As Peripécias do Ratinho Detetive

By no means does it rank among the greatest Disney films. Its animation is mostly Saturday Morning level and its plot is as simplistic as a Sherlock Holmes knockoff story can get, complete with plotty, expository script and pretty typical archetypes throughout. Yet, it has something that has been missing in Disney movies for years: likability. It's lightweight, well crafted fun, like all the best Saturday morning cartoons, with inventive set pieces and terrific voice acting that helps make up for the fact that the losses incurred on The Black Cauldron show quite clearly. Unfortunately, it was shoveled under the hype over Don Bluth's An American Tail, a film that I have a bit of a soft spot for but which I'm not sure was that much better despite more involved animation. Of course it's no masterpiece, but it does deserve some appreciation for its virtues.

The plot's rather simple, and a bit too dialogue driven. Basically, you can figure out what happens before you even see it. What makes it work are the personalities. True, Olivia's a bit cloying, but Basil himself is as manic and fun to watch as any good Holmes knockoff, due in no small part to Barrie Ingham's performance. However, the show stealer, like with many Disney films, is the villain, Professor Ratigan as brilliantly voiced by the great Vincent Price. What I love about his character is that he comes off a narcissistic buffoon most of the time, but when pushed he shows himself to be a ruthless maniac able to wring whatever he wants from people by sheer force. In many ways, he's the villain that Captain Hook should have been. He even gets one of the only song numbers in this movie, one of the finest villain numbers in its jaunty bombast and how it shifts to a dead stop when a henchman double crosses him then shifts back after a rather grim moment in the film.

Unfortunately, one wishes the animation was better than Toon Disney on a production level. There's lots of conservative pose-to-pose stuff and very little in the ways of spontaneous character stuff. The angles are all very flat and straightforward. It especially shows in the dog character, who is much larger than the others but has too lightweight a feel to him. It's still a better looking film than The Black Cauldron, however less lavish it may be, and it has a few highlights. Ratigan, again, is superbly animated by Glen Keane, who gives him much more nuance and presence than the other characters. There's also a steep improvement toward the end, where Disney really ratchets up on some terrific set-piece direction. The CGI may show its age, but it's incorporated quite well. One also suspects that Disney first started to look at Hayao Miyazaki's work around this time, since there are more than a few similarities to the climax of Castle of Cagliostro.

All in all, these elements, along with a great Henry Mancini score, add up to another overlooked gem of a Disney movie, if not an essential work. It's light nature makes it understandable that some people tend not to care for it, but I enjoy it like I do any decent childhood cartoon. For me, it's the best Disney picture between the end of the golden age in the 60s and the renaissance at the end of the 80s, despite not being especially ambitious or innovative. It's just good fun, and what more can one ask for?

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

The Great Mouse Detective is so underrated, it's criminal. How does nobody know about this?! It has one of the best cast of characters in a Disney film, one of the best Disney villains ever (voiced by the amazing Vincent Price, no less), and is packed with fun and adventure.

Brilliant and eccentric detective Basil of Baker Street is given the case of a lifetime when young Olivia Flavisham comes to his doorstep for help. Her father, a gifted toymaker, has been abducted by Professor Ratigan, a notorious criminal whom Basil has been chasing for years. With the help of the young mouse and the kindly but down-to-earth Dr. Dawson, Basil sets out to rescue Olivia's father and foil Ratigan's scheme.

The story seems a bit plain, but the plot isn't what makes TGMD exciting. It is the characters which bring the movie to life and make it worth watching. Being based off Sherlock Holmes himself, Basil is naturally an intelligent badass. He's enthusiastic about his work and little else at the beginning of the film, and doesn't care much for Dawson and Olivia upon first meeting them, but as the film progresses he starts opening up to them, especially Olivia. It's a nice bit of character development which gives the film heart without becoming sentimental. Dr. Dawson's warmer and less dramatic personality provides the perfect foil for Basil, and Olivia is charming and adorable without being cutesy-cutesy or annoying. But the best character has to be Ratigan, one of the great unsung Disney villains. He's funny as hell, gleefully enjoying every bit of evil he engages in and doing so with larger-than-life style; on the other hand, he can be pretty scary too, and if he snaps, boy are you screwed. He's voiced brilliantly by Vincent Price, who you can tell had a lot of fun doing the part.

The animation isn't breathtaking, but it's still good. A lot of the character animation is done extremely well, in particular facial expressions. The backgrounds are lovely and dark, perfectly giving the film the atmosphere of foggy Victorian London.

Though it's not much of a musical, the few songs in TGMD are good. I especially like "Let Me Be Good to You", which is catchy and, when viewed in context to the film, very suggestive and adult. Hilarious. Good characters, good songs, humor, heart, adventure…it's all there. It's no Pinocchio or Beauty and the Beast, but it's still a wonderful movie. How awful it is that it isn't well-known! It's one of those Disney films you'll still enjoy even when you're older, and if you haven't seen it yet, definitely check it out.

8/10

This is, by far, one of the most underappreciated Disney classics of all, and one of the most developed as far as the character and the story. Basil is a perfect portrayal of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, and many don't know that it was based off a book about a mouse who lived the life of his idol, none other than Sherlock Holmes.

Personally, I love this movie because it has a colorful, developed cast of characters.

Basil is not your average Disney hero, having no love interest at any point in the movie; he is also a super-intelligent character and often bursts into fits of scientific observation. His facial expressions are timed well and are very well done, as well as his general movement. He is very excitable and you can tell he adores working on cases. He doesn't really like children, as you can see from the way he treats Olivia in the beginning. You really get a feel for Basil when watching him, and he's not easy to forget. Kids may not understand half of the things he's saying, but it's fun to watch.

Olivia is the little heroine mouse who starts Basil on his case, losing her father to a mysterious peg-legged bat of whom Basil is aware of. She is extremely plain-drawn and has no emphasis on her gender really, save for the bow in her hair and her voice, making her very realistic. She also acts alot like a realistic little girl, in her laugh, in the way she reacts to things, even in the way she exclaims "father!" when reunited with her toymaker father. Her curiosity is classic, and she has a high adoration for Basil, though he doesn't appreciate her at the start of the story.

Dawson is the elder mouse who finds Olivia looking for Basil of Baker Street. He isn't sure of who Basil is, but they end up finding him together. Dawson is, of course, Watson in mouse form, and helps Basil in his first case, being this movie.

Ratigan is the villain played by the late horror film star Vincent Price, and quite well in my opinion. He has the likeness of Mr. Price in the way he moves and acts. Of course, nothing is weirder than hearing him sing, but it happens twice in the movie-- "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" and "Goodbye, So Soon" were both written specifically for Price. He is not one of the more frightening villains as far as his looks, and is unique in that up until the climax he uses his intelligence to battle Basil, instead of the strength he obviously posesses. On a special note, Ratigan dislikes being called a rat for some reason, though I cannot remember why.

Fidget is probably one of the darkest villain henchmen in a Disney movie. He is frightening to children in appearance and voice, and the music accompanying him adds a comical aura. Fidget is by far my favorite Disney henchman, just because he's funny. The one thing that bothers me, though, is that a few times in the movie, his peg leg switches from right to left. I think it was just for the reuniting scene in which Olivia steps on his only foot, so it was switched.

The movie has many fast-paced scenes, including "Investigation At The Toy Shop" and "Big Ben Chase", among others. My personal favorite is "Big Ben Chase," because it is one of the longest Disney climaxes and it is a very unlikely setting. The movie itself is about Olivia's toymaker father being kidnapped by Fidget, and her turning to Basil for help. Basil's nemesis, Ratigan, is linked to the bat, and Basil, who was reluctant and annoyed by Olivia's protest at first, jumps at the oppertunity to see if he can finally defeat Ratigan. The movie goes from there with its "many twists and turns", to quote Basil.

If you want a fun-filled, unpredictable adventure, The Great Mouse Detective is your best bet. Especially if you're a Sherlockian or Eve Titus fan who has yet to see this exiciting portrayal of Basil of Baker Street.

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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