Review of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) by Max G — 05 Jun 2013
The shadows of Sherlock Holmes (archival voice recording of Basil Rathbone from the '60s) and Dr. Watson literally hover in the background of this production. This was from Walt Disney's awkward period before the smash hit The Little Mermaid in '89.
Even though some CGI was used here for the first time, there are only three musical numbers, none of which are memorable. The story, characters, and art work are all quite enjoyable though. The mouse version of a Sherlock Holmes mystery is told cleverly.
The period details of 1890's London are rendered well with small touches of animation fantasy. Here our hero is named Basil of Baker Street (voiced by Ingham) and he still lives at 221B. Dr. Watson's counterpart Dr.
Dawson (voiced by Bettin) comes upon a crying girl mouse named Olivia Flaversham (voiced by Pollatschek) whose father (voiced by Young, who also voiced Scrooge McDuck), a tinkering toymaker, has been kidnapped.
Basil begins tracking the culprit, a peg legged bat (voiced by Candido), who works for Basil's archnemesis Professor Rattigan (voiced with relish by Vincent Price). Rattigan's plan threatens the mouse Queen, but Dawson and Basil are resourceful.
Big Ben subs for Reichenbach Falls. Dawson is kindly and actually helps find a couple important clues. Basil contains all the best elements of Holmes' character and thrillingly pursues Rattigan in this kiddie tale.
This review of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) was written by Max G on 05 Jun 2013.
The Great Mouse Detective has generally received positive reviews.
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