Orville is a character from Disney's 1977 film The Rescuers. He is also the brother of Wilbur from the sequel.
Background
Personality
Orville takes his job and flying with pride. Compared to his brother Wilbur, he is a bit more serious, but can also be funny as well as a bit clumsy.
Appearances
The Rescuers
Orville makes his first appearance in The Rescuers. He is one of the pilots and flights (#13) of the Albatross Air Service (his brother, Wilbur, is also #13). He helps fly Bernard and Miss Bianca to Devil's Bayou in order to rescue Penny. When they get close to the area, they get surrounded by Mr. Snoops' flares and fireworks, one which burns Orville's tail. Bernard and Miss Bianca float safely down with an umbrella and Orville makes an emergency landing in the swamp, then comfortably douses his tail in the water. He then states he will not stay in "this creepy place any longer" and tells the swamp folks to "clear the runway!" and takes off, only to splash and start running across the lake. He then gets caught in Medusa's Swampmobile and ends up flying away back to New York, burnt and coughing.
At the end of the movie, he flies Bernard and Miss Bianca again and accompanied by Evenrude the dragonfly. It was a snowy January 13 and the blizzard pushes his takeoff backward, causing him to "take off" the other side of the building's roof. He regains control of himself with Evenrude's help and flies well again out towards the horizon.
The Rescuers Down Under
In the sequel, Bernard and Bianca arrive at the Albatross Air Service to ask Orville to fly them to Australia, only to see a sign reading "Under New Management. See Wilbur.", showing that Orville no longer runs the Albatross Air Service, which is now run by his brother Wilbur. When the two mice introduce themselves to Wilbur, he replies that Orville often told him about them.
House of Mouse
Orville also appears in several episodes of House of Mouse, in which he is shown sitting on the same table with Bernard and Bianca.
Disney parks
Orville appeared as a walk-around character, starting around the time of the film's release. He has not been seen since the late 1990's/early 2000's.
At Disneyland, he hosted a pre-show film called "All Because Man Wanted to Fly" in the former World Premiere Circle-Vision attraction in the 1980's.
Gallery
Trivia
- Orville is named after one of the Wright brothers who invented the first airplanes, Orville Wright.
- Orville uses the Goofy holler twice in the film. The first is when he is sucked into Medusa's Swampmobile, the second is when he "takes off" the other side of the building's roof at the end of the film.
- The death of Orville's voice, Jim Jordan, in 1988, is one of the reasons why Orville is replaced by Wilbur in the second film.
- Although Orville and Wilbur look alike (since they're brothers), one can tell the difference between the looks of the two albatross brothers by the scarf color; Orville's scarf is lavender-colored, while Wilbur's scarf is aqua-colored. Additionally, Orville wears a pilot's helmet while Wilbur wears a baseball cap.