The Rescuers Down Under opened 35 years ago this month (look, technically I was originally going to do a header for the 25th anniversary of 102 Dalmatians tonight, but I’ve decided to save that for later). Notable for being the first animated Disney sequel ever released, the film was also revolutionary for its usage of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) software. Essentially, this gave the animation team much more power to do pretty much…well, anything. Painting animation cels, previously one of the most time-consuming and tedious aspects of production, was no longer necessary. It could now all be done on the computer, and as a result, Down Under looked sharper than anything that ever come before. Seriously. This shit is breathtaking even today (also, I love how this trailer “for adults” doesn’t show the talking mice).

Unfortunately, the spectacle wasn’t enough to bring in the crowds, because as I said a few headers ago, The Rescuers Down Under made the grave misstep of coming out the exact same day as Home Alone (funnily enough, John Candy gave memorable performances in both films). The game was over for it before it even had a chance to play, as then-Disney honcho Jeffery Katzenberg ordered the TV advertising to cease shortly after its disappointing opening weekend. The Mouse House was riding high off of a string of hits with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Oliver & Company, and The Little Mermaid. They had good reason to assume they had another financial winner in their hands.

But after Down Under flopped, Katzenberg hit the panic button and cut the budget of the following year’s Beauty & the Beast by a significant amount. Obviously, we all know that Beauty would end up being a huge success story for the studio, which is why it breaks my heart to think of how that movie’s already great animation could’ve been even better if the company hadn’t been playing it safe. But I digress (also, you really did get your money’s worth with a ticket to The Rescuers Down Under, as it included the most ambitious Mickey Mouse short ever, The Prince & the Pauper, which would go on to win an Oscar).

Still, unlike Home Alone, The Rescuers Down Under did have a pretty prominent marketing campaign. This included coloring books, a Tiger handheld game (which I had, but sadly can’t find a commercial for), and as you know doubt have guessed, McDonald’s goodness! First up, there was a Happy Meal promotion consisting of four “movie cameras” which functioned like a non-3D ViewMaster (which is coming soon to a theater near you, apparently). You put your eye up to them, pointed them at a lamp or whatever, and boom! You were reliving your favorite scenes from the film! There’s an entire box of these things somewhere in my family’s garage, but for whatever reason, “Bernard and Bianca” was the hardest to find, as we only ever got one of those compared to the like ten or so “Cody” cameras we got.

But there was more! You could also get Bernard and Bianca Christmas ornaments, which was awesome, although I would’ve liked it if they had them for Wilbur and Frank as well (if you were a kid at the time, they were the best characters in the film). Still, these were pretty lovely, although I barely remember getting them, unlike the Happy Meal toys which I do recall collecting (I was three years old, so it’s kind of amazing I have any memory of this at all).

Have a great night in the land down under, y’all!