covering the mouse: Someone's Waiting For You

This week I'm taking a look at orphans in Disney movies. Today, we focus on Penny, the little girl from the Rescuers.

I think Penny is the only animated Disney orphan to reside in an orphanage, probably because of the contemporary setting in the Rescuers. Most other Disney movies have more of a fantasy setting and the orphans live their lives in that fantasy world. This makes Penny stand out because her character is grounded in reality. She has had a hard life and has created a tough personality while still retaining her innocence.

Penny is sort of a combination between Aladdin and Mowgli. She is not as easily influenced as Mogli is in the Jungle Book. While she is used as a plot device, she does make decisions for herself, such as attempting to escape from her prison several times. But she is not quite as independent as Aladdin, mostly because she is still quite young and hasn't experienced the the world outside the doors of the orphanage yet.

The cover song for today is LEA SALONGA'S version of Someone's Waiting For You. Salonga is known for her roles as the singing voices of Jasmine and Mulan.