help kids in need.
Dispatched after them is Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), who startles everyone by choosing her partner Bernard (Newhart), who isn’t an agent but a stammering janitor. The pair take off on albatross Orville to try and save Penny.
The movie’s animation is a bit better than other Disney fare of the time even if it’s hampered by the lack of magic. The swamp scenes are well done and Penny is a good heroine. Newhart’s voice talents lend well to Bernard with his stammering, always feeling totally over his head and the clever touch that while he’s terrified of most anything, when there’s actual danger about, he’s able to handle himself well. Newhart just seemed a perfect fit for the character to make him shine, especially his nice banter with Gabor, whose lush accent makes Bianca a standout.
The movie was a good success (impressive given this was 1977, the year of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind), grossing $48 million against a $7.5 million budget. The reviews were also good and its success gave Disney more life which they definitely needed. Given that sequels to animated movies weren’t done then, that seemed the end of it. Except it wasn’t.
Rescuers Down Under needs more love
When Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg took over Disney in the mid-1980s, they wanted to restore the animated division to its past glory. They took a look at The Rescuers which had ended up becoming a popular film with a couple of successful theatrical releases and a hit on home video. They saw sequel potential and since there was a rush of interest in Australia thanks to Crocodile Dundee, a sequel was ordered.
Rescuers Down Under centers on Cody, an orphan in Australia who befriends Marahute, a majestic golden eagle. Evil hunter McLeach (George C. Scott) captures Marahute so Cody sends a message to the RAS to help. Enter Bianca and Bernard who wants to propose to her but keeps being interrupted.
The pair get a new albatross, Orville’s brother Wilbur (John Candy). In Australia, they befriend local mouse Jake (Tristan Rogers), who’s everything Bernard isn’t: Handsome, dashing, fit, athletic, and throwing himself into danger. Naturally, he and Bianca share some connection with Bernard feeling left out.
Newhart’s turn here is better with Bernard now a respected agent but still freaking out over flying and his jealousy for Jake taking over. But he comes into his own, including a fantastic fight against some local creatures and Newhart is believable selling Bernard’s transformation from weakling to a heroic figure.
The movie boasts some glorious animation, one of the first to use computer graphics and the lush Australian settings help. There’s also a thrilling sequence on a tractor and Scott makes a compelling villain. It showed how Disney animation was getting back some past magic.
Sadly, that didn’t translate to the box office. While gaining good reviews, the film made only $47 million. It didn’t help that it opened the same weekend as Home Alone, which turned into a juggernaut. It’s basically the forgotten film of this era but has been better appreciated since.
The reason to watch, besides the fun stories and animation, is Newhart. It’s hard to see anyone else making Bernard work as Newhart’s unique voice, carrying age and nervousness, but still hope and a wonderful dry wit fits the character perfectly. Watching him rise up as a hero is great and the romance with Gabor is done well too. It's as close to a leading man role as Newhart could get.
So, while so many of Newhart’s TV roles are celebrated, it’s worth listening to his best movie performances, too.
The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under streaming on Disney+.