Origins: On
8 January 1999, Disney announced a recall of the the home video
version of their 1977 animated feature The Rescuers because it
contained an "objectionable background image." Approximately 38
minutes into the film, as rodent heroes Bianca and Bernard fly
through the city in a sardine box strapped to the back of Orville,
proprietor of Albatross Air Charter Service, the photographic image
of a topless woman can be seen at the window of a building in the
background in two different (non-consecutive) frames: first in the
bottom left corner, then at the top center portion of the frame.
(Click on each image below to view an enlargement of the
frame.)
Unlike most rumors of risque words images hidden in Disney's
animated films, this one is clearly true, and the images in
question were undeniably purposely inserted into the movie.
The two "topless woman" frames have reputedly been present in the
film ever since its original 1977 theatrical release (a fact
apparently confirmed by Disney, whose spokesperson said that the
tampering "was done more than 20 years ago"), although Disney
claims that they were not included in the 1992 home video version
because "it was made from a different print." Disney also claimed
that the images were not placed in the film by any of their
animators, but were inserted during the post-production process.
The company decided to recall 3.4 million copies of the video "to
keep our promise to families that we can trust and rely on the
Disney brand to provide the finest in family entertainment."
Disney's announcement of this recall might be considered a bit
curious. Unlike previous rumors over "hidden" items in Disney's
animated films, this one was not widespread until Disney itself
made a public statement about it. As well, unlike the salacious
images and sounds allegedly to be found in The Little Mermaid,
Aladdin and The Lion King, the Rescuers frames in question are not
noticeable during a normal viewing of the film -- one has to know
they're there and freeze-frame the video to view them. Disney
didn't recall any of those other videos, so why this one? Because
they knew how quickly the story would spread via the Internet?
Because this occurrence was as undeniable case of tampering rather
than misinterpretation? The cynical among us might ponder that one
of the best ways to boost sales of a slow-selling video would be to
announce its recall due to the presence of some "objectionable
images."
