Review of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) by Karl H — 15 May 2010

This film is one of the rare examples of good work by Disney, before they made the change-over to anime styled animation with the Little Mermaid; and to clarify, I mean that Disney films were great from Snow White through the 1960s, but as it entered the 70s, Disney was too caught up in producing easily forgettable films like the Aristocats, the Black Hole, and the Boatniks, to notice that the audience had changed. The musical was dead, and the musical animated film was equally dead. This film has two musical numbers, as I recall, and perhaps three songs in all, each memorable. The voice acting is fantastic, and the characters are fun. It genuinely is a worthwhile movie for the family, especially with Vincent Price.

One detracting feature of the film is how scary Fidget the bat is, and how often they have him shoving his face, bearing his fangs, at the screen. The animation is gorgeous, and the voice acting superb. Vincent Price is magnificent as the evil Rattigan, and it's surprising that this film hasn't been endeared more with viewers. It's classic Disney, but it's from the 80s. It's simply untimely in it's universal appeal. The entire film, as a whole comes together for a unique experience. As it is, Basil's detection skills seem more inspired by Sherlock Holmes, than developed on his own. Perhaps if they'd made it a little less out of the blue that he knew things such as Mongolian paper and Afghan catgut, it would have held up better.

But, for school aged kids, this should be terrific fun. I'm not the biggest enthusiast for Disney films. I think they've sold out their roots for profits, and focused less on telling good stories, while delivering a solid moral. The music for this film is pretty edgy, but you won't hear your kids singing it. Vincent Price sings a goodbye song as the heroes are tied to his murder machine, and a dancing girl sings about taking off her clothes for the men at a seedy bar, but none of the songs are unnecessary, or done to fill space. The little girl doesn't sing, nor do Basil & Dawson. Frankly, I think it could have worked as a series, but for such a treat, you'll have to see the unique Miyazaki series, Sherlock Hound.