With the success of the 1977 feature, The Rescuers, Disney did something previously unheard of, they created a theatrical sequel to one of their animated films. But rather than pull from Margery Sharp’s series of Rescuers books again, they opted for an original story this time around. The result was 1990’s, The Rescuers Down Under.

Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor both reprised their roles from the original film and John Candy came on board as the new voice of albatross pilot, Wilbur. George C. Scott and soap opera star, Tristan Rogers would also lend their voices, respectively as an evil poacher named McLeach and Jake, a mouse from the Australian outback.

This time, the story revolves around a ten-year-old boy and avid nature lover named Cody, who happens across a beautiful Golden Eagle who has become trapped in a poacher’s net. As a reward for freeing the trapped animal, Cody is given a ride by the eagle to its nest. His good deed, however, has raised the considerable ire of the poacher responsible for the birds capture, an unsavory fellow named McLeach, who had hoped to add the Golden Eagle to his accumulating stockpile of endangered species. A golden feather on the boys shirt causes the poacher to suspect that Cody knows where the bird’s nest is located and he has no intention of letting the boy go until he hunts down his coveted prey.

Word of Cody’s capture reaches the Rescue Aid Society, and once again, Bernard and Bianca are called into action. It just so happens that Bernard is secretly planning to propose to Bianca during their journey but his plans are thwarted by a dashing Aussie mouse stud named Jake. With the help of a collection of critters from the outback, the search and rescue operation leads to a quite-literal cliffhanger ending.

Although hopes were high for the Disney sequel, and Americans were only recently enthralled with all things Aussie, thanks in no small part to the smash success of Crocodile Dundee, the film suffered considerably from the fact that it took years to complete. By the time it was released, Aussie-mania was yesterday’s news and an animated film called The Little Mermaid, released the previous year, managed to steal the thunder from The Rescuers Down Under. Fans that did make the trek to theaters, however, were treated to a 23-minute Mickey Mouse short called The Prince and the Pauper, with the iconic mouse handling both roles.