The Great Mouse Detective

This film completed my introduction as a child to Sherlock Holmes. Previous to seeing "The Great Mouse Detective", I was familiar with Arthur Conan Doyle's character but only because he is the quintessential detective. Sherlock Holmes is engrained permanently in pop culture and is seemingly referenced everywhere (such as this movie itself). What this Disney film did is to complete my knowledge of all that Holmes is known for such as his violin and disguises, not to mention the types of villains he faced. This film of course is not about the famous human detective but rather his rodent counterpart who lives below him. The characters in "The Great Mouse Detective" are its best quality but the story is also enjoyable. I believe this show deserves a little more gratitude considering the fact that animation was under threat at the Disney studio at that time.

The film has shadowy moments to contrast the cute scenes but they aren't as dark as what Don Bluth deems to be such. "The Great Mouse Detective", most importantly, is not nearly as dark as Disney's previous film. The character of Olivia is the source of heart in the movie. I like the opening scene a lot because it is perfect at establishing the love between Olivia and her father. We immediately have a reason to watch this film and root for the lead characters. The character that steals the show however is Ratigan, hands down. He is one of Disney's most overlooked villains. Ratigan is obviously based on Professor Moriarty but I'm betting that Moriarty wasn't as overdramatic as this animated character. Ratigan relishes in anything evil and is a very melodramatic. He's fun to watch as is other Disney villains who share his traits. I really like Ratigan's theme song, especially the moment: "Even louder! WE'LL SHOUT IT!!" While Ratagan may be the star of the show, Basil is entertaining as well in that he is so reflective of the aforementioned literary detective. He is named after actor Basil Rathbone, who played Sherlock Holmes on the movie screen more times than any other actor. Rathbone's voice was even sampled from a reading he gave and used in this film for the scene where we see Holmes and Watson's shadows. Basil is fine as the lead character. Both he and Ratigan were made to be adversaries they each have high intelligence and have obsessive tendencies. The one part of the story of this movie that really bothers me is Fidget's convenient appearance on Baker Street. He may be after Olivia but how would he know where she was? Why not have our heroes return to the scene of the kidnapping and have Fidget's hat be there? The movie does a good job however at causing the audience to forget that Ratigan is expecting Basil to show up at his lair. I also enjoy the subplot in "The Great Mouse Detective" where Basil and Dawson form their partnership. Basil may be a genius but Dawson is the straight man in this show. He keeps Basil's eccentricities in check and because of Basil's obsessive nature, Dawson spots things that Basil doesn't. Most importantly, at a moment of despair, Dawson snaps Basil out of his self-pity. It almost seems like Basil has turned from despair to madness when he decides to "set the trap off now". This creates even more suspense in that we don't know what Basil is calculating. One of the most noteworthy scenes of the entire movie occurs in Big Ben. If you don't count the microscopic bullet comparison at the start of the film, this scene at the climax marks the first use of computer animation in a full-length Disney animated film. This allowed the filmmakers to conceive three-dimensional shots in which to show the action. It is not just the animation that impresses you; it is the use of music and sound during that sequence. It is in this moment when Basil appears triumphant that Ratigan snaps. The evil inside him takes over and changes him physically insomuch that his anthropomorphism is gone. As a sentimentalist, I am glad that Basil keeps the bell as a memento.

This film adaptation of "Basil of Baker Street" was thought up back in the 70's but because it was too similar to "The Rescuers", it wasn't developed right away. After a corporate shakeup and after the failure of "The Black Cauldron" at the box office, the studio heads at Disney began to ironically lose faith in the medium that made the studio what it is. "The Great Mouse Detective" became the first Disney animated film not to be made at the animation building on the studio lot that was built in 1939. Also, the movie's budget was cut in half and the release date was pushed ahead a year. I am impressed with the final product as a result of all this. The title change of the movie from "Basil of Baker Street" to "The Great Mouse Detective" looking back seems quite unnecessary. Even the reason for the change doesn't seem worth mentioning because it seems to insult the public's intelligence. Many times, I feel that some filmmakers underestimate what the public will except and understand when watching a movie. Most of the studio was against the change of the film's title and as a joke, a false memo was sent out at the studio claiming that all past animated films would have their titles changed also. These fake titles were later used in a category on the game show "Jeopardy". "The Great Mouse Detective" has multiple directors because of the corporate change at the studio but it is with this film that Ron Clements and John Musker had their first directorial collaboration. They would continue to direct films together for Disney for the next thirty years. Another important director was Burny Mattinson, who earlier directed "Mickey's Christmas Carol" in 1983. Mattinson by the way would continue to work at Disney during its subsequent successful years but only in the story department. All those involved in bringing Ratigan to life deserved to be mentioned. First you have the famous actor Vincent Price, who I believe is a major reason for the success of this film. He agreed to audition saying that he would only do this kind of role for the Disney studio. When Price was cast, the character went through a redesign. He later commented that Ratigan was one of his favorite roles. Supervising animator for Ratigan was Glen Keane and he became a conspicuous player in numerous feature animated films at the studio as did a few other animators working on this show. Barrie Ingham, a Royal Shakespearean actor, did so well in his audition as Basil that a great deal of his audition recordings was used in the final film. I also enjoyed Val Bettin's performance as Dawson. I heard his voice a lot as a kid in Disney animated shows for TV and video. Candy Candido is the voice of Fidget. You might recognize his voice from "The Wizard of Oz" or Disney's "Peter Pan". I get a kick out of his line as a one-time character in the pub: "Get off, you eight-legged bum!" I was quite pleased when I found out that Alan Young voices Flaversham. To me, he will always be Scrooge McDuck. I quite enjoy the musical score for "The Great Mouse Detective" and especially the main theme as composed by Henry Mancini. He is best known for creating the musical theme for "The Pink Panther" back in the 60's.

While this movie is wonderful, I think that "An American Tail" is just a little bit better because of its original story and the involvement of Steven Spielberg. Because both movies stared mice, a natural rivalry began between Disney and Don Bluth Productions and it lasted up until 1990. "The Great Mouse Detective" is basically Sherlock Holmes in the same universe as "The Rescuers". I love the characters in this movie and its charm. Some might ask if this was a preview of what was to come less than a decade later. I personally don't think any one part of the movie alluded to a pending wave of success at Disney back in 1986 but in hindsight, "The Great Mouse Detective" does foreshadow greater things to come. The film's design is far different from that of "The Black Cauldron" but you can attribute that to other differences between both films. However, you can find a lot of names in the credits of this movie that would later have important roles in the animated films of the 90's. The computer would also play a large part in the coming decade. We do owe this movie some thanks because the success of "The Great Mouse Detective" did persuade the studio heads to continue to produce feature animation. However, it would take a bigger hit to kick off what is known today as the Disney Renaissance and it would come at the hands of Clements and Musker.

4 Stars