History Trivia / TheRescuersDownUnder

* BoxOfficeBomb: The movie only grossed $5 million in its opening weekend due to Fox's ''Home Alone'' opening the same day, which led Creator/JeffreyKatzenberg to believe the film was going to bomb. Katzenberg promptly ended all advertising for the movie, but reassured the producers to try again. The movie fell $10 million short of its $38 million budget.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: There were rumors that a third copy of the 1991 VHS release by Walt Disney Home Video existed[[note]]it featured a preview of Robin Hood and the 1991 Feature Presentation bumper[[/note]]. To this day, it has never ever surfaced the internet.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The movie only grossed $5 million in its opening weekend due to Fox's ''Home Alone'' opening the same day, which led Jeffrey Katzenberg to believe the film was going to bomb. Katzenberg promptly ended all advertising for the movie, but reassured the producers to try again. The movie fell $10 million short of its $38 million budget.

* FranchiseKiller: A third film was tentatively planned, but abandoned after ''Down Under''... [[JustForPun er]], ''under''performed. Eva Gabor's 1995 death from respiratory failure and pneumonia closed the book on the idea for good.

* FranchiseKiller: A third film was tentatively planned, but abandoned after ''Down Under''... [[JustForPun er]], ''under''performed. Eva Gabor's 1995 death closed the book on the idea for good. John Candy's passing the year before likely didn't help.

** Along with him, Creator/PaulHogan and Creator/ClintEastwood were considered to voice [=McLeech=]. If the former would have accepted it would have been an ActorAllusion to his famous character while in the latter's case, well, it would have been a massive PlayingAgainstType case.
** Tentative plans for a third movie were put on hold after ''Rescuers Down Under'' flopped at the box office. They were scrapped all together after Eva Gabor (Bianca) succumbed to respiratory failure and pneumonia in 1995.

* FranchiseKiller: A third film was tentatively planned, but abandoned after ''Down Under''... [[JustForPun er]], ''under''performed. Eva Gabor's death in 1995 closed the book on the idea for good. John Candy's passing the year before likely didn't help.

** Tentative plans for a third movie were put on hold after ''Rescuers Down Under'' flopped at the box office. They were scrapped all together following the death of Eva Gabor, Bianca's voice actress.

* CompanyCrossReferences: The dialog in the sequence where the Doctor orders the calibration of the syringes ("range 42!') with the nurses echoing him is identical to the dialog in ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'' when Captain Hook is aiming a cannon at Peter Pan and Wendy, with the orders repeated by Smee.

* OldShame: Outside of releasing the film to video and TV, and considering it as part of the Disney Animated Canon, the studio practically refused to acknowledge ''Down Under'''s existence for years to come after the movie bombed at the box office. You'd be forgiven if you didn't know that Disney did an animated film in-between ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''.

** The very American George C. Scott as the voice of the very Australian [=McLeach=][[note]]or, as some have stated, a very ''American'' McLeach, hiding from American law officers in Australia[[/note]].

** The very American George C. Scott as the voice of the very Australian [=McLeach=].

* SequelGap: Released in 1990, about 13 years after the 1977 original.

* FranchiseKiller: A third film was tentatively planned, but abandoned after ''Down Under''... [[JustForPun er]], ''under''performed. Eva Gabor's death in 1995 closed the book on the idea for good.

* DiedDuringProduction: Orville's actor Jim Jordan passed away at 91 right when casting for this film was getting started. Thus, the film gets to complete the Wright Brothers gag with John Candy as his brother Wilbur, though TheCharacterDiedWithHim is avoided as Orville is apparently just retired.

** There were tentative plans for a third movie but they were scrapped after the death of Eva Gabor, Bianca's voice actress.

* DuelingMovies: A losing battle with the box office juggernaut ''Film/HomeAlone'' (which, incidentally, also featured Creator/JohnCandy in a minor role). As mentioned above, Jeff Katzenberg basically forfeited the duel by pulling any and all advertising for ''Down Under'' when it was clear that they were going to lose.[[note]]This wouldn't even be the first "kid empowerment" film that Disney would lose to in 1990, as ''WesternAnimation/DucktalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'' had been beat out at the box office by ''Film/ProblemChild'' a few months earlier. Tellingly, both Disney movies received better critical reception than the film they were pitted against.[[/note]]

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: When the opening box office weekend didn't live up to expectations, studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg pulled the plug on the promotional campaign. It also didn't help that the movie competed against ''Film/HomeAlone'' (that said, Katzenberg did have a PetTheDog moment with that movie's producer over the phone, and ''Rescuers Down Under'' got better reviews than ''Home Alone'').

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: "Bernard and Bianca in the Land of Kangaroos" in both France and Germany.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: "Bernard and Bianca in the Land of Kangaroos" in France and Germany.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: "Bernard and Bianca in the Land of Kangaroos" in France.

* RoleReprise: Both Creator/BobNewhart and Creator/EvaGabor (in her final film role) returned to voice Bernard and Miss Bianca, and also Bernard Fox returns as the Rescue Aid Society Chairmouse.

* FakeNationality:

* DiedDuringProduction: Orville’s actor Jim Jordan passed away at 91 right when casting for this film was getting started. Thus, the film gets to complete the Wright Brothers gag with John Candy as his brother Wilbur, though TheCharacterDiedWithHim is avoided as Orville is apparently just retired.

* TheOtherDarrin: In the Japanese dub, Bernard is voiced by the late Yasuo Yamada instead of Yoshito Yasuhara.

* CrossRegionalVoiceActing: Canadian Creator/WayneRobinson voices Frank the lizard.

* CrossDressingVoices: Creator/FrankWelker voices the female eagle Marahute and [=McLeach=]'s lizard, Joanna. (It's less surprising that the actor is a man then it is that the voice characterization for both characters was provided by a ''human''.

* ImageSource:
** [[LargeHam/AnimatedFilms Large Ham - Animated Films]]
** [[WouldHurtAChild/AnimatedFilms Would Hurt a Child - Animated Films]]