The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

7/10

Starring the voice of

Vincent Price

Barrie Ingham

Val Bettin

Directed by Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, Dave Michener and John Musker

Disney's 26th animated film is based on the "Basil of Baker Street" children's novel series written by Eve Titus.

What is cool about these stories is that the stories are about Basil and his friend Doctor Dawson, who live in the cellar of 221B Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes is a tenant upstairs.

Disney took this movie like i would expect Steven Spielberg would a science fiction. They made it beautiful, changing things here and there from the book to make the movie memorable. Who can forget Basil's archenemy Professor Ratigan who is to Basil as Professor Moriarty is to Sherlock Holmes.

The movie takes place in a mouse world, where Basil is always busy solving crimes that are too much for the police to solve. There were times in this movie where it seems like Basil had bitten more than he can chew, but his brain always come through.

The movie plot brings us to London in June 1897, where a young mouse girl named Olivia Flaversham (her last name was a thrill to hear it being pronounced by Basil in this movie) is celebrating her birthday with her toymaker father.

Suddenly, a bat with a crippled wing and a peg leg bursts into the Flaversham's workshop, kidnapping her father.

The young girl scared and alone decided to go find the Great Mouse Detective named Basil of Baker Street. During the journey she gets lost, upset and more alone crying on the streets of London.

A surgeon named Dr. Dawson, who has just returned from a lengthy service in the Queen's army finds Olivia alone and after listening to her tale he aids her in finding Basil's house.

There they met the Basil who could careless about Olivia’s problem until she mentioned that her father was kidnapped by a bat with a peg leg and cripple wing. Basil recognized that description to be that of a henchman to his archenemy Professor Ratigan.

He took the case and he and Dr. Dawson set out to find clues and solve the case and maybe Basil will finally be able to stop his enemy which has evaded him for so many years.

The animation and voice acting of the characters is very memorable, to the point that I found myself watching the movie more than once just to be able to fully grasp the mastery of Disney.

It was also fun to see that Basil got around using Toby, Sherlock Holmes's pet Basset Hound. Who was very fond of Olivia, and in the end of this great adventure we saw the beginning of the detective duo of Basil and Dawson being formed. Although I’m unaware if Sherlock Holmes every had a pet.