Basil, détective privé

This is probably one of the most unknown Disney classics.

For the time the movie was quite new and revolutionary and it doesn't quite fit in with the other movies Disney made in that period., perhaps that's the reason why it has been forgotten. But "The Great Mouse Detective" deserves to be known and seen.

The characters are real classics and one of the best to have ever appeared in a Disney movie. Actually Professor Ratigan (voiced by the legendary Vincent Price) is quite possibly my favorite movie villain of all time. No wonder that it was Vincent Price's favorite role. His style and humor is priceless and it cracks me up every time. But the other characters are also very memorable. I especially like the character of doctor Dawson.

The story is good and very pleasant and very mature compared to other Disney's from that period. But of course the idea of making a story about the mouse version of Sherlock Holmes alone is already good enough to make a fun movie about.

One of the other things that makes this movie different compared to other Disney's from that period are the songs or better said the lack of it. The movie features only one song (3 if you count the bar song and the goodbye, so soon song.). But it's not a miss. The surprising magnificent musical score by famous composer Henry Mancini make up for this loss.

The movie has a very spectacular final on and in the famous Big Ben. It's by far my favorite Disney movie ending.

Certainly a fun movie to watch over and over again.

10/10

P.S.: If you're Dutch speaking, I highly recommend that you watch this movie Dutch spoken. Believe it or not it's even better and more fun then the English version! Believe me, just give it a shot.

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Having revisited this film on the anniversary of its first release I was shocked at how good it is. I was also left to wonder why Disney never did anything with it since its release since its a very good film.

The plot is simple, Basil of Baker Street helps a young girl find her kidnapped father who is the clutches of the evil Ratigan. There's more to it than that but thats a place to start.

Vincent Price, probably having the time of his life, is the foul villain and he seems to be having a complete ball. What ever joy he was feeling must have been infectious since the work the animators did carried over and its fun to watch Price's animated alter ego mug for the camera.

This is the last of the un-politically correct films from The Mouse House. Characters smoke, which as we all know is now a no no since Disney is now going back and digitally erasing all trace of that "bad habit" from all of their earlier films. Characters die. Yes the villain still dies these days, and perhaps a Mom to get the plot going, but here we have several characters die, one simply for insulting the villain.

The final sequence of this film, a battle in and on Big Ben was promoted as Disney's first major use of computer animation. The sequence is spectacular and one of the greatest animated pieces I've ever witnessed even today. The whole thing lasts maybe five minutes but it pushes the art of animation as far as Disney has ever gone and shows us what a loss the politically correct, story formula has been in the realm of artistic animation. Disney learned how to make money but not films that pushed the envelope of what was possible. What might have happened if they had expanded on this one sequence?

See this movie. I give it 8 out of 10. Its not perfect but it is funny and exciting in ways that the films that followed rarely were. The film also contains several moments that prove that Pixar are not the only ones who can make movies that reflect the Warner Brothers style.

The Great Mouse Detective is one of my favorite Disney films of all time, it's also one of the most under rated in my opinion. I think just because I love the story so much and it always brought up good memories, this was the funniest Disney animated movie I had seen at the time. It's just such a cute film, it has fun animation, catchy songs, and such a touching story that anyone could easily fall in love with. My parents and I watched this movie together all the time when I was a child, still to this day, I don't mind sitting down to watch it, it's just that much fun.

A young little mouse girl and her toy shop father are celebrating her birthday, but her father is quickly taken away by a rotten gang of mice who are led by a giant rat, Ratigan, who is planning to over throw the queen and become leader of the mouse world. Olivia, the daughter, goes to Basil of Baker Street, he's a mad detective who has been chasing Ratigan for a long time. Along with the help of an average mouse, Dr. Dawson, Olivia, and Basil go after Ratigan to make sure that his plan fails.

The Great Mouse Detective is such a cute film. I'm very sure that you'll enjoy it, it's one of my personal favorites, I really do think this is one of the better Disney films and is an under rated treasure. I just loved Basil, his madness was just so funny and enjoyable to watch. I also loved Ratigan's song of why he is so great, not to mention how he thinks he's a mouse is just priceless. This is a fun family film to watch, I highly recommend it.

10/10

I enjoy this film for one main thing, besides the attention to detail concerning Victorian England...the performance of Vincent Price as Ratigan in his scenery-chewing glory. Yes, it's another mice-beneath-your-feet story, but it's so well done. Holmesians will enjoy it's inside jokes and references to other works about the famous fictional sleuth.

Fans of "Ducktales" may note that Alan Young, the voice of toymaker Hiram Flaversham, parlayed his near-perfect Scottish accent into being appointed the official voice of Scrooge McDuck.

But it's Vincent Price in what he later called one of his most favorite roles ever (He even had two original songs written for him!) that draws me back to this film again and again. He clearly enjoyed this role, and the exaggerated movements of Ratigan are obviously his.

An oddly gothic cartoon from Disney, and well worth viewing.

Under-appreciated is the best way to describe "The Great Mouse Detective" because you never hear mention of this movie. "Renaissance" this and "Classic Disney" that, but never this one. And it's a shame really, since this is a fun, well put-together flick. There's life to the animation (for a story told from a mouse's level, it's pretty good-looking), it makes good use of early CGI, and I really like the new spin on the subject matter while paying respect to earlier Sherlock Holmes adaptations. This is a real treat; good characters, dastardly plot and an outsized adventure.

7/10